Monday, March 20, 2017

Florida Auto Exchange Stadium

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

Probable Pitchers: Tyler Duffey vs. Francisco Liriano

The Minnesota Twins head to Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on Monday, March 20, 2017 to take on the Toronto Blue Jays in a Spring Training game. The probable pitchers are Tyler Duffey for the Twins and Francisco Liriano for the Blue Jays.

The opening line for this matchup has Minnesota at +120 and Toronto at -140. The Twins had a 95-59-8 over/under record and a 83-79-0 run line mark last year, meaning they covered 51% of the time. The Blue Jays were 79-83-0 against the run line and had a 63-93-6 over/under record. They covered the spread 49% of the time.

The Twins had a 59-103 record in 2016, including 29-52 away from home. Starting pitcher Tyler Duffey had a 9-12 record with an ERA of 6.43 and a WHIP of 1.50. He had 114 strikeouts over his 133 innings pitched and he gave up 167 hits last season. He allowed 11.3 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 4.73. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 4.63 and they gave up 613 base hits on the year. Teams hit .271 against the bullpen while being struck out 536 times and walking 198 times last season. As a team, Minnesota allowed 10.09 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.43 batters per nine innings. They were 29th in the league in team earned run average at 5.08. The Twins pitchers collectively gave up 1,617 base hits and 814 earned runs. They allowed 221 home runs last season and they allowed 1.4 homers per nine innings as a staff. Minnesota as a pitching staff walked 479 batters and struck out 1,191. They walked 3 men per 9 innings while striking out 7.4 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.45 and their FIP as a unit was 4.57.

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As a team Minnesota batted .251, good for 21st in the league while putting together a .251 average away from home. The Twins held a .421 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .316 which was good for 22nd in baseball. They ranked 17th in baseball with 8.7 hits per game. Brian Dozier is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .268 with an on-base percentage of .340. He had 165 hits last season along with 104 runs scored and 99 runs batted in. He struck out 138 times and walked 61 times. Joe Mauer hit .261 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .363. He totaled 129 hits while scoring 68 runs and he drove in 49. He walked 79 times and struck out on 93 occasions. The Twins had 1,409 hits, including 288 doubles and 200 home runs. They stole 91 bases and were thrown out stealing 32 times. Minnesota walked 513 times last season and they struck out 1,426 times as a unit. They left 1,124 men on base and had a team OPS of .738. They scored 4.46 runs per contest and scored a total of 722 runs last year.

Toronto had a 46-35 home record and a 89-73 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 4.69, Francisco Liriano had a 8-13 record and a 1.49 WHIP last season. He had 168 strikeouts over the 163 innings he pitched during which he gave up 157 hits. He allowed 8.7 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 4.89. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 4.11 and they gave up 452 base hits on the year. Teams hit .249 against the Blue Jays bullpen while being struck out 472 times and walking 136 times last season. As a team, Toronto allowed 8.26 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.1 batters per nine innings. They were 6th in the league in team earned run average at 3.78. The Blue Jays pitchers as a team surrendered 1,340 base knocks and 613 earned runs last season. They gave up 183 home runs last year and they gave up 1.1 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Toronto as a staff walked 461 hitters and struck out 1,314. They gave up a walk 2.8 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8.1 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.23 while their FIP as a staff was 4.05.

As a team, they batted .248, good for 23rd in the league while putting together a .260 average at home. The Blue Jays held a .426 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .330 which was good for 6th in baseball. They ranked 24th in baseball with 8.38 hits per contest. Josh Donaldson comes into this matchup after batting .284 with an OBP of .404. He had 164 hits last year along with 122 runs scored and 99 RBI. He struck out 119 times and walked on 109 occasions. Justin Smoak hit .217 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .314. He collected 65 hits while scoring 33 runs and driving in 34. He earned a walk 40 times and punched out 112 times. The Blue Jays as a unit had 1,358 base hits, including 276 doubles and 221 homers. They had 54 stolen bases and were thrown out 24 times. Toronto as a team walked 632 times last year and they struck out 1,362 times. They had 1,120 men left on base and had an OPS of .755. They scored 4.69 runs per game and totaled 759 runs last season.

Minnesota Twins Betting Trends

The Minnesota Twins were 95-59-8 against the over/under last season

The Minnesota Twins were 83-79-0 against the run line last season

Toronto Blue Jays Betting Trends

The Toronto Blue Jays were 63-93-6 against the over/under last season

The Toronto Blue Jays were 79-83-0 against the run line last season

Injuries to Watch

Minnesota Twins

03/11/17 P Trevor May Arm out indefinitely

Toronto Blue Jays

No key injuries to report

Josh's Pick: Take the Blue Jays -140

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