Another busy night in the MLB awaits us on Tuesday, August 16, as we have a 15-game slate including this divisional clash, so don’t waste your time and read the best Royals vs. Twins betting pick and odds.

Kansas City and Minnesota will play the second of a three-game series at Target Field, and the Twins are -200 moneyline favorites on MyBookie Sportsbook, while the total is set at 8.5 runs. These American League Central rivals have faced ten times before this series and the Twins won six. Game 1 of this series will take place on Monday night, at the time of writing.

Royals shocked the Dodgers in a shutout win

The Kansas City Royals are enjoying their best baseball of the season after winning six of nine games prior to this series against the Twins. They won the series over the Red Sox and White Sox, and although they lost the opening two games of the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at home, the Royals conclude it with an unexpected 4-0 victory.

Brady Singer (6-4) was dominant across 6.0 innings during which he allowed just one hit with seven strikeouts and three walks. In total, the Royals let only two hits to the Dodgers. Scott Barlow earned his 19th save of the campaign, while Vinnie Pasquantino was the best on offense with two RBIs (one homer) and two runs.

Zack Greinke (4-7) will start for the 20th time this year when he meets the Twins on Tuesday. The 38-year-old right-hander has a 4.29 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and a 57/20 K/BB ratio in 98.2 innings of work.

Twins must respond in time to stay in the wildcard race

The Minnesota Twins are still alive in the wildcard race despite a weaker form of late and five defeats in the last six games against both teams from Los Angeles. Now, they are back home and will take on the Royals and Rangers in the next two series, and the Twins have to come out with wins. After winning the opening game of the series against the Angels, Minnesota lost the following two games.

The Twins drew the first blood in a 4-2 loss to the Angels as they scored two runs in the opening inning, but that was all from them offensively. Byron Buxton blasted a two-run homer as Carlos Correa scored a run, but Minnesota finished the game with only five hits. Chris Archer (2-6) lost the sixth game of the campaign after allowing three runs on four hits with five strikeouts and a walk over 4.0 innings.

Sonny Gray (6-3) is looking for his first win of August as he takes the mound for the 18th time this year. The 32-year-old righty owns a strong 3.33 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and a 79/26 K/BB ratio over 83.2 innings.

Trends:

Kansas City:

  • 2-8 in the last ten road games
  • 1-5 in the last six road games with the total set at 7.0-8.5

Minnesota:

  • 4-1 in the last five vs. American League Central opponents

Kansas City Royals vs. Minnesota Twins Pick  

Greinke didn’t play well in his two starts against the Twins this year, losing both in the process with a 6.00 ERA. On the other hand, Gray was dominant in his previous start against the Royals and registered a 1.50 ERA for the win. Kansas City is averaging just 3.88 runs per nine innings against right-handed pitchers, while Minnesota has a .250 batting average with 4.80 runs against righties. The Twins really need this win and I am backing them to get it.

Pick: Take the Twins -1.5 Run Line at +115

The Total

Although Gray allowed just one run in his last start against the Royals, we did see ten runs in total in that duel as Minnesota won 7-3. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a similar outcome on Tuesday, especially considering that Greinke is allowing .343 BA to the Twins batters in 67 at-bats throughout his career. Over is 6-1 in the last seven H2H meetings, Over is 9-4 in the Twins’ previous 13 home games with the total set at 7.0-8.5, while Over is 5-0 in Greinke’s last five road starts with the total set at 7.0-8.5.

Pick: Go Over 8.5 runs at -110