Thursday MLB Betting Odds, Picks, Predictions for Twins vs. Royals: Fade These Struggling Offenses in Matchup
Via Billie Weiss/Getty Images. Pictured: Carlos Correa
- The Royals are short home underdogs on Thursday afternoon against the Twins.
- With windy conditions in a pitcher's park, is there value fading these slumping offenses?
- Jules Posner breaks down the matchup and shares his best bet below.
Twins vs. Royals Odds
| Twins Odds | -120 |
| Royals Odds | +105 |
| Over/Under | 8 |
| Time | 2:10 p.m. ET |
| TV | MLB.TV |
| Odds via PointsBet. Get up-to-the-minute MLB odds here. | |
The Minnesota Twins take on the Kansas City Royals in the final game of this three-game series. After a tough start to the series, the Twins will look to avoid getting swept in this AL Central showdown.
Joe Ryan looks to be the stopper for the Twins Thursday afternoon. Ryan is coming off one of the best starts of his young career after striking out seven, walking none, and giving up only one run over six strong innings at the Boston Red Sox.
Zack Greinke gets another turn at home for the Royals, and he seems to be enjoying his return to Kansas City. He's pitched fairly well in both starts and looks to continue that trend against the Twins.
Can the Twins Turn It Around at the Plate?
The Twins head into this game with a 4-8 record, and the Carlos Correa trade deadline countdown might be in full effect if they get swept here.
Byron Buxton still hasn't played since exiting Friday's game in Boston with a knee injury, but even when he was in the lineup, the Twins offense has been fairly disappointing.
The Twins are in the bottom third of offenses in wRC+ and runs scored, and a windy day game at Kaufman Stadium does not seem like the formula for a breakout.
Maybe it's the short spring and the late signing, but Carlos Correa is really struggling this year. He's slashing .190/.277/.310 and has posted a 76 wRC+ so far in 2022. This is not the type of start he and the Twins were hoping for this season.
Additionally, Max Kepler, Miguel Sano, and Trevor Larnach are also really struggling to start the year. These collective struggles are really sucking the excitement out of what was supposed to be a promising season.
Will the Royals Finally Score at Home?
The Kansas City Royals are hanging in there at 5-5, and it's hard to say why.
The first time through their rotation, their back end starters got roughed up. This time through they had mixed results. Kris Bubic and Daniel Lynch had great bounce back starts, but Carlos Hernandez did not.
Zack Greinke and Brad Keller have been excellent both times out. Despite their efforts, the Royals are only 2-2 in those games. However, both starters kept the Royals in the game, but their bottom-five offense provided no run support for their starters.
That has been the big issue. The Royals just aren't generating offense. They are 27th in team wRC+ and 28th in runs scored. A lot of this may have to do with them playing almost all of their games this season at home in spacious and mostly frigid Kaufman Stadium. Unfortunately, they're still playing their home games there, and tomorrow is another home game.
Twins-Royals Pick
All in all, both of these offenses have been pretty bad to start the year, and this pitching matchup plus the weather may not lead to much offense.
If Ryan and Greinke both continue to pitch the way they have, the under is definitely going to be in play in Thursday's match up. It opened at 8.5, and it's already gone down to 8. It's still worth taking as long as it doesn't dip down to 7.
Pick: Under 8 -110 (Bet to 7.5)
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