Twins vs Blue Jays Prediction, Best Bets & Odds (6/9)

The Minnesota Twins may be leading the AL Central, but they are losing their grip on that lead and stand to see it take another hit tonight as they open a three-game series against the surging Toronto Blue Jays.

After being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays, the Twins (31-32, 13-18 away), who have lost five straight games, are the only division leader that enters today with a losing overall record and a losing road record.

While things are trending down for the Twins, they are trending way up for the Blue Jays (36-28, 18-11 home), who won the last three games of their four-game series with the Houston Astros and have won nine of their last 11 games.

Will Minnesota’s slide continue in the series opener in Toronto? Read on for our prediction and best bets for tonight’s Twins vs Blue Jays matchup.

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Before we offer up our picks for this matchup, let’s take a look at the odds, as well as tonight’s starting pitchers.

Minnesota Twins vs Toronto Blue Jays Odds

Moneyline

• Minnesota Twins +106
• Toronto Blue Jays -124

Over/Under

• Over 8.5 (-122)
• Under 8.5 (+100)

Run Line

• Minnesota Twins +1.5 (-182)
• Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 (+150)

Pitching Matchup for Twins vs Blue Jays

• Minnesota Twins: RHP Sonny Gray (12 starts, 4-1, 2.15 ERA)
• Toronto Blue Jays: LHP Yusei Kikuchi (12 starts, 6-2, 4.40 ERA)

Scoring Struggles Likely to Doom Twins Again

It is rather indicative of the state of the AL Central that the Twins are 7-13 in their last 20 games but still lead the division by a game and a half over the 29-33 Cleveland Guardians.

Might that lead change hands soon? It’s certainly possible. The Guardians appear to be trying to pick things up, while the Twins are going nowhere fast at the moment.

In the first month of the season, Minnesota posted a 17-12 record. Since then, they are just 14-20, and they enter their series in Toronto with five straight losses.

The big culprit? Not enough production at the plate. In their first 29 games, Minnesota scored five or more runs 12 times. That isn’t exactly anything to write home about compared to other teams, but it is better than the 12 times in 34 games that they have managed since.

In their current losing skid, the Twins have scored all of six total runs, and the numbers do not favor a turnaround in fortunes taking place tonight.

They are hitting just .214 and averaging four runs per game on the road this season, and they rank 24th in the league in runs per game on the road. And in games started by LHP, Minnesota has scored 41 runs in 11 games, an average of 3.7 runs per game.

That should be encouraging for Kikuchi. The experienced lefty can be unpredictable, but he has allowed two or fewer runs seven times in his dozen starts this season, including each of his last two starts and four of his six home starts.

Minnesota Twins vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction and Best Bets

Prediction for Twins vs Blue Jays: Blue Jays to win

Best Bets vs Twins vs Blue Jays: Blue Jays ML & Twins team total under 4 runs

Gray only took his first loss of the season in his most recent start at home against Cleveland last Saturday, and he has yet to allow more than three runs in any start this season.

But he hasn’t won since April 30 and is on a run of six straight starts without a win, and the Twins are 1-5 in those starts after going 5-1 in his first six starts.

The Blue Jays will do well to push a few runs across against Gray, but ultimately a lack of offense will trip the Twins yet again and send them to a sixth straight loss.

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