Picks, predictions for Twins vs. Rays on Thursday, June 8

The Minnesota Twins take on the Tampa Bay Rays looking to avoid a sweep in the final game of their three-game series on Thursday, June 8. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. ET from Tropicana Field. Bailey Ober (3-2, 2.33 ERA) will look to snap the Twins’ skid, while Tampa turns to bulk man Yonny Chirinos (2-1, 2.79).

The Rays are -140 moneyline favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, with Minnesota coming in at +120. The total is set at 7.5.

Twins-Rays picks: Thursday, June 8

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

Tyler Glasnow vs. Bailey Ober

Ober has been mostly consistent all season for the Twins, lasting between five and six innings and largely keeping opponents to two or fewer runs, with just two exceptions in which he allowed more. His latest outing saw him keep the Cleveland Guardians runless over six frames.

After a couple of weeks down at Triple-A in which he was fully stretched out as a starter, Chirinos is now back to help patch up the Rays’ injury-ravaged rotation. Statcast thinks the veteran righty has been a bit lucky this year, with a 4.96 expected ERA more than two runs above his actual mark, but while Chirinos doesn’t strike many batters out, he does do a good job of keeping the ball on the ground and letting his defense get outs behind him. He gave up three runs on three hits in a walk in 4.2 innings against the New York Mets in his last Major League outing on May 16.

Over/Under pick

The totals of the first two games were 7 and 3. Even with Chirinos on the mound, we can’t expect the Twins to add too much to the total — they haven’t scored more than two runs in any of their last five games. Ober stands a good chance of limiting this powerhouse Rays offense for the second night in a row.

Pick: Under 7.5

Moneyline pick

The Rays have taken the first two games — unsurprising, as they have the best record in MLB, and as the Twins’ offense has been struggling to do damage all year long. However, with Ober on the mound, I like the Twins to grab one before they leave Tampa Bay. Ober won’t need much run support, and Chirinos is due for some regression.

Pick: Twins