The Texas Rangers (31-35) and the Minnesota Twins (35-30) will play their second of a three-game series on Wednesday in this American League showdown in this Rangers vs. Twins prediction. The first game of the series was played on Tuesday (Note: This article was published before Tuesday's conclusion). This is the first series between these teams this season. Texas will start Jack Leiter (3.48 ERA) while Minnesota sends out David Festa (5.40 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:40 EST. Keep reading to see our Rangers vs. Twins prediction, and check in on all of our Free MLB Picks!
Texas Continues Road Trip
The Texas Rangers are playing nine straight games on the road, and are playing their final set on the road here in Minnesota. They lost all three games against the Rays in Tampa Bay, then won two of three in Washington before traveling to Minnesota in this series. Texas is fourth in the AL West, sitting a half-game behind the Angels in third and 5.5 games behind the Astros at the top of the division. In their last game against Washington, Marcus Semien had two hits and an RBI in the 4-2 win over the Nationals.
Semien leads the team in at bats as their second baseman who has been batting fourth in the lineup. The 34-year-old is in his fourth season with the Rangers, after making stops in Chicago, Oakland and Toronto. Semien has six home runs and 27 RBIs while batting .218 at the plate. Their top home run hitter has been Wyatt Langford, he has 11 home runs and 26 RBIs, but sat out the last game against the Nationals. Langford is a rising star in the franchise, the 23-year-old typically bats second in the lineup with his .227 batting average. Jake Burger has nine home runs and 25 RBIs in his first season with the team after coming over from Miami.
Jack Leiter will make his 11th start of the season as a 25-year-old right-hander. He has a 4-2 record, but the team lost three of his last four starts. His ERA is 3.48 to go with 42 strikeouts against 28 walks. In his last start, Leiter pitched 5.0 innings allowing one earned run in a loss to Tampa Bay.
Twins Hold Second in the Division
The Minnesota Twins are second in the AL Central, but are still losing ground to the division-leading Tigers. Minnesota is 7.5 games behind Detroit and just lost two of three games at home against Toronto. The Guardians and Royals are just 1.5 games behind the Twins in the standings, so Minnesota will need to pick up wins quickly to hold onto their spot in second. In their last game against Toronto, Christian Vasquez hit a solo home run and added another RBI in the 6-3 win.
Vasquez batted ninth in the lineup as their catcher, he has not been an everyday player for Minnesota as he has only played in 34 games this season. Vasquez has two home runs and nine RBIs as a 34-year-old catcher. Byron Buxton will battle for an All-Star spot as one of the league's top outfielders. He is leading the team with 10 home runs and 38 RBIs from the leadoff spot. Buxton has been with the team since 2015 and is batting .258 from the top of the order. Trevor Larnach is tied for the team lead with 10 home runs, he can play in the outfield but has been taking the DH recently while batting second in the order.
David Festa will make his 5th start as a 25-year-old right-hander. He has an 0-1 record, with the team going 2-2 over his four starts. His ERA is 5.40 to go with 21 strikeouts against seven walks. In his last start, Festa gave up eight earned runs in under four innings in a loss to the Athletics.
Best Bets for Texas Rangers vs. Minnesota Twins
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
Both teams are sending out young starting pitchers, but Texas' Leiter has performed better as of late, and will lead the team to a win on the road. Leiter has the stronger ERA in this matchup, as he is 3.48 to go against Festa's 5.40. Leiter has also pitched over 50 innings, while Festa has only been on the mound for 16 innings this season. Festa also gave up eight earned runs in his last start, which will not instill confidence in this Minnesota coaching staff. The Rangers are coming off a series win against the Nationals and will keep that momentum going here.
Take the Rangers to win.
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
Neither team is sending out their ace in this matchup, and we will see a high scoring matchup in this game because of it. The Twins will start Festa, he is making just his fifth start of the season, and he has only lasted 16 innings in those four starts, while some of those have not gone well. Festa gave up eight runs in his last appearance against the Athletics and gave up another two earned runs against the White Sox at the bottom of their division last time out. The Twins have gone over in each of their last four games and will go over again with Festa on the mound to start.
Take the over.
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