The 2021 MLB betting action goes on Sunday, September 5, with the closing contest of a three-game series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, so here’s the best Twins vs. Rays betting pick along with the latest odds for this American League showdown.

The Rays won the opener last Friday, 5-3, to tie their regular-season series with the Twins at 2-2. Tampa Bay is listed as a strong fave for Sunday’s closer, while the totals are set at 9.0 runs on MyBookie Sportsbook. 

The Twins extended their losing streak in Friday’s opener     

As it was expected, the Twins lost at the Rays in the opening clash of this series, 5-3, extending their losing streak to three games and falling to 58-76 on the season. For the fifth straight game, the Twins failed to score more than three runs, while Randy Dobnak gave up five earned runs on six hits across seven frames of work.

Griffin Jax will take the mound Sunday at The Trop, looking to snap his two-game skid. In his previous two starts, the 26-year-old righty has been a complete disaster, yielding 15 earned runs on 13 hits (five home runs) and seven walks through 9.2 frames of work.

Jax is 3-3 with a poor 6.71 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in his rookie season. In five outings last month (27 innings pitched), he’s allowed a .259/.339/.611 batting line to his opponents while posting a 22/11 K/BB ratio.

The Rays are back on the winning track 

Tampa Bay stopped a two-game slide with that 5-3 win over Minnesota last Friday. The Rays improved to 85-50 on the season, tallying their 14th victory over the previous 17 outings at any location. Michael Wacha surprisingly went six strong innings, while the Rays’ pitching staff combined for 13 strikeouts on the night.

Luis Patino will get the nod Sunday, his 12th of the season, and the 21-year-old righty is 4-3 with a 4.24 ERA and 1.26 WHIP this season (57.1 innings pitched). He’s had some ups and downs, including a couple of meltdowns against Toronto and Baltimore, but Luis has been solid through five starts in August, posting a 4.21 ERA across 25.2 frames and allowing a .237/.318/.474 batting line to his opponents.

Patino will search for his third straight win Sunday when he meets the Twins for the second time in 2021. Back on August 15, Patino gave up two earned runs on a couple of hits and five walks across three innings and took a no-decision in a 5-4 defeat at Minnesota. Last time out, he’s tossed 5.2 innings of a one-run ball in a 6-1 home victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Trends:

Minnesota:

  • 4-9 in the last 13 games overall 
  • 2-6 in the last eight games on the road

Tampa Bay:

  • 14-3 in the last 17 games overall
  • 9-3 in the last 12 games at home 

Minnesota Twins vs. Tampa Bay Rays Pick

Griffin Jax can only do a better job than he did in each of his last two starts, but this Tampa Bay team is hitting the righties very well. The Rays have a .754 OPS against the right-handed pitchers and a .779 OPS against the right-handed starters.

Luis Patino is young and cannot be trusted, but the Rays can lean on their bullpen that has recorded a 3.05 ERA and 3.70 FIP over the last couple of weeks. On the other side, the Twins ‘pen has a 4.12 ERA and a poor 5.11 FIP in that span.

Pick: Take Tampa Bay Rays at -195

The Total:

The Twins have struggled mightily at the plate over the last two weeks, scoring just 38 runs through 11 games in the process and slashing just .213/.291/.368. Also, the Twins have recorded the worst OPS in the majors in the last seven days of action (.535).

Betting on the under looks like the right move, considering the Twins’ slumping offense and the Rays’ strong pitching. On the other hand, both starting pitchers could easily get into trouble early, and the Twins’ bullpen has struggled all season long.

Pick: Go under 9.0 runs at -110