The final game of a three-game AL Central Divisional series between the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins will take place on Wednesday afternoon. The Kansas City Royals will travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to face the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The first pitch of Game 3 is scheduled for 1:10 PM ET and will air on the MLB Network, Bally Sports Kansas City, and Bally Sports North.
The Kansas City Royals have lost three of their last four games and are on a two-game losing streak following a loss in Game 1 by a score of 3-8 on Monday and a 3-13 loss in Game 2 of the series on Tuesday evening. Seth Lugo had arguably one of his worst starts of the season, lasting only four innings, allowing seven runs, and recording four strikeouts.
The Royals have not been able to produce runs like the Twins have been able to do in the series, as they have been outscored 6-21 in the first two games of the series, with Salvador Perez and MJ Melendez accounting for two of the three runs in Game 2 after hitting one-run home runs. The two-game losing streak has dropped the record of the Kansas City Royals to 65-55, which puts them in 3rd place in the AL Central, six games back of the Cleveland Guardians for 1st place in the division, and in the final Wild Card spot in the American League.
Kansas City has lost seven of the nine matchups against Minnesota this season and has been outscored by the Twins by an average of 4.22 to 5.33 runs per game in those matchups. The Kansas City Royals will look to avoid the series sweep and end their three-game losing streak against the Minnesota Twins when they travel to face the Twins for Game 3.
The Minnesota Twins have won seven of their last nine divisional games. They are on a two-game winning streak after winning the first two games of their series at home against the Kansas City Royals, including a 13-3 win in Game 2 of the series on Tuesday evening.
The Twins scored three runs in three innings, including three in the sixth inning when Max Kepler hit a three-run home run that also scored Carlos Santana and Jose Miranda. Zebby Matthews had a solid major league debut, pitching five innings and allowing two runs while recording five strikeouts to win his first game at his first major league start.
The two-game winning streak has improved the record for the Minnesota Twins to 15 games above .500 at 67-52, which puts them in 2nd place in the AL Central, 3.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians, and in the 2nd Wild Card spot in the American League. The win in Game 2 also extended the winning streak for the Twins against the Royals to three games, with Minnesota outscoring Kansas City by an average of 9.33 to 4 runs per game in those matchups.
The Minnesota Twins will look to extend their winning streak to four games when they host the Kansas City Royals for Game 3 on Wednesday afternoon.
WagerWeb lists the Minnesota Twins as -123 moneyline favorites at home against the Kansas City Royals for Game 3 of the series on Wednesday afternoon. Minnesota has won seven of the last ten by an average margin of .9 runs per game, including the previous three games in the series against Kansas City by an average margin of 5.33 runs per game. The Twins outscored the Royals 21-6 in the first two games of the current series.
Kansas City has lost five of its last seven games and five of its last six games against Minnesota. The Twins have won seven of the nine meetings this season against the Royals and seven of its last nine divisional games. Minnesota has also won nine of its last ten home games in the series against Kansas City.
As a result, I am taking the moneyline for the Minnesota Twins when they host the Kansas City Royals for Game 3 of the series on Wednesday afternoon.
