Twins vs Yankees: Two First-Place Teams Battle It Out

• The Minnesota Twins have won their last two games.

• The New York Yankees have won four of their last five games.

• These Yankees were 5-1 against the Twins last season.

Minnesota Twins vs New York Yankees Odds

Odds Taken from FanDuel Sportsbook.

Minnesota Twins vs New York Yankees Picks

New York Yankees beat Minnesota Twins 4-2.

Yankees cover the spread, Under 8.5 runs.

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Twins vs Yankees - Moneyline Analysis

The Minnesota Twins will travel to the Bronx for the first game of a four-game series against the New York Yankees. The Yankees had plenty of success against the Twins last season, winning five of six games.

The Twins suffered a major blow two days ago when Joey Gallo when placed on the injured list. Gallo was not dominating at the plate, but he was hitting well. Before going down with injury, he was hitting .278 with three home runs and seven RBIs in seven games. His absence will leave a big hole in the Minnesota outfield. Outside of Gallo, the Twins are seeing strong performances from Bryon Buxton and Trevor Larnach. Buxton is hitting. 302 with five RBIs, and Larnach is hitting .283 with eight RBIs. Overall, the Mets lineup is not excelling, but they are hitting well enough to win most of their games.

Joe Ryan will get the start for the Twins. Ryan is coming off a strong season that saw him go 13-8 with a 355 ERA. The 26-year-old has taken last year’s success into this season. Ryan is 2-0 through his first two starts and has given up five earned runs in 12 innings. He is coming off a mediocre start against the Houston Astros that saw him give up four earned runs in six innings. Ryan will fare better this time out. The Yankees have a strong lineup, but are not as strong as the Astros. He will like give up three runs in five or six innings of work.

The Yankees have been hitting a lot better than the Twins. They only have a .249 team average but are averaging 5.17 runs per game. Rookie Anthony Volpe is having a tough time adjusting to the Majors, but Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, Gleyber Torres, and Frenchy Cordero are all hitting well. Frenchy Cordero is the surprise in this group. The center fielder has never played more than 84 games in a season and has never been much of a threat at the plate. This lineup is quite stacked and arguably is exceeding expectations. Judge, Stanton, and Rizzo are expected to be threats at the plate, but the others are not as dangerous. If The Yankees’ lineup stays this strong (and healthy) as the season progresses, they will be in good shape.

Jhony Brito will get the nod for the Yankees. Brito has only thrown five innings in each of his first two starts but has dominated in that time. He has only given up one total run and has an ERA of 0.90 and a WHIP of 0.80. This is incredibly impressive, especially considering that these are the first two starts of his MLB career. Brito has been a welcome addition to this Yankees’ squad and will have another successful outing in this game. He may not throw past the fifth inning, but he will stifle the Twins.

Both of these teams are playing well, but the Yankees are hitting better and have seven more home runs than the Mets. In addition, they have a home-field advantage. I would play it safe and bet on them to win.

Twins vs Yankees - Over/Under Analysis

The over/under for this game is placed at 8.5 runs. Both of these teams have been hitting well, but they also both have strong pitching staffs and bullpens. Bet on the under.

The Twins will lose this game but will put some runs up on the board before the game ends. Their lineup is not star-studded, but they will put up a few hits on Jhony Brito. As I mentioned above, Brito is a good pitcher, but he is only a rookie. It is not reasonable to expect him to have a scoreless outing. I expect the rookie to give up two runs in five or six innings. The Yankees’ bullpen will relieve him and throw three or four scoreless innings. This may sound surprising, but the Yankees have one of the best bullpens in baseball and only have a 1.88 ERA.

The Yankees will put up three runs on Joe Ryan. This is not a critique of Ryan. As good as he is, he will be facing a killer Yankees’ lineup. I expect the Yankees hitters to slow down as the season progresses, but right now, they are very hard to stop. The Yankees will also put up a run against the Twins’ bullpen. 

The final score of this game will be 4-2. Bet on the under.

Head-to-Head: Minnesota Twins vs New York Yankees

How To Watch Minnesota Twins vs New York Yankees

• What - Minnesota Twins vs New York Yankees

• Where - Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

• When - Thursday, April 13, 1:10 PM

• How to Watch - MLB.TV, MLB Extra Innings, Bally Sports Arizona Bally Sports Midwest, YES Network