Houston Astros vs Minnesota Twins Prediction, 9/30/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs Minnesota Twins

Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Location: Target Field in Minneapolis, MN

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Astros (+140) Twins (-150)

Jorge Polanco and the Minnesota Twins (36-24, 1st in AL Central) play the Houston Astros (29-31, 2nd in AL West) at Target Field on Wednesday in Game 2 their AL Wild Card series. The Astros open this game at +140 while the Twins are priced at -150. The total has been set at 7.5. The pitchers taking the mound are Lance McCullers Jr and Jose Berrios.

Key Houston Astros Injuries

9/29/2020 Roberto Osuna RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 29
9/29/2020 Chris Devenski RP Elbow Out for the season
9/29/2020 Brad Peacock RP Shoulder Out for the season
9/29/2020 Justin Verlander SP Elbow Out for the season
9/23/2020 Rogelio Armenteros RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
9/4/2020 Austin Pruitt RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Apr 1, 2021
8/23/2020 Yordan Alvarez DH Knee Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021

Key Minnesota Twins Injuries

9/29/2020 Brent Rooker RF Forearm Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Astros have a 29-31 overall record this season. McCullers has taken the hill for 509 innings and is sitting with 565 strikeouts during his MLB career. His ERA is 3.70 (209 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.262. He has given up 444 base knocks (7.9 hits per 9 innings) with 198 walks. McCullers (32-25 win-loss mark in his career) holds a FIP of 3.33 while he has gone up against 2,138 hitters in the major leagues. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.39 and they have given up 204 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .214 against the bullpen and they've struck out 225 hitters and walked 118 batters. As a team, Houston allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 9 batters per nine innings. They are 13th in the league in team earned run average at 4.31. The Astros pitchers collectively have given up 472 base hits and 251 earned runs. They have allowed 70 home runs this season, ranking them 20th in the league. Houston as a pitching staff has walked 217 batters and struck out 526. They have walked 3.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.32 and their FIP as a unit is 4.33.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Houston is hitting .240, good for 20th in the league. The Astros hold a .408 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .312, which is good for 22nd in baseball. They rank 17th in MLB with 8.0 hits per game. Michael Brantley is hitting .300 with an on-base percentage of .364. He has 51 hits this season in 170 at bats with 22 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .476 and an OPS+ of 126. Alex Bregman is hitting .242 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .350. He has totaled 37 hits and he has driven in 22 men in 153 at bats. His OPS+ is 116 while his slugging percentage is at .451. The Astros have 478 hits, including 103 doubles and 69 home runs. Houston has walked 192 times so far this season and they have struck out 440 times as a unit. They have left 382 men on base and have a team OPS of .720. They score 4.65 runs per contest and have scored a total of 279 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Minnesota has a 36-24 overall mark this year. Berrios (48-38 career record) holds a 4.19 earned run average and has conceded 8.4 hits per nine innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.95 and he has faced 2,807 hitters so far in his career. During his MLB career, Berrios has allowed 615 hits while tallying 653 punchouts in 660 innings pitched. He has given up a total of 307 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.267 and a FIP of 4.1. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.62 and they have given up 213 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .219 against the Twins bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 266 batters and walked 80 opposing hitters. As a team, Minnesota allows 7.9 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.4 batters per nine innings. They are 4th in the league in team earned run average at 3.58. The Twins pitchers as a team have surrendered 448 base knocks and 204 earned runs this season. They have given up 62 home runs this year, which ranks 30th in Major League Baseball. Minnesota as a staff has walked 170 hitters and struck out 535 batters. They give up a walk 3 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.4 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.20 while their FIP as a staff is 3.79.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .242, good for 18th in the league. The Twins hold a .427 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .315, which is good for 20th in baseball. They rank 21st in MLB with 7.8 hits per contest. Jorge Polanco comes into this matchup batting .258 with an OBP of .304. He has 54 hits this year along with 19 RBI in 209 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .354 with an OPS+ of 82. Nelson Cruz is hitting .303 this season and he has an OBP of .397. He has collected 56 hits in 185 at bats while driving in 33 runs. He has an OPS+ of 169 and a slugging percentage of .595. The Twins as a unit have 468 base hits, including 81 doubles and 91 homers. Minnesota has walked 186 times this year and they have struck out on 528 occasions. They have had 372 men left on base and have an OPS of .743. They have scored 4.48 runs per game and totaled 269 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Astros/Twins MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Twins (-150)

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