Free MLB Betting Pick: Minnesota Twins (135)
Thu May 8 ‘08 2:05p - Click Here for Baseball Odds
Getting the starting nod for the Twins this afternoon will be right-hander Kevin Slowey. He opened the season in the big club’s starting rotation, but a right biceps strain in his first start of the season sent him to the DL right away. After rehabbing the injury, he got three starts under his belt in the minors. He last start came for Triple-A Rochester back on May 1st when he threw five innings of two-run ball with a K/BB ratio of 9/2. He’ll be taking the place of the recently injured Scott Baker. Slowey started 11 games for the Twins last season and made MLB bettors some coin by compiling a 4-1 overall mark with a 4.73 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. He’s a big strikeout pitcher that fanned 49 while only walking 11. He faced the White Sox once last season and tossed a gem throwing seven innings of one-run ball while striking out nine and not issuing a walk in the Twins 4-1 home victory.

Opposing him will be lefty John Danks who’s been a strong component of Chicago’s staff to start the season. He enters this afternoons start 2-3 but with a solid 3.12 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. He’s allowed 28 hits and 12 earned runs with a K/BB ratio of 25/8 in almost 35 innings of work. Danks allowed two runs or less in five of his six starts this season, but the one start he got rocked in just so happened to come against these Minnesota Twins. He got shelled a month ago at US Cellular to the tune of seven hits and seven earned runs in just 2 1/3rd innings of work, and in his career, he’s 1-3 with a bloated 8.35 and 1.90 WHIP in four starts against the Twins.

The Twins now stand 4-2 against the White Sox this season, and they’re 8-1 their L/9 against the AL Central. They’re also 8-3 the L/11 times they faced a left-hander on the road, which includes Wednesday nights thrashing of Mark Buehrle. Making the Twins that much sweeter a betting proposition is the fact that Chicago is 1-6 in Danks’ L/7 home starts, and they’ve lost each of his L/4 starts when installed the favorite. Courtesy of Mike Rose.