Giants vs. Twins: Picks, predictions, how to watch Saturday’s game

The San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins square off on Saturday with first pitch set for 7:15 p.m ET. The game takes place at Target Field in Minnesota, MN and will be available to watch on Fox. The Giants will start Alex Cobb (4-6, 3.99 ERA) and the Twins will counter with Sonny Gray (7-4, 3.10 ERA).

San Francisco (61-63) sits in third place in the NL West and has left much to be desired with their performance this season. After finishing with the best record in baseball a season ago, the Giants are two games below .500 and rank 22nd in team batting average (.233). Their latest struggle came by way of a 9-0 shutout loss to the Twins in this series opener, and the clock is ticking with San Francisco sitting 6.5 games out of an NL wild-card spot heading into the month of September.

Minnesota (63-61) is hoping for a spark heading into the month of September as they sit out on the outside of the current playoff picture. The Twins are 5.0 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the final AL Wild Card spot, but they’ll have tight competition in the race to the postseason. The resurgent Baltimore Orioles are 3.5 games ahead of the Twins, but Minnesota can make up some ground with a possible series win over the Giants this weekend, beginning with Saturday’s contest.

Giants vs. Twins

Pitchers: Alex Cobb vs. Sonny Gray
First pitch: 7:15 p.m. ET
Giants local broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
Twins local broadcast: Bally Sports North
Live stream: Fox Live, Fox Sports App

Odds, picks & predictions

Run Line: Twins -1.5 (+155)
Run total: 7.5
Moneyline odds: Giants +120, Twins -140

Moneyline pick: Twins -140

Minnesota has the advantage in batting with an 11th-ranked .248 average compared to San Francisco’s .233, which is good for 23rd in baseball. The Twins are also above .500 with a 36-28 record at home, while San Franciso is an underwhelming 27-34 on the road. With a better track record at the plate and with perhaps the “unluckiest” pitcher in Cobb on the hill, I like the Twins’ odds as the favorites.

Player prop pick: Alex Cobb over 4.5 strikeouts (+100)

Cobb may be the unluckiest pitcher in baseball today, but I think the 4.5 strikeouts line is still relatively low for his caliber. He brings in just a 2.88 xFIP which helps somewhat ease the pain of staring at his 3.99 ERA. He’s gone over 5.0 strikeouts in seven of his last outings, and I like his chances of hitting the over on Saturday.

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