Twins vs Rays Prediction & MLB Odds For Thursday, September 5th

Thursday’s Twins vs. Rays matchup features Pablo Lopez for Minnesota and Taj Bradley for the Rays. The game is being played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and is set to get started at 1:10 PM ET. BSSUN is televising this one, and the money line odds have the Twins as the favorite, with their payout sitting at -141. The Rays are +120.

The over/under line is currently at 7 runs, and the Rays will be looking to extend their two-game win streak, as they are 69-70. Minnesota is 75-64 and is 3rd in the AL Central. The Twins are currently on a two-game losing streak.

Betting Odds & Lines for this Game

• Spread: Twins -1.5 (+124) | Rays 1.5 (-150)
• Total: 7
• MoneyLine: Twins -141 | Rays +120

All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)

Twins vs. Rays Prediction: Moneyline

Tampa Bay cruised to a 9-4 win over the Twins in the most recent game of this series. The Rays had a huge 4th inning, scoring eight of their nine runs. As for the Twins, they scored their four runs in the 7th. Heading into the game, the Rays were the slight underdogs at +103.

Cole Sulser only went two innings for the Rays but didn’t give up a run or a hit. He finished the game with just one strikeout and allowed one walk. Tyler Alexander got the win out of the bullpen. As for the Twins, Ronny Henriquez only went one inning and gave up one hit and no earned runs.

Yandy Diaz and Jose Caballero each had two hits and two RBIs for the Rays’ offense. Taylor Walls also had a two-hit game and drove in three runs. For the Twins, Carlos Santana hit the game’s only home run and drove in two runs.

With an overall record of 75-64, the Twins are 4.5 games behind the Guardians for the AL Central lead. Minnesota is 3rd in the AL Central and has gone 28-17 against other teams in the division. The Twins have dropped two straight games, and they are losing the series vs. the Rays 1-2.

Minnesota has really struggled recently, going just 3-7 over their last 10 games. As the favorite, the Twins have gone 59-37 this season and are 16-27 as the underdog. At home, Minnesota is 39-30 compared to 36-34 on the road. The Twins have dropped two straight games on the road.

The Rays are 69-70 overall, and they trail the Orioles by 11 games for the AL East lead. Currently, they are in 4th place in the AL East, just a half-game behind the Red Sox for the 3rd spot in the division. Tampa Bay has won two straight games, and they are 4-6 over their last 10 games.

At home, the Rays are 37-37 this season and 32-33 on the road. As the underdog, Tampa Bay is 34-40 this year and 35-30 as the favorite. The Rays have dropped three straight series, with an overall series record of 21-18-5.

Twins vs. Rays Prediction: Over/Under

Minnesota Twins games have averaged 9.2 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 71-64. The over/under line for today’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays is set at 7 runs. The Twins have played in 123 games with higher over/under lines than 7 runs, which accounts for 88.5% of their games this season. When the over/under line has been set at 7 runs, the Twins have a record of 5-6 in those games.

So far this season, the Twins are averaging 4.8 runs per game, which is 9th in the league. They have been even better at home, putting up 4.9 runs per contest. Overall, they are one of the league’s top home run hitting teams, coming in 9th in the league in homers. The Twins have a team batting average of .252, which is 7th in the league.

Carlos Santana and Ryan Jeffers are tied for the team lead in home runs this season, with 20 apiece. Santana is also the team’s leader in RBIs, with 60. However, he has hit just .238 for the season and has gone 3/15 in his last five games. Byron Buxton is 2nd on the team in homers and is batting .275 for the season.

The Tampa Bay Rays have had a high-scoring season, with a combined run average of 8.2 runs per game. Their over/under record is 63-69, and the average over/under line in their games is 8 runs. When the over/under line is set at 7 runs, their record is 2-3-5. The over/under line for today’s game against the Minnesota Twins is set at 7 runs, which is lower than the average line for Rays games this season.

Yandy Diaz has been swinging a hot bat of late for the Rays, going 7/21 in his last six games with three homers. For the season, he is batting .276 with 13 home runs, which is 4th in the league. Josh Lowe is also on a nice run, hitting .367 over his last eight games and is currently on a three-game hitting streak.

Overall, the Rays are 28th in the league in scoring at 3.9 runs per game. As a team, they are batting just .231 and are near the bottom of the league in both home runs and slugging percentage. For the season, they are averaging 9 strikeouts per game, which is 25th in the league.

Twins vs. Rays Prediction: Spread

The Twins have been a solid bet on the run line this season, going 66-73 overall. They are 37-33 on the run line on the road, where they have a scoring margin of +0.2 runs per game. They have been favored in 96 games, going 43-53 on the run line in those contests.

Pablo López has been pitching well lately and will look to keep it going for the Twins today vs. the Rays. He is coming off a start in which he didn’t give up a run. In that outing vs. the Blue Jays, he went 7 2/3 innings and got the win. Looking back over his last four starts, López has given up a combined five earned runs. So far this season, he has made 27 starts, and opponents are batting .237 off him this year. López’s ERA for the season is 4.05, along with a record of 13-8.

When the Rays win, they win big, with an average run margin of +2.7 runs per game. But when they lose, they lose by an average of -3.5 runs per game. Overall, they are just under .500 against the run line at 70-69, and they have been a better bet on the run line on the road, where they are 37-28. They have been a better bet as the underdog, going 46-28 against the run line, compared to 24-41 as the favorite.

Taj Bradley gets the start for the Rays today and will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Padres. In that start, he gave up 8 earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings of work. Bradley took the loss in that outing. Before that, he had given up at least one homer in three straight starts. Bradley’s ERA for the season is 4.35, along with a record of 6-9. Opposing batters are hitting .233 off Bradley this year. Out of his 20 starts, Bradley has eight quality starts and is averaging 9.93 strikeouts per nine innings.

Twins vs. Rays Pick: Twins ML -141

Our prediction for this Twins vs. Rays matchup is to take the Twins on the money line. At -141, there is some solid value in this pick, as we have the Twins winning this one by a score of 5-4.

Looking at some potential player props, Pablo Lopez is projected to finish with six strikeouts, which would have him finishing around the middle of the league in terms of starters. As for the Rays starter, Taj Bradley, he is projected to finish with six strikeouts as well.