Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 8/23/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Sunday, August 23, 2020

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: FSN/FSKC

Odds/Point Spread: Twins (-175) Royals (+161)

Kauffman Stadium is the site where Ryan O'Hearn and the Kansas City Royals (11-15, 4th in AL Central) will play the Minnesota Twins (17-10, 1st in AL Central) on Sunday. The Royals open this game at +161 while the Twins are priced at -175. The O/U opens at 9.5. The expected starting pitchers are Kenta Maeda and Kris Bubic.

Key Minnesota Twins Injuries

8/22/2020 Zack Littell RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Aug 23
8/22/2020 Jake Odorizzi SP Abdomen Expected to be out until at least Aug 26
8/22/2020 Homer Bailey SP Biceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 29
8/20/2020 Mitch Garver C Side Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/20/2020 Josh Donaldson 3B Calf Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/20/2020 Byron Buxton CF Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/19/2020 Cody Stashak RP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 27

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

8/22/2020 Nick Heath CF Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 22
8/21/2020 Salvador Perez C Eye Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/16/2020 Jake Junis SP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/16/2020 Daniel Tillo RP Elbow Out for the season
8/15/2020 Foster Griffin RP Elbow Out for the season
8/10/2020 Franchy Cordero RF Wrist Expected to be out until at least Sep 24
8/8/2020 Mike Montgomery SP Lat Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
8/7/2020 Glenn Sparkman RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 18
7/16/2020 Kelvin Gutierrez 3B Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Twins have a 17-10 overall record this season. Maeda has taken the mound for 620 innings and is sitting with 674 K's during his career. His ERA is 3.79 (261 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.125. He has given up 514 hits (7.5 hits per 9 innings) and has had 184 walks. Maeda (50-35 career mark) sits with a FIP of 3.68 and he has gone up against 2,544 opposing batters in the major leagues. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.46 and they have given up 98 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .215 against the bullpen and they've struck out 123 hitters and walked 35 batters. As a team, Minnesota allows 7.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.8 batters per nine innings. They are 3rd in the league in team earned run average at 3.52. The Twins pitchers collectively have given up 191 base hits and 92 earned runs. They have allowed 36 home runs this season, ranking them 9th in the league. Minnesota as a pitching staff has walked 75 batters and struck out 230. They have walked 2.9 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.13 and their FIP as a unit is 4.24.

Related: Get MLB tips & picks on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Minnesota is hitting .239, good for 18th in the league. The Twins hold a .408 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .319, which is good for 17th in baseball. They rank 20th in MLB with 7.8 hits per game. Max Kepler is hitting .222 with an on-base percentage of .330. He has 20 hits this season in 90 at bats with 16 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .467 and an OPS+ of 118. Eddie Rosario is hitting .219 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .286. He has totaled 21 hits and he has driven in 19 men in 96 at bats. His OPS+ is 96 while his slugging percentage is at .438. The Twins have 210 hits, including 29 doubles and 39 home runs. Minnesota has walked 93 times so far this season and they have struck out 238 times as a unit. They have left 173 men on base and have a team OPS of .727. They score 4.74 runs per contest and have scored a total of 128 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Bubic (0-3 mark) has earned a 5.18 earned run average while allowing 8.5 hits per 9 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.38 and he has gone up against 82 opposing batters. Bubic has given up 18 hits while accumulating 19 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched. He has given up a total of 11 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.361 and being the owner of a FIP of 5.5. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.54 and they have given up 98 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .215 against the Royals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 115 batters and walked 45 opposing hitters. As a team, Kansas City allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.2 batters per nine innings. They are 8th in the league in team earned run average at 3.88. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 196 base knocks and 94 earned runs this season. They have given up 37 home runs this year, which ranks 6th in Major League Baseball. Kansas City as a staff has walked 93 hitters and struck out 222 batters. They give up a walk 3.8 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.2 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.33 while their FIP as a staff is 4.83.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .247, good for 14th in the league. The Royals hold a .414 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .305, which is good for 25th in baseball. They rank 16th in MLB with 8.0 hits per contest. Ryan O'Hearn comes into this matchup batting .232 with an OBP of .302. He has 13 hits this year along with 12 RBI in 56 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .321 with an OPS+ of 71. Jorge Soler is hitting .255 this season and he has an OBP of .336. He has collected 24 hits in 94 at bats while driving in 14 runs. He has an OPS+ of 121 and a slugging percentage of .489. The Royals as a unit have 209 base hits, including 47 doubles and 30 homers. Kansas City has walked 63 times this year and they have struck out on 228 occasions. They have had 157 men left on base and have an OPS of .719. They have scored 4 runs per game and totaled 104 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Twins (-175)

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