Minnesota Twins (4-0) vs. Miami Marlins (1-4)
April 5, 2023 1:10 pm EDT
The Line: Miami Marlins -111 / Minnesota Twins -111; Over/Under: 7.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Minnesota Twins and the Miami Marlins meet Wednesday in MLB action from Marlins Park. This will be the finale in a three-game series. The Twins took a blowout win on Monday in the opener, then in game two Miami evened it up with a close victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Minnesota Twins
The Twins started out their year with a series versus the Royals. Minnesota managed a sweep in that one, then kept it up with a 11-1 win over Miami on Monday. In the Tuesday game, the Twins couldn’t get anything going on three hits in a tough 1-0 loss. Starter Kenta Maeda went 5.0 innings with one earned on three hits alongside nine Ks.
For the starter job in the Wednesday matchup the Twins will go with Pablo Lopez. In his first start of the year Lopez lasted 5.1 clean innings with two hits, three walks and eight Ks in a win. Lopez went 10-10 last year with a 3.75 ERA in 32 starts.
Miami Marlins
Over on the Miami side, they lost three of four games to the Mets in their first series of the year. The Marlins had 12 hits on Monday but couldn’t get much going. In game two, Miami had just three hits but made them count. Sandy Alcantara went the distance with 9.0 innings, three hits, one walk and five strikeouts.
Jesus Luzardo will take the mound for the start on Wednesday for the Marlins. This year in his first outing Luzardo recorded a win with 5.2 innings, no earned, two hits, four walks and five Ks. Last season Luzardo was 4-7 with a 3.32 ERA in 18 starts.
The Twins are 11-27 in their last 38 road games and 2-5 in their last seven in game three of a series. Minnesota is 5-22 in their last 27 interleague games versus a lefty starter.
Meanwhile, the Marlins are 20-42 in their last 62 at home versus a right-handed starter and 16-35 in their last 51 at home. Miami is 16-39 in their last 55 interleague games.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll take a stab on the Marlins here. We should have a pretty good starter matchup on our hands regardless, though. Luzardo looked pretty good against the Mets in his first victory of the year, as did Lopez against Kansas City in his first win. If both those guys are on point again, we’ll have a relatively low-scoring game—at least initially. On Tuesday neither offense really found much success; this one should be a similar-looking game. I think Miami has a pretty good shot at another victory.
