Heading into Game 2 of this interleague series in Minnesota, the Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers are both in battles for the top spot in their respective divisions. Milwaukee with the Pirates in the NL Central and Minnesota with the Guardians in the AL Central.
Tonight, the Twins will hand the ball to Bailey Ober to make his 10th start of the season, this time against Colin Rea. Ober is 3-3 with a 2.61 ERA in his previous nine starts and Rea is also 3-3 with a 4.47 ERA in his 11 starts this season. Let's take a look at the odds for this one.
Brewers vs. Twins odds, run line and total
Brewers vs. Twins prediction and pick
Bailey Ober has been very good for the Twins this year, but the Twins are only 5-4 in his starts in large part because he doesn't go very deep into them. Ober has pitched into the seventh inning just one time and only has 51.2 innings pitched in 11 starts this year. That means it will come down to his bullpen somewhat. The same goes for Colin Rea, who has only completed six innings once this year.
So let's look at those bullpens. The Twins are seventh in the MLB with a 3.47 bullpen ERA with only 84 earned runs allowed which is fourth in the league. Milwaukee is 20th in bullpen ERA. In June, these two pitching staffs are 10th and 11th in team ERA. These two teams are also 23rd and 25 in team OPS so it could be the pitching staffs that win out in this matchup.
While I wish Ober went deeper into outings I trust the Minnesota bullpen more than Milwaukee's, especially against the unimpressive Brewers lineup. I'll take the Twins to win this one at home.
Pick: Twins Moneyline
Follow all Josh Yourish's bets HERE
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change