Twins vs Athletics preview: Minnesota Heads to Oakland Looking to Start Winning Again

Oakland Will Be Without Top Base Stealer in Weekend Series with Minnesota

The MLB All-Star break couldn’t have come quickly enough for the Minnesota Twins as a three-game losing streak knocked the Twins out of first place in the National League Central Division. The Twins will be favored when it comes to the Twins vs Athletics preview as play resumes this weekend.

Oakland will be bringing out two of its top three prospects as the A’s will be able to use the rest of the season to prepare for the future since they are already more than 25 games out of the final playoff spot in the American League.

Oakland’s 12 home wins are the fewest in the major leagues. However, Minnesota is just 19-24 on the road.

Minnesota has won five of the last six meetings with Oakland. Three of those Minnesota wins were by one run.

When looking at the MLB odds today, Minnesota is priced at -240/+200, and a total of 9 -115/-105 to win the series opener.

Minnesota is 12th in the odds to win the World Series according to the MLB playoff odds. Oakland is well back at +100000 in the championship odds.

Probable Pitching Matchups

• Friday: Kenta Maeda (Twins); To Be Announced (A’s)
• Saturday: Pablo Lopes (Twins); To Be Announced (A’s)
• Sunday: Joe Ryan (Twins); To Be Announced (A’s)

Looking for Some Relief

The good news is that Minnesota’s bullpen should be well rested thanks to the break for the MLB All-Star Game. In the last game before the All-Star Game, five relief pitchers combined to allow 12 hits, four home runs and 10 runs in a 15-2 loss to Baltimore.

Minnesota’s bullpen has been pretty solid this season so that was little more than a tough day at the office as Minnesota’s bullpen ERA of 3.76 is the eighth best in the majors and the .225 opposing batting average ranks fourth. The work of the bullpen is just one of the reasons why Minnesota is favored according to the Twins vs Athletics preview.

Five of Minnesota’s last six road games finished under the total.

Time for Some Reinforcements

Oakland will be adding some new names to the batting order, beginning in this series as the A’s are calling up its No. 1 and 3 prospects with catcher/first baseman Tyler Soderstrom and second baseman Zack Gelof likely to be in the lineup this weekend.

Soderstrom, a first-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, hit .254 with 20 home runs and 59 RBIs with Triple-A Las Vegas.

Gelof, a second-round selection in 2021, is batting .304 with 21 doubles, 12 home runs, 44 RBIs, 60 runs scored, 20 stolen bases and 41 walks in 69 games with Las Vegas. Even with the addition of the two talented hitters, Oakland is listed as the underdog when it comes to the Twins vs Athletics preview.

Each of Oakland’s last five games finished over the total.

Who’s Hot

• Shintaro Fujinami, Oakland Athletics P: Fujinami has allowed four hits and no runs with eight strikeouts over 6.2 innings in his last six games.
• Edward Julien, Minnesota Twins 2B: Julien is 6-for-13 with four runs, two doubles, three home runs and four RBIs in his last five games.
• Pablo Lopez, Minnesota Twins P: Lopez has allowed seven hits and one run with 18 strikeouts in 15 innings in his last two starts.
• Brent Rooker, Oakland Athletics OF: Rooker has reached base in eight of his last nine games. He is hitting .333 with three home runs and six RBIs during that stretch.

Who’s Not

• Max Kepler, Minnesota Twins OF: Kepler is 0-for-10 with five strikeouts in his last four games.
• Sam Long, Oakland Athletics P: Long has surrendered six hits and six runs in 3.1 innings over his last four appearances.
• Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins P: Ryan is 0-2 with a 8.72 ERA and eight home runs allowed in his last three starts.
• Tyler Wade, Oakland Athletics OF: Wade is 1-for-10 in his last five games and has gone nine games without an extra-base hits.

Twins vs Athletics Injury Update

Infielders Royce Lewis, Nick Gordon and Jorge Polanco are all on the injury list with relief pitchers Brock Stewart and Caleb Thielbar also sidelined.

Oakland is without the MLB stolen base leader Esteury Ruiz and fellow outfielder Ramon Laureano while pitcher James Kaprielian is also on the injured list.

Twins vs Athletics Betting Preview

Pretty much anybody playing Oakland will be favored and that is certainly the case for the Twins.

Minnesota is throwing Maeda in the series opener and he has an ERA of 1.59 in the three starts since coming off the injured list and he looks to get Minnesota back to its winning ways. Joe Ryan is a native of nearby San Francisco and is set to pitch for the Twins in Sunday’s series opener.

The Twins are 34-24 when listed as the favorite with Oakland 25-66 as the underdog.

Minnesota has covered in 23 of its 43 road games and Oakland is just 21-23 against the spread at home.
Follow us on Twitter

Can’t get enough? Here’s more!

• Rays vs Royals Game Preview: AL-Best Rays Hope to Get Healthy Against Woeful KC
• Guardians vs Rangers Preview: Division Leaders Meet in Texas
• Astros vs Angels Betting Odds Preview: Ohtani’s Future Uncertainty
• MLB Hotshots: Second-Half Profit Picks
• Brewers vs Reds Betting Matchup: Rivals Neck-and-Neck Atop NL Central