Picks, predictions for Twins vs. Rays on Wednesday, June 7

The Minnesota Twins take on the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, June 7 in the second game of a three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET from Tropicana Field. Pablo Lopez (3-3, 4.54 ERA) gets the ball for the Twins, while Tampa will use reliever Shawn Armstrong as an opener before turning to bulk man Cooper Criswell (1-1, 6.11).

The Rays are -135 moneyline favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, with Minnesota coming in at +115. The total is set at 8.5.

Twins-Rays picks: Wednesday, June 7

Injury report

Twins

Day-to-day: INF Royce Lewis (head), SS Carlos Correa (foot)
Out: RP Cole Sands (shoulder), 1B Joey Gallo (hamstring), SP Kenta Maeda (triceps), DH Byron Buxton (ribs)

Rays

Out: SP Josh Fleming (elbow), RP Pete Fairbanks (hip), 2B Brandon Lowe (back)

Starting pitchers

Pablo Lopez vs. Shawn Armstrong

Lopez has struggled in his recent outings. In his last May appearance, he let up four earned runs in 5.2 innings to the Blue Jays, and in his first June start, he conceded six earned runs in 5.2 innings to the Guardians, striking out just five batters.

Armstrong has pitched just two innings this season and has not started a game. He kept the Red Sox runless over two frames earlier this week and struck out three batters. He’ll likely give way after one or two innings to Criswell, who most recently gave up one run on four hits over 2.1 innings of work against Boston.

Over/Under pick

The Rays piled up seven runs against a much better pitcher than Lopez last night, and Criswell’s performance to date hasn’t inspired a ton of confidence, so we can expect the Twins to tack on a few as well.

Pick: Over 8.5

Moneyline pick

Lopez hasn’t done well against much lesser offenses recently, and as he goes up against this powerhouse Rays lineup, it won’t really matter who’s on the mound for Tampa. The Rays won last night, 7-0, and should be able to light up Lopez.

Pick: Rays