Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins Prediction: Can Joe Ryan Continue His Dominance?

Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins Prediction: Can Joe Ryan Continue His Dominance?

Joe Ryan has been one of the most electric pitchers across the league this season, but can he continue his success against a loaded Astros Lineup? Let's break it down for Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins.

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Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins Prediction

Joe Ryan comes into this game with a 3-1 record and a 1.63 ERA for the Twins and these numbers look very impressive on the surface but let's take a look at who he has pitched against this season. His first start came against the Mariners who are a very below-average offensive team and that was his worst start of the season as he struggled with command walking four hitters and only getting through four innings.

After that start, he has been stellar as he has tallied 4 straight starts with 2 earned runs or less and allowed 0 ER in 2 of those starts. While he has looked great, he has faced some of the worst offensive teams in the league and I think that may catch up with him tonight. Ryan faced the Royals, Tigers, Red Sox, and Orioles in his last 4 starts. The Royals and Tigers are dead last in the league in runs scored and bottom 5 in nearly every major category.

While the Red Sox and Orioles are a step above those two squads, they have still been below average in nearly every offensive category, and I think that is partly why Ryan's stats appear to be so inflated. Tonight, against the Astros, he will have his toughest test of the season by far as Altuve, Brantley, Bregman, Alvarez, Gurriel, Tucker, and Pena may be the best and most dangerous 1-7 in the entire league.

The Astros have Verlander on the bump in what shakes up to be a very solid pitching matchup, but I think the Astros have the significant advantage offensively here. So, the biggest question of the night will be, Can Ryan limit this dangerous Astros offense? And I believe the answer is No.

The Astros have actually been getting carried by their pitching this season which has been much better compared to years past through the first 30 games of the season. The Astros as a whole have been playing very well as they are currently on a 7-game winning streak as they haven't allowed more than 2 runs in any of those games.

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Their pitching has been phenomenal and I expect Verlander to have another solid start tonight against a very anemic Twins offense. The Twins really rely on Buxton and Polanco for production and outside of those two, they are very limited and have a lot of guys who are boom or bust at the plate with high strikeout percentages. Verlander still has elite stuff as he has shown with his 1.94 ERA which has come against some tough opponents as well including the Blue Jays, Angels, and Mariners.

Verlander shut down the Mariners through 8 innings and allowed 0 earned runs While Ryan struggled against that lineup so I think that is a good parallel here. The bottom line for me in this game is that Ryan has not faced a lineup with the type of talent and power that the Astros possess and I think he will struggle.

The Astros as a team are very patient hitters and hunt pitches and think Ryan's pitch count will get elevated early. The hope will be that the Astros hitters can capitalize in plus counts and make Joe Ryan pay for mistakes up in the zone. With that being said, I am rolling with Astros F5 ML at -138 and Full Game ML at -132 for 1U each as my most confident MLB Picks of the night.

Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins Pick

• Astros F5 ML at -138 (Bet $138 to win $100)
• Astros ML at -132 (Bet $132 to win $100)