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Sportsbook.ag Line: Detroit +135, Minnesota -150, Total: 8.5
The suddenly hot Minnesota Twins host a struggling Tigers team on Monday night.
The Tigers played two games against the Indians on Sunday and split the set, which gave them a loss in the three-game series. Detroit has now lost three of its past four games and seven of its past 11 as well. The Twins, meanwhile, defeated the White Sox 7-0 on Sunday and have now won two consecutive series and seven of their past 12 games.
On the season, the Tigers have gotten the best of this head-to-head matchup with eight wins in 13 games. Minnesota, however, is 4-3 when playing as the host in this season.
On the mound in this game will be LHP Kyle Lobstein (3-7, 5.31 ERA, 28 K) for Detroit and RHP Tyler Duffey (2-1, 4.17 ERA, 30 K) for Minnesota. The Tigers are 17-12 against the money line with an on base percentage of .310 or worse over their last 20 games this season. The Twins, meanwhile, are 8-1 against the money line in home games after batting .225 or worse over a 15-game span on the year.
SS Jose Iglesias (Finger) is out indefinitely for Detroit and Minnesota will be entering this contest at close to full strength.
The Tigers have not been playing well as of late and will now be sending the struggling Kyle Lobstein out to the mound for a meeting with the Twins. Lobstein has been lit up in his past two starts, pitching a total of 9.3 innings and allowing 15 hits and 11 earned runs. He has allowed three homers and walked four batters over the past two games and will need to settle in and deliver something close to a quality start if his team is going to win on Monday. The last time he faced Minnesota, Lobstein allowed six earned runs on seven hits in just 2.1 innings of work.
Probably the biggest reason that this Tigers team is struggling is that 3B Miguel Cabrera (.341, 17 HR, 68 RBI) has not been hitting well. Cabrera is just 4-for-31 in the past eight games and he has not picked up a single RBI in that span. It has been 16 games since he last hit a homer and he must break out of his slump if this team is going to start winning games.
Luckily for Detroit, OF J.D. Martinez (.285, 36 HR, 94 RBI) came through on Sunday. Martinez was 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI in the game. The Tigers will need him to produce at the plate if Cabrera can’t get himself going soon.
The Twins are playing very well recently and they’ll be sending Tyler Duffey to the mound on Monday. Duffey has pitched well for Minnesota over the past few weeks, allowing two earned runs in 6.2 innings of work in his last outing on Sep. 6. He struck out eight batters in that game and walked just one. Over his past five starts, Duffey has pitched 30.1 innings and allowed just nine earned runs. He’ll need to keep it up against a dangerous Detroit lineup on Monday.
Offensively, Minnesota was on fire on Sunday. The team racked up 15 hits and scored seven runs in its win over the White Sox. OF Torii Hunter (.238, 19 HR, 69 RBI) was the guy that came through for the Twins, going 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBI in the game. Hunter now has four multi-hit games in his past six contests. He’ll be looking to keep that hot streak up on Monday.
1B Joe Mauer (.268, 8 HR, 60 RBI) and DH Miguel Sano (.275, 16 HR, 44 RBI) will also be counted on to drive in runs for this Twins team. Mauer is just 2-for-10 over the past three games and must snap out of his slump, as he is this team’s most consistent hitter. Sano, meanwhile, can really use a long ball in this one. He’s hit two in the past 10 games and is this team’s best source of power by far.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
