Twins vs Red Sox MLB Betting + Handicapping Picks
The Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red Sox meet on Thursday for Game 1 on their three-game series at Fenway Park.
Winners of 4-of-6, Minnesota have been playing well as of late, and while it isn’t going to be their year, they are showing signs that things are moving in the right direction.
MINN: Samuel Deduno (2-0, 3.13 ERA) v BOS: Jon Lester (5-8, 5.49)
Date/Time: Thursday, August 2, 7:10PM EST
Venue: Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Broadcast: FOX Sports North (Minnesota), NESN (Boston)
LINE: Red Sox -177
TOTAL: 10
Meanwhile, Boston, as always refuses to go down without a fight.
The Twins chose to stand pat at the deadline for the most part this year, instead of selling some pieces off for future improvements. They had a chance to move some players such as Denard Span, Josh Willingham, and Justin Morneau, but didn’t. Nevertheless, the one move they did make was trading Francisco Liriano to the White Sox a couple of days prior to the deadline.
The Red Sox on the other hand, made just a single move this season. They traded away Matt Albers and Scott Podsednik to the Diamondbacks for Craig Breslow.
Not much, but they get a solid reliever for a couple of castoffs that were falling out of favor with the big league club in a hurry.
Boston has been playing well, winning four games in a row, but are still eight games back in the AL East, with an important series against division foe Baltimore coming up. Each win is critical, and you can bet the Red Sox will want to take advantage of Minnesota team that despite its recent surge, has struggle to plate runs all season long.
Looking to keep that trend alive will be starter Jon Lester. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
While it’s been hard to figure out what has happened to some aspects of Lester’s game, his strikeout rates are the same, his walks are actually down, but people are finding more success against the southpaw than ever before.
He is on pace to give up more home runs than he ever has. It’s hard to understand, but hitters seem to just be seeing the ball better out of his hand than in past seasons.
Starting opposite of Lester, will be Samuel Deduno, who will be making just his fifth career start.
Dedunos’ ERA looks good, but if wants to continue the success he is having, he needs to cut down on his walks. He has walked 16 batters while striking out 18. He has also allowed three homers in his four starts to date. Things may not continue to go so smoothly for the 29 year old if he doesn’t find his control soon.
Players to watch for:
Twins – Joe Mauer .321/6/50/.414
Mauer is enjoying a nice comeback season for the Twins this year. He has always hit Lester well, and he is an easy choice for this slot.
Red Sox – Adrian Gonzalez .297/10/62/.338
No Red Sox player has faced Deduno before at the big league level, so I’m going with Boston’s best, active hitter. Gonzalez has eight hits in his last five games, so he is swinging a hot bat.
Matt’s Free Prediction: Boston- The Twins are 5-16 in the last 21 meetings in Boston. And I expect that trend to continue. Plus I like the UNDER.
