Tigers vs Twins Pick
MLB Baseball betting action sees the Detroit Tigers taking on the Minnesota Twins Thursday, July 9 at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN. Cappers Picks provides free MLB baseball handicapping all season long.
MLB Predictions
Detroit vs. Minnesota
Date/Time: Thursday, July 9 2015, 8:10 pm EST
Venue: Target Field, Minneapolis MN
Detroit, Minnesota (no odds yet listed)
Over/Under: N/A
Odds from Bovada
Pitching Match-up: David Price (8-2, 2.54 ERA, 1.13 WHIP) vs. Mike Pelfrey (5-5, 3.94 ERA, 1.49 WHIP)
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The Tigers pitching has been woeful this season, but not when ace David Price takes the hill. He’ll look to continue his sharp ways in the Twin Cities this week, against the upstart Twins.
Minnesota (46-39) is currently ahead of Detroit (42-41) in the AL Central division standings because it has totally embraced the team concept. Bringing back veteran and former franchise star OF Torii Hunter to the fold spoke volumes about the Twins desiring the right attitude and clubhouse chemistry in 2015.
The Tigers have more fearsome bats than Minnesota does, but Detroit’s aging core and the collapse of its pitching staff, apart from Thursday night’s starter should be a warning bell for this creaky franchise.
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Detroit has contended for the past several seasons, not just for the division crown but for the World Series. The window is closing in Motown, however, with injuries cropping up with Triple Crown-winning 1B Miguel Cabrera and DH Victor Martinez.
Another Martinez, ascending OF J.D., has picked up some of the run-producing load, but when you whittle a once-dominant starting pitching rotation down to Price and an occasional good start from Anibal Sanchez, you will see holes in the armor.
The home team, meanwhile, is hungry and – apart from Hunter – young. Excellent 2B Brian Dozier got snubbed for the All-Star Game, Trevor Plouffe and prospect Miguel Sano can hit the ball out of the yard, and 1B Joe Mauer is hitting like he’s wound the clock back a few years.
It’s translated to success ahead of the projections for the Twins, who simply need to have sustained solid pitching from Thursday’s starter Mike Pelfrey, Kyle Gibson (3.04 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) and youngster Trevor May.
Pitching was long the Achilles’ heel in the Twin Cities (and Ricky Nolasco is still awful, like he is every year) but adequate pitching is combining with young talent and good Torii Hunter vibes to brew something special in Minnesota during the first half of the regular season.
Players like J.D. Martinez and Cuban OF Yoenis Cespedes should be able to get to Pelfrey on Thursday night and, unlike others slumping in the starting five like big-money Justin Verlander and Shane Greene, having Price on the hill will be an advantage.
The Tigers must continue to put wins in the ledger before the All-Star Break, so they can feel good about attempting to be buyers at the trade deadline. They will be in need of pitching help, as are several other teams, so it will be a sellers’ market over the next couple of months.
It’s been hard to doubt the Twins in 2015, but with David Price’s excellence against the hustling but human Pelfrey, you have to like Detroit’s chances on Thursday night.
Detroit 4, Minnesota 2
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