With the season winding down and the division races heating up, the Minnesota Twins made a giant step towards securing the AL Central with their 9-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. The two AL Central rivals will play the second of a three-game series on Wednesday night.
The Twins are slight favorites in this contest at-115 on the baseball line while the over under is 8.5 runs.
The Minnesota Twins (86-58, 38-35 away) are 14-3 since August 26. Tuesday’s win gave them a seven game lead over Chicago in the division. With just 18 games remaining, it will be tough to blow that kind of a lead.
An 11-5 record against the White Sox is a big reason for the Twins’ comfortable position at the end of the season. Joe Mauer has led the charge in the meetings, batting .435 with 12 RBIs this season against Chicago. In road games with the White Sox, Mauer is 12 for 23 with four doubles and a home run.
The Chicago White Sox (79-65, 40-29 home) have faded from the playoff picture thanks in large part to a faltering offense. They have lost five of their last seven games and did not score more than three runs in any of the losses.
The pitching matchup will feature Brian Duensing (8-2, 2.02 ERA) for Minnesota and Gavin Floyd (10-12, 3.91 ERA) for Chicago. Duensing has been a great addition for the Twins, going 5-1 with a 2.18 ERA since joining the rotation in late July. Floyd has struggled against Minnesota this season, going 0-3 with a 7.41 ERA in three starts.
