Twins vs. Royals Prediction and Odds for Friday, May 20 (High Scoring Matchup In KC)

Two AL Central foes start a weekend series Friday night from Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

The Minnesota Twins are the class of the American League Central through the quarter mark of the season, and now look to continue gaining ground on the competition against the last place Kansas City Royals.

Here are the odds for Friday night's matchup from WynnBET Sportsbook; pitting a pair of lefty starters with Devin Smeltzer of the Twins, and the Royals countering with Daniel Lynch.

Twins vs. Royals Odds, Run Line, Total

Run Line:

• Twins: -1.5 (+115)
• Royals: +1.5 (-140)

Moneyline:

• Twins: -122
• Royals: +112

Total: 8 (Over -120/Under +100)

Twins vs. Royals Prediction and Pick

These are two teams that do well against left-handed pitching, especially the Twins. Minnesota hits .251 when facing southpaws in 2022; the fifth-best mark in baseball.

Lynch has struggled with his control in his short time in the bigs. He started 15 games in his rookie campaign last season, walking nearly 4 batters per 9 innings. This season his ERA is sitting at 3.30, but his FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) is at 4.40, suggesting some regression is on the way for him. He has allowed four home runs in 30 innings this season, but with trouble walking batters he puts himself in harm's way.

On the other side, Smeltzer has only made one start this season, going just 5 innings, and typically not going to give much length. If he only goes around the 4-5 innings, the pressure will be on the Twins bullpen that has the 6th highest bullpen ERA this season. For what it's worth, the Royals are 10th in on-base percentage against left-handed pitching.

I'm avoiding taking a side and instead going to back the over with two question marks on the mound against two lineups that can hit lefties.

LEAN: OVER 8 (-120)

You can find all of Reed's bets HERE!