The Minnesota Twins are the only team over .500 in the AL Central, and they're looking to win a fourth straight game when they take on the Detroit Tigers on Saturday in the Motor City.
Detroit is in third place in the division despite being 10 games below .500, a testament to just how bad the AL Central has been in 2023.
Reese Olson (0-2, 5.59 ERA) gets the ball for the Tigers in this game as he looks to rebound from back-to-back poor starts.
Minnesota has offseason acquisition Pablo Lopez (3-4, 4.40 ERA) opposing him in this matchup.
Let's dive into the odds and my best bet for Saturday's contest:
Twins vs. Tigers odds, run line and total
Twins vs. Tigers prediction and pick
The Tigers haven't been known for their offense in recent seasons, but they have been hot at the dish over the last two weeks.
Detroit ranks seventh in MLB in OPS over the last 15 days, ahead of Minnesota (17th) in that category.
That gives some value to the total, which is set at eight flat, with a rather uninspiring pitching matchup.
Let's start with Olson, who is making just his fifth start of the season.
The youngster has seen his ERA skyrocket over his last two starts, allowing 11 runs (nine earned) in 9.1 innings of work. He's fallen off a bit after two strong starts to begin his career.
I don't mind fading him here, especially since the Royals offense (28th in OPS) tagged him for six runs in his last outing.
Lopez hasn't been great either, despite having a Fielding Independent Pitching that's lower than his ERA.
This month, the Twins righty has a 5.18 ERA, allowing 23 hits in 24.1 innings of work. With Detroit's offense surging as of late, I wouldn't be shocked if the Tigers get to Lopez in this game.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
