Twins vs. Tigers Game 2 Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, May 31 (Pitching Matchup Gives Over Green Light)

The 18-29 Detroit Tigers host the 29-20 Minnesota Twins in a double-header today after securing a comeback win yesterday. I'll be looking at the second game here, but be sure to check out Matt de Saro's preview for Game 1.

Detroit has won four of five going into today's double-header and will send Joey Wentz to the mound for his second career start. The first one went poorly, as Wentz surrendered six runs in 2.2 innings against Oakland.

Minnesota will counter with a rookie of their own in Cole Sands, who serves as a reliever and will be the opener for a bullpen day. Sands has a 6.75 ERA in two appearances out of the pen and will be making his first major league start.

Which rookie has the edge? Can Detroit keep winning or will Minnesota get back on track? Maybe the total is worth a look with two inexperienced arms at the helm?

To answer those questions, let's take a peak at the odds from WynnBET Sportsbook ahead of this Twins vs Tigers matchup:

Twins vs Tigers Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line:

• Twins -1.5 (+105)
• Tigers +1.5 (-125)

Moneyline:

• Twins: -137
• Tigers: +127

Total:

• 9.0 (Over +100/Under -120)

Twins vs Tigers Prediction and Pick

This matchup reminds me of when I was a kid trying to learn how to ride a bike. My mom mentioned that she used to ride with no handlebars, and I thought that sounded cool. So, before I could even pedal straight with my hands on the bars, I lifted my arms to show my mom "hey, I can do this too!"

I promptly crashed and bled everywhere and cried. I was not ready to take on the challenge, and I've quite literally never tried to ride without handlebars again.

So kudos to Joey Wentz and Cole Sands for getting back on that bike after crashing spectacularly in their first attempts at the big leagues. It takes real guts to keep trying after painful embarrassment, courage I apparently do not posses, so I'm rooting for these guys.

But whew, this game could get ugly. Wentz didn't make it through the third inning against Oakland before giving up seven hits and six runs, and Minnesota is much more dangerous than the A's. They're fifth in OPS against left-handed pitchers this month, and Wentz has shown command issues and an inability to limit hard contact even in the minors.

Sands *only* has a 6.75 ERA, compared to Wentz's 20.25 mark, but compiled a 7.23 ERA in six minor league appearances. When things go bad for Sands, they go really bad. He gave up at least four runs in three of his last four outings in Triple-A, and these are major league batters we're talking about today.

The over is 9-3 in Minnesota's last dozen contests and that trend should continue. I expect both bullpens to be tired after the first game in the double-header, so if either starter gets into trouble it's going to be a long day. Take the over without hesitation. For these pitchers' sake, I'm hoping their crash isn't as spectacular as mine was.

Pick: Over 9.0 (+100)

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.