The Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals are set to wrap up their midweek series this evening. First pitch is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. ET at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Sonny Gray (4-4, 3.22 ERA) will start for the Twins while Matthew Liberatore (1-3, 6.75) will get the nod for the Cards.
Minnesota enters the game as a -125 favorite on the moneyline over at DraftKings Sportsbook, while St. Louis is a +105 underdog. The run total is set at 9.
Twins-Cardinals picks: Thursday, August 3
Injury report
Twins
Day-To-Day: DH Byron Buxton (hamstring)
Out: 3B Jose Miranda (shoulder), 1B Alex Kirilloff (shoulder), RP Brock Stewart (elbow), OF Nick Gordon (lower leg), 3B Royce Lewis (oblique), RP Jose De Leon (elbow)
Cardinals
Out: INF Brendan Donovan (elbow), RP Ryan Helsley (forearm), RP Jake Woodford (shoulder)
Starting pitchers
Sonny Gray vs. Matthew Liberatore
Gray has pitched well for the Twins but hasn’t picked up a win in three months, recording his last victory on April 30 against the Royals. The righty has gone six full innings in each of his last two starts, yielding a combined nine earned runs and striking out nine batters through those outings. This St. Louis lineup us collectively batting .250 against him, with Nolan Arenado and Tommy Edman both boasting individual batting averages of over .400. Gray will have to navigate the top of the Cards’ lineup well to get that elusive victory.
With St. Louis selling off 40% of its starting rotation at the deadline, Liberatore was recalled from Triple-A Memphis last week and is making his first start in the Majors in a month. He was booted down to the Minors after a disastrous start against the Marlins on July 5, one where he gave up four earned runs on five hits before being pulled in the first inning. While he’s struggled in his second season, the lefty has been comfortable at home, as he’s 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA at Busch Stadium this year.
Over/Under pick
The Twins have only pushed across six runs so far during this series and with this pitching matchup, this an ideal situation for them to have a big night on offense. That combined with Gray yielding a few runs on his end should trigger the over.
Pick: Over 9
Moneyline pick
Even though he’s at home, I do not trust Liberatore in his first Major League start in a month — and if he struggles early, he’ll hand the ball over to a vulnerable Cards bullpen that collectively sports a 4.53 ERA. Lean with Minnesota to get the bats going and pick up the series win tonight.
Pick: Twins