The Minnesota Twins (73-75) are on the road to face the Kansas City Royals (59-89) at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday. The Royals took Tuesday’s series opener 5-4, their fifth head-to-head victory in 17 games this season. Reliever Dylan Coleman was credited with the win after throwing one scoreless inning, and Scott Barlow pitched 1.2 scoreless innings to earn his 22nd save. MJ Melendez went 2 for 4 with a home run and a double in the win. He drove in two runs. Hunter Dozier added a solo home run. Carlos Correa was 3 for 5 with two RBIs for the Twins.
ON THE MOUND
Bailey Ober (1-2, 3.49 ERA) is in line to take the mound for Minnesota. The right-hander threw five scoreless innings in his last start, a 4-3 road defeat against the Guardians on Friday. He scattered one hit while striking out five and walking one in the no-decision. Over two previous starts against the Royals this season, Ober has allowed four earned runs over eight innings (0-0, 4.50). He has struck out nine and walked two. For Kansas City, lefty Daniel Lynch (4-11, 5.15 ERA) is on the mound. He has made five appearances against the Twins this season, all starts, giving up 13 runs (12 ER) over 25 innings (1-3, 4.32) with 20 strikeouts and eight walks. In his last start on Thursday, Lynch took the loss on the road against the Twins. He threw five innings and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out eight and walking two in the 3-2 defeat.
AT THE PLATE
Over the last five games, Minnesota has averaged 3.6 runs a game, a small drop compared to their season average of 4.3. Against left-handed pitchers like Lynch this season, the Twins have a .707 OPS. Correa is the team’s most potent producer against left-handers with a .932 OPS in 118 at-bats. Kansas City is averaging 4.0 runs per game in the last five, up slightly from 3.9 for the season. The Royals have a .670 OPS against right-handers in 2022, fourth lowest in MLB. With a .719 OPS over 407 at-bats, Bobby Witt Jr. has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Minnesota is 30-43 away from home in 2022, scoring 4.4 runs per game while allowing 4.6 runs. Kansas City has gone 35-41 at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium this season, averaging 4.0 runs per game while surrendering 5.0. In the last 10 meetings at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium, Minnesota is 6-4 with an average scoreline of 4.7-3.7.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Twins are third in the AL Central, eight games behind the division-leading Guardians. They are sixth in the Wild Card race, eight games out of third. The Royals are fourth in the AL Central, 22 games behind the Guardians.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
Minnesota Twins (-145)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
