Rays vs Twins Prediction and Betting Preview | Monday May 26
Hitting conditions should be favorable for Monday’s Rays vs Twins contest in Tampa with temperatures around 90-degrees at first pitch. Neither starting pitcher generates a high volume of strikeouts, so expect to see plenty of balls in play at Steinbrenner Field in this American League matchup.
Rays vs Twins Betting Preview
| Time | 7:05pm ET / 4:05pm PT |
| Stadium | Steinbrenner Field in Tampa |
| Weather | Upper 80s with a Light Breeze Blowing Out to Center |
| MoneyLine | Tampa Bay -120 / Minnesota EV |
| Total | 9 Runs (o -105 / u -115) |
| RunLine | Tampa Bay -1.5 (+165) / Minnesota +1.5 (-190) |
Minnesota Twins
We have some concerns about what the Twins’ bullpen is going to look like after Chris Paddack departs. Minnesota just finished a three-game series with the Royals where all three games were either decided on a walk-off in the ninth inning or in extra innings. Twins’ closer Jhoan Duran has pitched on back-to-back days, so he is likely unavailable on Monday.
It’s a relatively-small sample size, but Minnesota’s lineup has performed well against Tampa’s Zack Littell in the past. Minnesota’s current roster is hitting .279 in 48 plate appearances against Littell with a .404 weighted on-base average. Royce Lewis is 2-for-7 with a double and a home run. Willi Castro and Ty France have each gone 2-for-6 with a home run.
Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa has already played 34 home games this season as Major League Baseball tried to schedule as many home games as possible at the ends of the season to avoid playing too many games outside in South Florida in July and August. Tampa has scored a total of 33 runs in the first six games of this nine-game homestand (5.5 runs per game).
No one on the Rays’ current roster has faced Minnesota’s Chris Paddack before, but Tampa’s lineup should enjoy success in this matchup. When playing at home against right-hand pitching, the Rays are hitting .262 (No. 8 in MLB) with a 119 wRC+ (No. 5).
Rays vs Twins Prediction
Both Paddack and Littell enter Monday’s contest in the bottom-20th percentile among all pitchers in strikeout rate and whiff rate this season. If you can’t generate strikeouts, you’re going to be playing with fire at a small ballpark on a 90-degree night.
Littell has allowed 14 home runs in ten starts this season. He enters Monday in the bottom-20th percentile among pitchers in expected ERA, expected batting average allowed and barrel rate. His hard-hit rate has jumped from 39.2-percent last year to 43.9-percent this year. His strikeout rate has dropped from 21.5-percent last year to 15.9-percent this year. Littell’s barrel rate has jumped from 9.6-percent last year to 14.3-percent this year. His expected weighted on-base average (.356) is 20 points higher than his actual weighted on-base average (.335).
OVER 9 RUNS (-105)
Daily MLB Stat Sheet
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