The Minnesota Twins entered the 2021 MLB betting season neck-and-neck with the Chicago White Sox on the futures odds to win the AL Central. With five weeks of the regular season now in the books, the Twinkies find themselves well off the pace evidenced by a +800 return should they come back and win it for the third straight season. The Oakland A’s were expected to play the role of bridesmaid to the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels in the AL West, but it’s Bob Melvin’s squad that currently owns the bragging rights with a 22-15 overall record. It’s highly possible Rocco Baldelli’s troops enter this three-game set having not won a series at online sportsbooks since taking two of three at home against Kansas City. With its staff ace on the bump in the form of Jose Berrios, it better win this game to have a shot at putting an end to that streak; especially after Oakland busted out the brooms on them in the Coliseum at the end of April!
First pitch for the late afternoon American League showdown between the Oakland Athletics and Minnesota Twins is scheduled for Saturday, May 15, 2021, at 4:05 p.m. ET from Target Field. The matchup will air live on FS1. Bet on MLB odds, totals and player props at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
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Odds Analysis
Only the Red Sox $584, Mariners $686 and Giants $758 have taken more money in for MLB bettors than the A’s $530. After logging the 3-2 win at Fenway Park in Tuesday night’s series opener, Oakland improved its road record to 8-4 and money earned to $412 when playing away from the comforts of its own ball park. Should it take another from the Red Sox through Thursday, it will have won or split each of its last three played series. Minnesota has been a wretched investment on the young season. In fact, no team has cost those attacking the moneylines on a daily basis more money than that of the AL Central’s fourth place team. In playing to a 12-21 overall record, Minnesota is already down over 12 units for $100 bettors! And it’s been real ugly at home where the team has managed just six wins through 17 tries -$735.
Probable Pitchers
Cole Irvin: The left-hander never seemed to find himself while a member of the Philadelphia Phillies pitching staff. In 2019, he went 2-1 but offered up a bloated 5.83 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. Last season was a mitigated disaster in his limited work. But a new destination looks to have woken up the former top prospect as he’s experienced a bit of a renaissance now throwing for the A’s. Through seven starts, the lefty checks in 3-4 with a 3.29 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and .239 BAA. He’s racked up 37 strikeouts and only issued six free passes through 41 total innings. He looked well on his way towards clawing over the .500 mark last time out through four innings, but then his own throwing error led to a 3-run homer. Immediately after that, he served up another one and was forced to take the loss even though he only gave up 4 hits through six innings. Minnesota’s 4-8 and averaged just 3.6 runs against lefties and this will be his first-ever appearance against the Twins.
Jose Berrios: The righty will take to his home bump determined to right the ship after putting forth a gross effort against the weak-hitting Detroit Tigers last time out. Berrios would only allow 6 hits and 2 ER through his six innings of work, but only tallied 1 K and issued a whopping 5 BB! After racking up at least 5 K and walking a total of nine batters in five of his previous six starts, the effort came as quite the surprise for those that hit his player props or started him in fantasy. After taking the no decision, Berrios enters start No. 8 the owner of a 3-2 record with a 3.49 ERA and .221 BAA. His 10.0 K/9 average is likely to improve against an A’s team that’s already swung and missed 331 times No. 20. Minnesota has won five of Berrios’s last eight home starts and did so by an average of 6.8 runs per game! That said, Berrios is 0-3 with a 4.10 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over five career starts against Oakland.
A’s vs. Twins Prediction
With Berrios going on Saturday and Kenta Maeda toeing the bump in Sunday’s finale, this is a game the homebased Twins must win in order to have a shot of winning this series. While Oakland is throwing out the bottom of its starting rotation through the first two games, it’s the Twins high end starters that get the call starting Saturday. As nice a start to the season Irvin has produced, I’m thinking he’s been getting it done with a heavy dose of smoke and mirrors. Berrios is by far the more dominant of the two starting pitchers, and that will likely be reflected in the price linemakers hang on the board for this matchup. As bad it’s been for the Twins early on, there’s still plenty of time to turn it around. Berrios could prove to be the catalyst of the metamorphosis here today, and I fully expect him to bounce back with at the very least a quality start that puts Minnesota in a position to win on both the moneyline and run-line.
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