Yankees vs. Twins: Picks, predictions, how to watch Thursday’s game

The New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins square off on Thursday with first pitch set for 7:40 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota and will be available to watch on ESPN+. Gerrit Cole will throw for the Yankees with Dylan Bundy starting for the Twins.

New York (40-16) had been undefeated in June until last night’s loss to the Twins, snapping a seven-game winning streak. Cole is having another impressive season with a 2.78 ERA over 11 starts and threw 7 scoreless innings with 9 strikeouts in a win over the Detroit Tigers last week. The Yankees score the fifth most runs per game and remain the top home run-hitting team led by Aaron Judge, who has 5 homers in the last nine games.

Minnesota (33-25) will go for the series victory on Thursday night, coming off an 8-1 win last night. Bundy has a 5.57 ERA heading into his 10th start of 2022 and allowed 10 runs (9 earned) over his last two starts, spanning 8.1 innings of work. The Twins have the third best on-base percentage, and their OBP leader Luis Arraez (.448) sat out of Wednesday’s game with a shoulder injury.

Yankees vs. Twins

Pitchers: Gerrit Cole vs. Dylan Bundy
First pitch: 7:40 p.m. ET
Yankees local broadcast: YES
Twins local broadcast: Bally Sports North
Live stream: WatchESPN, ESPN app with an ESPN+ subscription

Odds, picks & predictions

Run line: Yankees -1.5 (-125)
Run total: 8.5
Moneyline odds: Yankees -210, Twins +175

Moneyline pick: Yankees -210

It’s hard to make a case for Minnesota to pull off this upset with any confidence given this pitching matchup. Cole is still one of the MLB’s best pitchers, and Bundy has struggled a year after finishing with a 6.06 ERA in a 19-start sample size with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021.

Player prop pick: Gerrit Cole Under 7.5 strikeouts (+100)

The Twins rank high in batting average and on-base percentage, and they do not strike out a ton. Minnesota ranks 15th in strikeouts per game as a team, and these odds are good enough that makes Cole striking out fewer than 8 batters a decent bet.

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