Twins vs. Tigers prediction and odds for Friday, June 23 (Joey Wentz is still a lefty)

The Detroit Tigers did what they had to do this week, they took two of three from the Royals to keep hanging around in the AL Central. Now, after winning a four-game series with the Minnesota Twins last weekend, they have three more scheduled this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The first place Twins will send Kenta Maeda to the mound in Game 1 of this series and the Tigers will counter with Joey Wentz. Maeda is 0-4 in four starts with a 9.00 ERA. Wentz is somehow almost worse at 1-7 in 13 starts with a 6.82 ERA. Let’s get into the odds and maybe give a look at the total in this one. 

Twins vs. Tigers odds, run line and total

Twins vs. Tigers prediction and pick

We haven’t seen Kenta Maeda on the mound since April, so hopefully he has had enough time to get right. Really, his ERA ballooned in his last start before the long layoff when he allowed 10 runs in three innings to the Yankees, but before that his ERA was 4.15 and he still has an encouraging K/BB ratio of 14/3 in 16.0 innings of work. The numbers look awful, but Maeda might have a good start against the Tigers who have been rough offensively without Riley Greene. 

The Tigers though could hold the Twins in check with Joey Wentz. He has equally terrible numbers that are actually made worse by the more substantial sample size. The reason he might succeed has everything to do with his handedness. The Twins are 29th in baseball in OPS against lefties at .653 with just 18 home runs. Wentz isn’t a big strikeout guy, but he had nine against Minnesota which has struck out more than any other team in baseball. 

With the possibility of a healthy Maeda and the fact that Joey Wentz is still left-handed I actually really like the under in this one and it’s available at plus odds in the early market. 

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change