Twins vs Yankees Odds, Picks and Probable Pitchers (August 21)
By Robert Duff in MLB Baseball
Published:
- The New York Yankees are solid -235 home favorites over the Minnesota Twins in a Saturday afternoon MLB game
- It’s a battle of aces as Gerrit Cole goes for the Yanks and Kenta Maeda for the Twins
- The Yankees are baseball’s hottest team with eight successive victories
If you leave it, then the wins will come. That could be the mantra of the New York Yankees (71-52, 38-25 home) as they face the Minnesota Twins (59-68, 24-36 away) on Saturday afternoon.
Since they were beaten 9-8 by the Chicago White Sox in an Iowa cornfield in the MLB Field of Dreams game, the Bronx Bombers have been the bomb. The Yanks have won eight games in a row.
Minnesota can’t say the same. Losing the first two games of this four-game set to the Yankees, the Twins are 1-3 over their last four games.
Sending ace and AL Cy Young Award favorite Gerrit Cole to the mound Saturday, New York is a solid -235 betting choice. The Yankees are 35-24 as a home favorite this season.
Twins vs Yankees Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Twins | +190 | +1.5 (-105) | O 9 (-105) |
| New York Yankees | -235 | -1.5 (-115) | U 9 (-115) |
Odds as of August 20th at DraftKings.
First pitch on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium is 1:05pm ET. Cloudy skies, 10 mph wind and a temperature of 85 degrees are the call in the forecast.
Maeda vs Cole
| 6-4 | Record | 11-6 |
| 4.41 | ERA | 3.04 |
| 3.74 | xERA | 2.92 |
| 1.30 | WHIP | 0.97 |
| 3.48 | SO/W Ratio | 6.38 |
A year after posting an AL-leading 0.75 WHIP, Maeda shows a career high of 1.30 in the same category. The 2020 AL Cy Young Award runner-up has seen his strikeouts/walks ratio dip from 8.00 to 3.48.
https://twitter.com/AaronGleeman/status/1426731998131937283?s=20
The right-hander has looked more like himself of late. Maeda has won two starts in a row and posted a 2.45 ERA over that span. He’s lost just one of his last eight starts since July 4.
This will be Maeda’s first time facing the Yankees this season. In fact, it will be his first time facing them and pitching at Yankee Stadium in his big-league career. He’s 4-1 with a 4.81 ERA in nine day starts this season.
Right-hander Cole leads the AL in strikeouts (185), complete games (two), FIP (2.84), WHIP (0.87), strikeouts/walks ratio (6.38) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.2). He rates among the top 5% in the AL in strikeout percentage (34.7). Cole is situated in the league’s top 10% in xERA (2.92), xwOBA (.264) and wOBA (.258).
Gerrit Cole, Unfair 100mph Fastball. 😯 pic.twitter.com/eBTu88W5JF
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 16, 2021
The Cole train is just 3-3 over his past six starts and 1-2 in his last three outings. He’s 5-2 with a 2.60 ERA at Yankee Stadium this season.
Cole is 1-4 with a 5.48 ERA in day games this season. He’s 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and nine strikeouts in six innings in his only career start against the Twins.
Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers
| Twins Batters | Batting Average vs Cole | Yankees Batters | Batting Average vs Maeda |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Arraez | .000 | Joey Gallo | .500 |
| Willians Astudillo | .000 | Brett Gardner | .000 |
| Jake Cave | .000 | Kyle Higashioka | .000 |
| Josh Donaldson | .000 | Aaron Judge | .000 |
| Mitch Garver | .000 | DJ Lemahieu | .238 |
| Nick Gordon | .000 | Rougned Odor | 1.000 |
| Ryan Jeffers | .000 | Andrew Rizzo | .125 |
| Marx Kepler | .500 | Gary Sanchez | .000 |
| Jorge Polanco | .200 | Giancarlo Stanton | .000 |
| Rob Refsnyder | .000 | Andrew Velazquez | .000 |
| Brent Rooker | .000 | Luke Voit | .333 |
| Andrelton Simmons | .412 | Tyler Wade | .000 |
Yankees outfielder Joey Gallo is 3-for-6 (.500) with a home run and two RBI off of Maeda. Second baseman Rougned Odor is 1-for-1 (1.000). Neither first baseman Anthoy Rizzo (1-for-8, .125) or infielder DJ LeMahieu (5-for-21, .238) hit Maeda especially well. However, both have homered and driven in two runs off of the Twins starter.
"I just ordered a shirt that says 'Italian Stallion' on it, with me and Rizzo. I thought it was too good to pass up. It's been pretty cool to see all the memes and whatnot." – Joey Gallo 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/J1sZ9w9j7a
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 17, 2021
Minnesota rightfielder Max Kepler is 1-for-2 (.500) when facing Cole. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons is 7-for-17 (.412) off Cole. Second baseman Jorge Polano is just 1-for-5 (.200) but that one hit was a solo homer.
Twins vs Yankees Pick
The Yankees are regaining their health and it shows on the scoreboard and in the standings. They are 16-4 in August and 30-13 since July 1.
Friday’s 10-2 verdict over the Twins marked the ninth time in 12 games that New York has scored at least five runs. They’ve allowed three runs or less in six of those games.
Over the past 40 games, Yankees starting pitchers show a 2.94 ERA. They’ve allowed three runs or less in 35 games and two runs or less 29 times in that span.
A win Saturday would clinch for New York an eighth successive series victory. However, Cole hasn’t been himself of late and has struggled all season in day games.
Meanwhile, Maeda seems to be finding his game.
Pick: Minnesota Twins (+190).
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
