Minnesota Twins vs Miami Marlins Picks and Predictions September 24th 2024

At 7:40 PM ET, the Marlins and Twins face off in an interleague matchup. This one is being played at Target Field in Minneapolis and the Marlins are 57-99 compared to the Twins, who are 81-75. Bailey Ober is slated to start for the Twins, while the Marlins are starting Ryan Weathers.

The money line odds have the Twins at -243, while the Marlins are the +203 underdogs. The over/under line is currently at 8 runs, and this game will be televised on BSFL. Miami comes in having lost two in a row, while the Twins have dropped two straight as well.

Miami vs. Minnesota Key Information

Miami is sending left-hander Ryan Weathers to the mound today vs. the Twins. Weathers has made 14 starts this season and has a record of 3-6 with a 3.94 ERA. In his 14 appearances, he has turned in six quality starts. Weathers’ ERA on the road is 2.22, and he has a record of 2-3 away from home. The last time he took the mound, he gave up five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. He took the loss in that outing vs. the Dodgers. Weathers has given up at least one homer in three straight starts.

Over his last eight games, Jake Burger has been swinging a hot bat for the Marlins, going 8/29 with three home runs. For the season, he is batting .248 with a team-high 28 homers and 69 RBIs. Jesús Sánchez is also a big power threat in the lineup, as he has 18 homers and 63 RBIs, which are both the 2nd best marks on the team.

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As a team, the Marlins are batting just .241, which is 14th in the league, and they are also near the bottom of the league in runs scored and on-base percentage. Miami is averaging just 3.8 runs per game and has the worst walk rate in the MLB. Their team isolated power of .133 is also one of the worst marks in the league.

Twins starter Bailey Ober finished with a no-decision in his last outing, going seven innings and giving up two earned runs on 12 hits. He was able to limit the damage, as he didn’t give up a homer in the outing. Ober has made 29 starts this season and has a record of 12-7 with a 3.84 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting .200 off the right-hander this year. Ober has turned in 18 quality starts and is averaging 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings. For the season, he has given up 25 homers. At home, his ERA is 6.01 compared to 6.56 on the road.

Carlos Santana and Ryan Jeffers have been the Twins’ top power threats this season, with Santana leading the team with 22 homers and Jeffers right behind him at 20. However, Santana has struggled at the plate of late, hitting just .182 over his last eight games. Willi Castro has also been a solid power threat for the Twins, as his 12 homers are good for 7th on the team, and he has gone deep in one of his past eight games.

Overall, the Twins are averaging 4.6 runs per game, which is 11th in the league. They have been a better offensive team at home, averaging 4.9 runs per contest. As a team, the Twins are batting .247, which is 10th in the league, and they are also among the league leaders in team on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS.

For an over/under pick, our lean is on the over, as this is projected to be the 8th highest-scoring game of today’s slate. As for who is going to take this one straight-up, we have our lean on the Marlins to pick up the win. Between the two starters, we have Ryan Weathers finishing with more strikeouts than Bailey Ober for the Twins.

Twins Enter Crucial Final Week with Series vs. Marlins

In terms of their playoff chances, the Minnesota Twins are down but not out. Minnesota (81-75) aims to improve its postseason odds when it opens a three-game series against the Miami Marlins (57-99) starting Tuesday night in Minneapolis. The Twins enter the series one game back of the Detroit Tigers for the final American League wild-card spot.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli remains confident in his team’s ability to make a playoff run but expressed frustration after a tough Sunday that saw his squad drop both games of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox, falling to a 11-22 record since August 18.

Offensive Struggles Mount for Minnesota

On Sunday, Minnesota lost Game 1 against Boston 8-1 and Game 2 9-3, extending their streak of games without scoring more than four runs to seven straight contests.

“We’re in a funk, and we’re not scoring the runs that we need to,” Baldelli said. “We’re looking for a big hit. It’s all I think about. I go to bed at night thinking about this all the time, and I know our hitting coaches and our hitters themselves are, too.”

Baldelli sees the series against Miami as a chance to reset and get back on track.

“We have to win on Tuesday,” Baldelli said. “We’re going to try to make the best of the day off, come back fresh and ready to go with some enthusiasm. Our guys want it. They want to give ourselves a chance to go to the playoffs. That’s what we’re here for.”

Miami Aims to Play Spoiler

Meanwhile, the Marlins are eyeing the role of spoiler. Miami (57-99) is trying to avoid its fourth 100-loss season in franchise history and the first since 2019.

The Marlins have lost two consecutive games, four of their past five, and 10 of their last 13.

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Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who won the National League Manager of the Year award in 2023, could be managing his final week with the team. Schumaker, who has been at the helm for two years, may be a candidate for other managerial openings this offseason.

“It’s kind of a weird moment, personally, in my career,” Schumaker said. “Extremely grateful that I was given an opportunity to manage the Miami Marlins, even if it was a couple years. … It was a lot of learning, a lot of ups and downs the last couple years, but it was also exciting. Built a lot of friendships here. You’ll have these relationships forever.”

Pitching Matchup: Ober vs. Weathers

The Twins will send right-hander Bailey Ober (12-7, 3.84 ERA) to the mound for the series opener. Ober has been a consistent strikeout pitcher, with 180 strikeouts over 168 2/3 innings this season. This will mark his first career start against the Marlins.

Miami will counter with left-hander Ryan Weathers (3-6, 3.94 ERA). The 24-year-old Weathers, son of former MLB pitcher David Weathers, is searching for his first win since May 26 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Like Ober, Weathers has never faced the Twins in his career.