Best YRFI Bets Today: Fade Kevin Gausman Against the Twins

With Kevin Gausman getting the starting nod, we fade him against the Minnesota Twins as their offense looks to open up the scoring early against the struggling pitcher. Before that takes place, we focus on the matchup between the San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays as the Rays lowly offense gets the benefit of playing at a more competitive level against the Padres Martin Perez.

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Toronto Blue Jays vs. Minnesota Twins - Kevin Gausman vs. Pablo Lopez (8:10 PM, EST)

Over 0.5 Run (+105) at FanDuel

With the Cleveland Guardians' lead at the top of the AL Central slowly diminishing, that has opened the door for the Minnesota Twins to overtake them for first place in the division standings. At just 3.5 games back, the Twins have an opportunity to continue to claw away at the Guardians' lead in a matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays. Every win they can get is crucial at this point of the season as the Twins currently hold on to the last wildcard spot as well.

Should the Twins want to further strengthen their position for a playoff berth, then they will need to continue to rely on their offense as they rank well above league average in Team Total Hits, RBIs, Total Runs Scored, and On Base Percentage. Especially since their pitching continues to put them in high variance situations with a low mark in Team Total Pitching ERA, forcing their offense to play flawlessly from start to finish. 

Luckily for Minnesota, their offense gets a favorable matchup against the Blue Jays Kevin Gausman as he continues to look like a shell of his former self since sustaining an injury before the start of the season. Limiting the number of opposing runners on base has been a struggle for the Blue Jays pitcher, entering Friday’s contest with an ERA of 4.10, a WHIP of 1.222, an FIP of 3.92, 142 Hits Against, and 69 Earned Runs Allowed.

On the other side of the field, the Blue Jays' lackluster offense gets the opportunity to play at a more competitive rate against the Twins' Pablo Lopez as he has struggled with limiting opposing scoring opportunities. Once listed in the top five for the AL Cy Young award, Lopez quickly fell out of contention as opposing offenses continued to score on him at an alarming rate. In 26 games played, Lopez has generated an ERA of 4.26 while conceding 136 Hits Against and 70 Earned Runs Allowed.

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San Diego Padres vs. Tampa Bay Rays - Martin Perez vs. Taj Bradley (6:50 PM, EST)

Over 0.5 Run (+104) at BetRivers

Shortly before our first YRFI kicks off, we turn our attention towards the matchup between the San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays as the Padres look to pad their lead for one of the three highly coveted wildcard spots. With the Los Angeles Dodgers continuing to grow their lead for first in the NL West, the Padres' best course of making the playoffs resides on them holding onto their wildcard spot.

Against the Tampa Bay Rays' Taj Bradley, the Padres offense will need to continue to play at a high rate as Bradley has excelled at avoiding contact by conceding just 88 Hits Against in 107.1 Innings Pitched. Fortunately for San Diego, their offense has proven to be more than capable of giving any opposing pitcher fits as they rank near the top of the board in Team Total Hits, RBIs, Total Runs Scored, and On Base Percentage.

As for the Rays, their offense has found themselves on the opposite side of the board in the same previously mentioned offensive metrics. Luckily for their offense, they are set to face off against the Padres' Martin Perez who has severely underwhelmed in his 2024 campaign. In 21 starts, Perez has generated an ERA of 4.60, a WHIP of 1.514, and FIP of 5.01. Not only has Perez struggled, but the Padres' defense also continues to regress as they currently rank 22nd in Defensive Efficiency.

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