Minnesota Twins vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction, Odds and Preview - mm/dd/yyyy

Game Time: 3:07 pm ET, Saturday, September 18, 2021

Venue:  Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON

Where to Watch:  Sportsnet

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Twins +150, Blue Jays -170; Over/Under:  10.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  NL; Over/Under NL runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  NL; Over/Under NL runs

 

Minnesota Twins:  64-83 (5th place, AL Central)

Toronto Blue Jays:  82-64 (2nd place, AL East)

 

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Minnesota Twins:  4-6 last 10

Toronto Blue Jays:  8-2 last 10

 

 

 

The Twins are coming into this matchup with just 1 win in their last 5 games. This is the 2nd game of a three-game series against the Blue Jays with the series opener on Friday night still to be played, the result pending. They lost their series finale against the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday 12-3 and had Thursday night off as a rest day. Michael Pineda is getting the nod for Friday's game while rookie pitcher Bailey Ober will be the starting pitcher on the mound for this game on Saturday. Ober is 2-2 with a 4.12 ERA this season. The team has lost just 2 games in their last 8 when he has started. In his last start, he allowed 3 ER, 1 being a HR, and 0 BB with 6 Ks on 5 hits through 4.1 IP against the Kansas City Royals last Sunday. This will be his first time ever facing the Blue Jays lineup in his career and this could not be a worse time for him to face them as they have been on a tear recently. The Twins' offense has scored 15 runs in their last 4 games averaging almost 4 runs scored per game in that span. They have allowed 24 runs against them in that same span averaging 6 runs allowed per game.

 

The Blue Jays are coming into this game after winning 6 of their last 7 games. They won their four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles and then followed that up by winning their three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. They won the series finale of that one 6-3 on Wednesday, getting Thursday as a rest day. Friday's series opener against the Twins will see Hyun Jin Ryu as the starter while Steven Matz will be starting for this game on Saturday. Matz is 12-7 with a 3.87 ERA this season. The team has won their last 3 games when he has started, Matz being credited with 2 of those wins along with 1 no-decision. In his last start, he allowed 5 ER, 2 of them being homers, and 2 BB with 6 strikeouts on 6 hits through 6 innings of work against the Baltimore Orioles last weekend. This will be his first time facing the Twins' lineup this season. The Jays' offense has scored 58 runs in their last 6 games averaging over 9 runs scored per game in that span. These batters have been hot. They have also allowed 25 runs against them in that same span averaging allowing a little over 4 runs per game. 

 

The Twins are in a bit of a slump right now after that Cleveland series and they really have nothing to play for except spoiling for the rest of the season. The Jays have been winning a lot recently and they have scored an unimaginable amount of runs in a short period of time as the season winds down. They are looking to maintain their wildcard position as they are tied with the Boston Red Sox and sit with a 0.5 game lead over the New York Yankees. The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners are also just a few games out. The Jays’ bullpen and relievers have also been playing really well in recent games. They are playing like a team that wants to be in the postseason and it is hard to step in front of this train right now. The only bet to make here is on the Blue Jays to win this game.

 

Twins Blue Jays Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, September 18, 2021 (3:07 pm ET start time) is Blue Jays 7 Twins 2.

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Minnesota Twins: 64-83 (-28.5 units) on the money line in all games. 50-56 (-13.3 units) on the money line when the total is 8.5 to 10.

Toronto Blue Jays: 25-8 (+9.8 units) on the money line as a favorite of -175 to -250. 50-47 (-13.7 units) on the money line when the total is 8.5 to 10.

 

 

Minnesota Twins:  M. Garver (C) Late Sept - Back injury. A. Simmons (SS) Out indefinitely - Personal. J. Ryan (SP) Ques Tues - Wrist injury.

Toronto Blue Jays:  J. Berrios (SP) Prob Sun - Abdominal injury. A. Kay (RP) Out indefinitely - Illness. C. Biggio (2B) Out indefinitely - Elbow injury.

 

 

Minnesota Twins: Jorge Polanco is one player to watch in this game. He leads his team in hits, home runs, RBI, and stolen bases. If they are to win this game he will likely be a big part of that offense so look for him to make a big impact at the plate.

 

Toronto Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is one player to watch in this one. He leads his team in batting average, home runs, hits and in RBI. He leads the league in home runs as well. The Jays have been hot and he is a big reason why so look for him to make some big hits in this game.

 

"We know that's happening, but he's showing enough in these starts to know that there's something there. Have we fixed all the bugs at this point and worked through everything? No. We still have some work to do with Griff, but I think we're going to get there." - Rocco Baldelli on the performance of Griffin Jax in their last game.

 

"We're showing everybody who we are" - Bo Bichette on the way the Jays are playing right now.

 

 

 

 

L. Arraez 3B

B. Buxton CF

J. Polanco 2B

J. Donaldson DH

M. Kepler RF

M. Sano 1B

N. Gordon SS

R. Jeffers C

J. Cave LF

 

G. Springer DH

M. Semien 2B

V. Guerrero Jr. 1B

B. Bichette SS

T. Hernandez RF

A. Kirk C

L. Gurriel Jr. LF

R. Grichuk CF

J. Lamb 3B

 

 

Batting Average:  L. Arraez (.288)

Hits:  Jorge Polanco (147)

Home Runs:  Jorge Polanco (30)

RBI:  Jorge Polanco (88)

Stolen Bases:  Jorge Polanco (10)

Wins:  Kenta Maeda (6)

Saves:  A. Colome (14)

ERA: Luke Farrell (1.31)

 

Batting Average:  V. Guerrero Jr. (.317)

Hits:  V. Guerrero Jr. (173)

Home Runs:  V. Guerrero Jr. (45)

RBI:  V. Guerrero Jr. (103)

Stolen Bases:  B. Bichette (22)

Wins:  H. Ryu (13)

Saves:  J. Romano (18)

ERA:  D. Phelps (0.87)

 

Managers:

Minnesota Twins: Rocco Baldelli (3rd season)

Toronto Blue Jays: Charlie Montoyo (3rd season)

 

68 degrees F partly cloudy, 57% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 11 mph wind speeds S.