The Twins probably got a little lucky in defeating the Orioles last night, but I’ll happily accept that result. I’m sticking with the same matchup for the Tuesday comp, but this time I’ll be trying to bite the hand that just fed me.
ORIOLES (Gausman) @ TWINS (Gibson)
Take: ORIOLES -103
Very exciting game on Monday in the series opener between Baltimore and Minnesota. This was home run derby in spite of only six runs being scored, with Brian Dozier’s walk-off extra inning shot being the difference as the Twins came out on top.
I’m looking forward to this evening’s battle. Kyle Gibson has shown some rather dramatic improvement lately for the Twins. He was catching some good breaks early on this season, but the recent Gibson outings have been totally legit. He might well be on the verge of becoming the ace of Twins staff.
The Orioles are hoping that what they’ve seen in Kevin Gausman’s first two starts of the season are a sign of things to come. Gausman is looked upon by some as a sure thing in short spurts out of the bullpen. But the O’s want Gausman to succeed as a starting pitcher. His is a true power arm and if Gausman gets it all together, he can be a very high level big league hurler.
I don’t see much of an advantage either way here on the pitching front. Going against Gibson is no snap at this point. But Gausman has every opportunity to equal or surpass Gibson tonight.
It’s more on the team data that I’m focused on the Baltimore side tonight. The Twins can be had by hard throwing righties and even with the win last night, the Minnesota offense has not been all that productive lately. I see the Orioles having the offensive edge in this game, although it’s by no means overwhelming.
Baltimore has lose six of its last eight, so the O’s aren’t exactly sizzling right now. But the Twins have been having a really rough time stringing together good games recently. They haven’t won two in a row since mid-June, and have lost six in a row off a win. If this ends up being a battle of bullpens, I have to favor the Orioles on that count, thought the Twins relief corps has been okay of late.
I made the Orioles small chalk in this game and with the price sitting at a virtual pick ’em, I like the chances of cashing in with the Baltimore side tonight.