Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals Prediction & Betting Tips 8/14/2024

Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals Preview

Wednesday’s matchup between the Royals and Twins gets started at 1:10 PM ET from Target Field in Minneapolis. The Twins have won two straight and are 67-52 overall, while the Royals are 65-55 and will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak.

The money line odds have the Twins at -106 compared to the Royals at -113, and the over/under line is sitting at 8 runs. Louie Varland is starting for the Twins, while the Royals are going with Cole Ragans. This game will be televised on MLBN.

Check out BetCoco for Minnesota Twins – Kansas City Royals odds

Minnesota Twins vs. Kansas City Royals Trends and Key Stats

• Over the course of their previous five away games, the Royals have recorded a 2-3 record, with a 1-4 performance on the runline.
• On the opposing side, the Twins have a 2-3 (SU) record, along with a 2-3 record in their last five home contests.
• The Royals are 7-3 in their last ten games as the favorite and 3-7 as the underdog.
• The Twins hold a 8-2 record as the favorite and a 4-6 record as the underdog.

Thanks to a three-run first inning for the Twins’ offense, they cruised to a 13-3 win over the Royals in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Twins were favored at -123 on the money line.

Minnesota’s starter, Zebby Matthews, went just five innings but gave up just two hits and two earned runs. He finished the game with five strikeouts but issued no walks. On the other side, Seth Lugo got the start for the Royals and went just four innings, giving up seven runs on nine hits.

At the plate, the Twins were led by Max Kepler, who went 3/5 with a home run and four RBIs. Jose Miranda also had a three-hit game and drove in two runs. As for the Royals, Salvador Perez hit a home run and drove in three of their four runs.

Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals Prediction

Kansas City is on the road today, looking to pick up a win vs. the Twins and close the gap on the Guardians in the AL Central. The Royals are 65-55 overall, putting them six games behind Cleveland for the division lead. So far, they have gone 25-13 in divisional games.

The Royals have dropped two straight games, and they are losing the series vs. the Twins heading into game three. So far, they are 4-6 across their last 10 games. At home, the Royals have gone 38-25 this year while sitting at 27-30 on the road.

When betting on the Royals’ run line this season, it’s been a good idea to take them as the underdog, as they are 35-24 against the run line in those games. They are also 30-27 against the run line on the road, but have failed to cover in their last four road games. Their average run differential is +0.7 runs per game, and they have a run line record of 66-54 overall.

When the Kansas City Royals play on the road, the over has been hitting at a 55-62 clip this season. Their games have had an average combined run total of 8.9, and the over has hit in seven straight games. The over/under line for today’s game against the Minnesota Twins is set at 8 runs, and the over/under record for the Royals when the line is set at 8 runs is 11-10-2. This season, 62.5% of their games have had over/under lines set higher than 8 runs.

Cole Ragans gets the start for the Royals today as he faces the Twins on the road. This year, he has made 24 starts and has a record of 9-7 with an ERA of 3.27. Ragans has turned in 16 quality starts and is coming off an outing in which he went 6 1/3 innings, giving up one earned run and picking up the win. In that outing, he gave up two homers. Looking back over his last four outings, Ragans has given up at least one homer in each start. So far, he has allowed 12 homers and is averaging 3.01 walks per nine innings.

So far this season, the Royals are averaging 4.8 runs per game, which is 9th best in the league. At home, they have been even better, putting up an average of 5.3 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting .253, which is 7th in the league, and have the 2nd fewest strikeouts in the league. Kansas City’s team on-base percentage is 11th in the league at .310.

Not only is Bobby Witt Jr. leading the Royals in home runs and RBIs, but he is also batting .347 for the season and has gone 9/23 in his last six games. Salvador Perez is also a significant power threat in the lineup, as he has 22 homers and is batting .280.

With a record of 67-52, the Twins are 2nd in the AL Central, trailing the Guardians by 3.5 games. Minnesota has gone 28-16 in divisional games this year. The Twins have won two straight games, and they are 6-4 across their last 10.

At home, the Twins are 36-23 this season and have gone 31-29 on the road. As the favorite, Minnesota is 54-31 and 13-21 as the underdog. Minnesota has an overall series record of 21-13-3 this year.

When playing at home, the Twins have a run line record of 27-32, with an average run margin of 1.0 runs per game. They have covered the run line in their last two home games and have an overall run line record of 59-60. They have been the favorite in 85 games this season, going 41-44 against the run line.

Minnesota’s games have averaged 9.3 runs per game this season, and the over/under record for the Twins is 62-53. When the over/under line has been set at 8 runs, the over has gone 8-15-4. The over has hit in two straight games for the Twins.

Right-hander Louie Varland gets the start for the Twins today as he faces off against the Royals. He has made six starts this year and has yet to pick up a win, coming in with a record of 0-4 and ERA of 6.46. Opponents have hit .313 off Varland this year, and his WHIP is currently 1.66. In his last outing, Varland went 4 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs, and he finished with a no-decision in the outing. Varland has finished with a no-decision in each of his last three outings.

Not only are the Twins one of the top home run hitting teams in the league, but they also have a strong team batting average and on-base percentage. As a team, they are averaging 4.9 runs per game, which is 6th in the league. At home, they are averaging 5.2 runs per contest, which is also 3rd in the MLB. Collectively, the Twins are batting .254, which is 6th in the league.

Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers have been two of the Twins’ top power threats this season, with Buxton having 16 homers and Jeffers at 17. Buxton has gone 2/15 with two homers over his last five games. Jeffers is also on a three-game hitting streak. Willi Castro comes into the game with a six-game hitting streak, and he is batting .259 for the season.

Our predicted final score for this Royals vs. Twins matchup is 6-5 in favor of the Twins, and with their money line sitting at -106, that is the direction we recommend going. Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Louie Varland finishing with four strikeouts, which would have him as one of the lowest strikeout totals among starting pitchers today.

As for Cole Ragans, he is projected to finish with five strikeouts, and the Royals finishing with seven hits, and they are projected to hit one home run. As for the Twins, they are projected to finish with nine hits and are also projected to hit one home run.

Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals Betting Tips

• Take the Twins on the moneyline
• The Twins are also our pick on the run line at +1.5
• Projecting a combined 11 runs, we like the over

Minnesota Twins Injury Report

Kansas City Royals Injury Report