The Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees continue their four-game set at Yankee Stadium with the third contest Saturday afternoon and the first pitch at 1:05 PM ET, so here’s the best Twins vs. Yanks betting pick along with the latest odds update. 

According to Bovada Sportsbook, New York is a -225 home fave for Saturday’s clash, while Minnesota sits at +204 moneyline odds. Excluding the second game of this set, the Yankees are 3-1 against the Twins in 2021, and they won Thursday’s opener 7-5 as -240 favorites.

The Twins got some wins in August  

The Minnesota Twins are having a disappointing season, but they’ve won eight of their first 13 games in August to escape from the bottom of the AL Central. However, their stats haven’t been sharp, as the Twins have recorded a 4.05 ERA in that 13-game stretch while scoring 58 runs on a .233/.319/.398 batting line. Also, they’ve slugged only 18 doubles to go with 17 home runs.

Kenta Maeda will get the Yanks on Saturday, and the 33-year-old righty has never met them before. Maeda has been inconsistent all season long, going 6-4 with a 4.41 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 20 starts (102 innings pitched).

Last time out, he’s tossed six scoreless innings in a 12-0 thrashing of the Tampa Bay Rays, but Maeda owns a poor 5.77 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 13 starts away from home in 2021. Over his last three outings on the road, the right-hander has allowed 11 earned runs on 16 hits and five walks across 15 innings of work.

The Yankees are looking good on the mound   

Following Thursday’s victory over Minnesota, the New York Yankees were riding a seven-game winning streak for the first time this season. They improved to 70-52 and remained the top wild-card team in the American League, one game ahead of Oakland and 1.5 games ahead of Boston.

The Yankees have won 11 of their previous 14 games, scoring 66 runs in the process and posting the 12th-best OPS in the majors (.759), so there’s room for improvement on the offensive side of things. When it comes to pitching, the Yanks have registered a nice 3.02 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and a .227 batting average against over the previous two weeks.

Gerrit Cole will take the mound Saturday, and he’s 11-6 with a 3.04 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 22 starts this season. The 30-year-old righty rejoined the Yankees’ rotation last Monday after spending nearly three weeks on the IL. He tossed 5.2 frames of a one-run ball and fanned nine to fully deserve a win in a narrow 2-1 home victory to the Los Angeles Angels.

Cole is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in a couple of career starts against Minnesota. He met the Twins this past June and took a win at Target Field in Minneapolis, yielding a couple of earned runs across six innings and striking out nine.

Trends:

Minnesota:

  • 1-8 in the last eight games against the Yankees 
  • 1-5 in the last five road tilts against the AL East

NY Yankees:

  • 16-4 in the last 20 games overall 

Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees Pick

The Yankees have thrived under pressure since the trade deadline and are one of the hottest teams in the majors at the moment. Hereof, I’m expecting the Yanks to extend their rich vein of form, as well as their recent dominance over the Twins.

The Yankees’ relievers gave up a pair of runs last Thursday and still own the third-lowest ERA in the majors this month (2.30). On the other side, the Twins bullpen has registered a decent 3.43 ERA, but their 4.44 FIP is not encouraging. Kenta Maeda will have a tall task to keep his team alive through the first five or six innings, while Gerrit Cole will continue to build up his form.

Pick: Take New York Yankees at -225

The Total:

I’m going with the under mostly because of that 10.5-run line, but you never know what can happen with the Twins’ pitching staff. Kenta Maeda shut down the opponents in three of his last five starts. In four of the other five, he’s yielded at least three earned runs. Furthermore, the Twins bullpen has improved lately, but it’s still allowing 1.30 home runs per nine innings in August.

The Twins will try their best against the Yanks’ in-form pitching staff, but I doubt their chances to replicate a five-run performance from the opener.

Pick: Go under 10.5 at -118