The Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins begin a crucial three-game series Friday night in Kansas City. The two teams are battling for second place behind the leading Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central Division. Both teams are currently second and third in the AL wild card race. Friday night’s pitching duel will pit the Twins’ rookie right-hander Zebby Matthews (1-2, 7.41) against the Royals’ left-hander Cole Ragans (10-9, 3.46). First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. EST.
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Minnesota goes with Matthews
The Minnesota Twins head to Kansas City with a narrow half-game lead over the Royals in the AL Central Division and the AL Wildcard. The Twins avoided a sweep by the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa by earning a narrow 4-3 victory on Thursday afternoon. Starter Pablo Lopez struck out nine players and allowed three runs in 6.2 innings pitched. Home runs by Edouard Julien and Matt Wallner gave the Twins a 4-0 lead after three innings.
The Twins will use rookie right-hander Zebby Matthews in the first game of the series this weekend. Matthews has made four starts this season with a record of 1-2 and a 7.41 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. He has allowed 23 hits in 17 innings while allowing just two walks and recording 18 strikeouts. Matthews has allowed five home runs in his four starts this season. In his last start, Matthews pitched brilliantly with 10 hits and nine runs, including three home runs, in a 15-0 loss to the Blue Jays.
Major injuries: SP Joe Ryan, RP Kody Funderburk and LF Alex Kiriloff are out.
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Royals rely on Ragans
The Kansas City Royals picked a bad time to start a tailspin, having lost seven straight games over the past week and a half. With a win on Wednesday night, the Royals avoided a sweep by the first-place Guardians. Tommy Pham, recently claimed off waivers, hit a home run and Seth Lugo went seven innings, allowing just four hits and one run to earn his 15th win of the season.
The Royals hope to snap a winning streak to get back on track when they welcome the Twins to town this weekend. They will rely on left-hander Cole Ragans in the series opener. Ragans is 10-9 in 28 starts, including 17 quality starts. He has allowed 132 hits, 197 batters strikeouts and 56 walks in 161.1 innings. Ragans has allowed 14 home runs this season. In his most recent start, Ragans pitched five innings and allowed four hits and five runs while recording 10 strikeouts in a 5-2 loss to the Astros. He has a career ERA of 2.45 against the Twins in five career appearances.
Major Injuries: RP Josh Taylor, RP John Schreiber, RP Christian Chamberlain and RP Dan Altavilla are out.
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Best bets for Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals
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Insider status:
Evaluation:
Despite their recent struggles, the Royals should have a clear advantage in Game 1 of this series. Ragans has been solid against the Twins in his short career as a starter, with a 2.45 ERA in five appearances. He has been the rock of the Royals’ rotation along with Lugo. The Twins will need to rely on Matthews at this spot, and the young player has an ERA over seven in his four starts this season. The Twins have also lost three of his four starts this year. The Royals have won three of Ragan’s last five starts, and he will come in deeper than Matthews in this game, leaving it to a rested Royals bullpen after having Thursday off. The Royals have been resilient all year, and this is another spot where they can show their resilience.
Take the Royals with the run line.
Forecast: Royals -1.5
Total selection for the whole game
Insider status:
Evaluation:
Through the first 10 games of this season’s series, the two teams are tied at 5-5. However, they have exceeded the point total in three of the last four games. The Twins have exceeded the point total in two of Matthews’ last three starts. The Twins have also exceeded the point total in three of their last five games heading into Thursday afternoon’s series finale in Tampa. The Royals are 10th in the league overall in runs per game and third in MLB in runs per home game. They will look to put up a good point total against the Twins’ rookie on Friday night.
Take the over.
Forecast: Over
