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AL Wild Card Series Game 1: Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins odds, picks and predictions

Published

1 year ago

October 3, 2023

AL Wild Card Series Game 1: Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins odds, picks and predictions

The Toronto Blue Jays (89-73) and Minnesota Twins (87-75) meet Tuesday to open a best-of-3 AL Wild Card Series. First pitch at Target Field in Minneapolis is slated for 4:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Blue Jays vs. Twins odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Season series: Tied 3-3

Toronto scuffled over the last few weeks of the season, going 10-19 with a .684 OPS since Sept. 11. Toronto sports a lesser lineup than perhaps what was expected, but the Jays have been above average with their pitching and defense. Their 4.14 runs per game (RPG) rank 6th in the league.

The Twins re tied for MLB’s 3rd-best runs-allowed figure (4.07 RPG). The AL Central champions edged the Jays 28-26 in scoring over their 3-3 split during the season.

Blue Jays at Twins projected starters

RHP Kevin Gausman vs. RHP Pablo Lopez

Gausman made 31starts in the regular season. He was 12-9 with a 3.16 ERA, while logging a 1.18 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9 and 11.5 K/9 in 185 innings.

Last start: No-decision, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K in 2-0 home loss vs. the New York Yankees last Tuesday; pitched 13 shutout innings over his last 2 regular-season starts
2023 road stats: 7-5, 3.27 ERA in 85 1/3 IP across 15 starts; owns a 2.60 ERA, 1.10 WHIP on the road over the last 3 season
Career vs. Twins: 1-4, 6.35 ERA in 56 2/3 IP (2014-23)
Owns a 4.57 ERA in 21 2/3 career postseason innings

Lopez made 32 starts in the regular season, going 11-8 with a 3.66 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 2.2 BB/9 and 10.9 K/9 in 194 innings.

Last start: No-decision, 4 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K in 6-4 home win vs. the Oakland Athletics Wednesday
2023 home stats: 5-3, 4.21 ERA in 98 1/3 IP
Career vs. Blue Jays: 1-0, 5.59 ERA in 9 2/3 IP
In 5 career postseason IP: 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 7 K

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Blue Jays at Twins odds

Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines updated at 1:03 a.m. ET.

Moneyline: Blue Jays +104 (bet $100 to win $104) | Twins -122 (bet $122 to win $100)
Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Blue Jays +1.5 (-220) | Twins -1.5 (+180)
Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

Blue Jays at Twins picks and predictions

Prediction

Twins 4, Blue Jays 3

Moneyline

Minnesota is 8-3 over its last 11 games and 4-2 across its last 4 at home.

Gausman has a solid ERA of late (2.86 over last 6 starts), but that figure is buoyed by some kind rates around the margins. The veteran right-hander has not been hit hard lately, but he is prone to more fly balls and spells of more frequent barreled contact.

The Twins have averaged 4.80 runs per game while allowing 4.07. Their overall record has been hurt by an inexplicable 19-27 mark in 1-run games. But Minnesota has had the better bullpen over the last month or so.

The price here offers value: BACK MINNESOTA (+104).

Run line/Against the spread

Look to the Moneyline for slightly better value in this one: PASS.

Over/Under

The season analytic numbers for these clubs reveal they have both slightly overperformed in run prevention while underperforming at the plate. In a vacuum, or especially with some starting pitching slated toward an Over, that would be the lean.

That’s not the case for Game 1 with this particular pair of starters.

PASS.

For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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Minnesota

NEXT Weather: 10 p.m. report for Minnesota from Dec. 21, 2024

Published

14 minutes ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

NEXT Weather: 10 p.m. report for Minnesota from Dec. 21, 2024 – CBS Minnesota

Watch CBS News

Saturday was our last cold day for a while, with a warm-up arriving Sunday and lasting through the holiday week.

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Minnesota

Party City to shutter hundreds of stores across the U.S., including 10 in Minnesota

Published

8 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Party City to shutter hundreds of stores across the U.S., including 10 in Minnesota

Hit by headwinds including inflationary pressures, competition from e-commerce sites, big box retailers, pop-up stores and even a helium shortage, Party City is going out of business.

The closing of the nation’s largest party supply store, reported by CNN on Friday, is expected to shutter more than 700 retail stores in North America by the end of February, including 10 stores in Minnesota.

According to the company’s website, Party City has outlets in Apple Valley, Bloomington, Chanhassen, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Maplewood, Roseville, St. Cloud, St. Louis Park and Woodbury. Employees contacted at stores in Roseville, St. Cloud and Apple Valley said they had heard of the closing but could not comment.

Party City, which sells everything from balloons, costumes and birthday banners to gender reveal props and New Year’s Eve tiaras, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2023. That resulted in the cancellation of nearly $1 billion in debt.

The 38-year-old New Jersey-based company exited bankruptcy after naming a new CEO, Barry Litwin, in August. But the company was still contending with more than $800 million in debt, according to CNN. The New York Times reported the company employed more than 16,000 people.

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Report: Falcons likely to cut former Vikings QB Kirk Cousins

Published

16 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Report: Falcons likely to cut former Vikings QB Kirk Cousins

The Atlanta Falcons are likely to cut Kirk Cousins before mid-March, less than a year after he left the Minnesota Vikings to head to Georgia.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that “executives across the leave” believe Cousins’ exit from Atlanta will happen before a $10 million roster bonus is due on Mar. 17, with Schefter citing “multiple sources” who say a split is now inevitable.

It comes in the week that Falcons made the decision to bench Cousins in favor of rookie QB Michael Penix, Jr., whom the Falcons drafted at No. 8 in March shortly after signing Cousins to a four-year, $160 million deal.

Given Cousins has a no-trade clause in his Falcons contract, Schefter notes that it’s unlikely Atlanta will be able to find a suitable deal to trade Cousins, meaning he’s likely to hit the free agent market for the second year running.

Cousins entered the season still recovering from the Achilles injury that ended his final year with the Vikings, and has struggled under center, with the tipping point for Atlanta coming after a 41-21 loss in Minnesota to the Vikings and a 15-9 win over the struggling Las Vegas Raiders, where Cousins threw for only 112 yards, one TD and one INT.

He still showed flashes of his old brilliance however, namely in the 31-26 win over the Tampa Bay Bucaneers in late October, when he threw for 276 yards and four TDs.

After moving on from Cousins, the Vikings signed Sam Darnold for a one-year, $10 million deal and drafted JJ McCarthy with the 10th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.

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