Minnesota Twins vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Prop Pick: Can Joe Ryan Silence Pirates' Bats on Friday Night?
The Minnesota Twins will visit the Pittsburgh Pirates for a weekend series starting Friday night. Can Joe Ryan bring his best stuff against the Pirates in the opening matchup? Ben Rajavuori is targeting him with his top prop pick in Twins vs. Pirates.
Ben Rajavuori - June 7, 2024, 2:21 PM EDT
5 minMinnesota Twins vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Prop Pick: Can Joe Ryan Silence Pirates' Bats on Friday Night?
The Minnesota Twins will continue their road trip out east as a travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates tonight from PNC Park. The Minnesota Twins have lost three games in a row after getting swept by the Yankees and are now third place in the AL Central with a record of 33–29. Meanwhile, the Pirates actually won their series against the Dodgers, taking two of three games, and now sit at 29–33, which is still last place in the NL Central. What should be expecting the series opener tonight?
Twins vs. Pirates DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: June 7, 2024
- Start Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: Apple TV+
Minnesota Twins vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction
The play I am targeting this game is not actually a team but a player. I am backing Joe Ryan to go over his strikeout prop tonight of 6.5 strikeouts. Despite getting roughed up in his last start against the Astros, Joe Ryan has some pretty good numbers this year, coming into this outing with a 3.38 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 72 innings. Joe Ryan is a strikeout guy, and his numbers should actually be higher if he hasn’t faced such a slaughterhouse of low strikeout teams.
Most of his outings this season have been against the lowest strikeout rated teams against righties. He has faced the Royals twice, the Yankees, the Jays, the Astros, and the Guardians. Those five teams make up five of the seven lowest strikeout teams against right handed pitching this season. The Pirates are on the opposite end of the spectrum.
The Pirates have the fifth-highest strikeout rate against right-handed pitching in 2024 and are striking out at a 26% rate against righties over the last two weeks. Their walks have also been the third-lowest in the league against right-handed pitching over the last 14 days, which means Joe Ryan should be able to stay out of walk trouble and keep his pitch count low, allowing him to face more batters. Joe Ryan has hit seven strikeouts in just five of his 12 appearances this season, but as I referenced before, he is faced a very tough schedule of low strikeout teams. Against a team like the Pirates, he should be able to feast. He’s already been averaging more than a strikeout per inning, which means if he is to hit seven innings against the Pirates tonight, hitting seven strikeout should be absolutely no issue at all. Considering Joe Ryan is a guy who can get into the triple digits in pitch count, he should be able to hit seven innings against the Pirates tonight. Therefore, backing him to hit seven strikeouts at plus money is too good to pass up in the spot.
Minnesota Twins vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Prop Pick
Pick: Joe Ryan O6.5 Strikeouts (+105) CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH SPORTSBOOK HAS THE BEST ODDS
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