The Kansas City Royals (62-55) and Minnesota Twins (67-52) meet for a Wednesday matinee, as they close out a 3-game series in Minneapolis. First pitch at Target Field is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. ET (MLB Network). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Royals vs. Twins odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Twins lead 7-2; won 8-3 Monday, 13-3 Tuesday
Kansas City has been outscored 21-6 in dropping the 1st 2 games of this series. The Royals head into Wednesday’s series finale having lost 5 of their last 6 to Minnesota.
The Twins, who banged out 8 extra-base hits Tuesday, have notched an .841 OPS since July 31. In 9 home games over that span, Minnesota has registered a robust .919 OPS.
Royals at Twins projected starters
LHP Cole Ragans vs. Undecided
Ragans (9-7, 3.27 ERA) makes his 25th start. He has a 1.17 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9 and 10.7 K/9 through 140 1/3 IP across 24 starts.
- Last outing: Win, 6 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 7 K in 8-4 win vs. Boston Red Sox Wednesday
- Career vs. Twins: 0-2, 3.00 ERA (15 IP, 5 ER), 18 H, 6 BB, 18 K
RHP Louie Varland, a would-be returnee from Triple-A St. Paul, is a possible starter for the Twins. Varland has appeared in 7 games for the Twins, 6 as a starter. He owns a 6.46 ERA across 30 2/3 IP. The 26-year-old has logged a 4.91 ERA in 29 career games.
Who’s going yard? Here’s a breakdown of today’s best home run props with our top picks. Include the BetMGM bonus code SBWIRE to score a $1,500 first-bet offer.
Royals at Twins odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:31 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Royals -110 (bet $100 to win $110) | Twins -110 (bet $110 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Royals +1.5 (-250) | Twins -1.5 (+185)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -120 | U: +100)
Royals at Twins picks and predictions
Prediction
Twins 4, Royals 3
Moneyline
Ragans has been quite good this season, but he’s the owner of an artificially tamped-down 3.80 ERA over his last 4 starts and figures to be overrated a tad.
The Twins have been on a roll against Kansas City and are tough on lefty pitching (.759 OPS with power). Minnesota is 8-2 in its last 10 home games and 36-23 overall at Target Field.
Even with the mound question mark, MINNESOTA (-110) is the value play.
Run line/Against the spread
So much juice as to drown out any leverage here. AVOID.
Over/Under
Peg the Royals’ 4.78 runs-per-game figure as being somewhat suspect on the high side. Kansas City, which has banged out a .775 OPS at home but just a .672 mark abroad, has been aided by a .329 batting average on balls in play with runners in scoring position.
Minnesota has hit the ball well of late but does have a dodgy history against Ragans (.669 OPS per ESPN). And Ragans is backed by a rested Kansas City bullpen.
It may be worth holding out for 8.5 runs here, but the UNDER 8 (+100) is worth some partial-unit action.
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