NEWSLETTER Major League Baseball Prediction From Doc’s Sports
Take ‘Over’ 8.5 – Minnesota at Baltimore (7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 29)
The Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles are clearly on different wavelengths as far as the 2014 goes. For the O’s, they are desperately trying to hold onto their lead in the AL East and employing every edge they have at their disposal to win ballgames. For the Twins, however, they are looking ahead to next season and trying to get some young players in the fold to see what they can do. That’s why Trevor May continues to get starts for the Twinkies despite the fact he has looked awful in his first four outings. Put the 8.79 ERA aside, and May has struck out only seven batters in 14.1 innings of work while walking 13. That ratio is about as bad as it gets, and things might get worse for him before they get better if he can’t improve there. May had a nice season in Triple-A for the Twins, but it’s clear that he needs more seasoning before he can get big league hitters out. However, Minnesota is sticking with him because winning isn’t a priority at the moment. The Orioles have an aggressive lineup that preys on weak pitchers, and I have no doubt they’ll get some good hacks in on Friday night. Baltimore starter Miguel Gonzalez is probably the weak link in their rotation, and he’ll make his 21st start of the season on Friday. His 3.75 ERA is deceiving because he has an astronomical 85% strand rate that has to come down to earth at some point. The Twins lineup has performed better than I expected this year, and they’ve played a significant portion of the season without Joe Mauer, who is now back. Runs shouldn’t be hard to find in this game, so we’re on the over.
Take ‘Over’ 8.5 – Minnesota at Baltimore (7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 29)
The Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles are clearly on different wavelengths as far as the 2014 goes. For the O’s, they are desperately trying to hold onto their lead in the AL East and employing every edge they have at their disposal to win ballgames. For the Twins, however, they are looking ahead to next season and trying to get some young players in the fold to see what they can do. That’s why Trevor May continues to get starts for the Twinkies despite the fact he has looked awful in his first four outings. Put the 8.79 ERA aside, and May has struck out only seven batters in 14.1 innings of work while walking 13. That ratio is about as bad as it gets, and things might get worse for him before they get better if he can’t improve there. May had a nice season in Triple-A for the Twins, but it’s clear that he needs more seasoning before he can get big league hitters out. However, Minnesota is sticking with him because winning isn’t a priority at the moment. The Orioles have an aggressive lineup that preys on weak pitchers, and I have no doubt they’ll get some good hacks in on Friday night. Baltimore starter Miguel Gonzalez is probably the weak link in their rotation, and he’ll make his 21st start of the season on Friday. His 3.75 ERA is deceiving because he has an astronomical 85% strand rate that has to come down to earth at some point. The Twins lineup has performed better than I expected this year, and they’ve played a significant portion of the season without Joe Mauer, who is now back. Runs shouldn’t be hard to find in this game, so we’re on the over.
