<p>
The Minnesota Twins, rolling along in the early going this season with the second-best record in the Majors, seek a sixth straight victory and a series sweep of the Mariners Sunday afternoon in Seattle. Which way are we going for our free MLB pick?
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<h2>
MLB Betting Odds<br />
</h2>
<p>
Sunday's MLB betting odds opened this game as basically a pick 'em, with an over/under of 8.5 runs. Both those figures were holding steady in the early betting action.
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<h2>
Twins vs. Mariners Set-Up<br />
</h2>
<p>
Minnesota took the opener of this series Thursday 11-6, then won Friday 7-1, then won Saturday 18-4. The Twins scored five runs in the second inning Saturday, five more in the third, two in the fourth, three in the fifth and two in the sixth, hitting six home runs along the way.
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<p>
So Minnesota now owns a five-game winning streak. At 30-15 overall the Twins lead the AL Central by 5.5 games over second-place Cleveland.
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<p>
Seattle, meanwhile, owns a three-game losing streak and is just 2-9 over its last 11 games. At 22-26 overall the Mariners now occupy the last place in the AL West, 10 games behind first-place Houston.
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<p>
This series is the first meeting between these two teams this season. Last year the Mariners took the season series from the Twins five games to one.
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<h2>
Sunday's Starting Arms<br />
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<p>
Rookie lefty Kikuchi, by our stringent standards, is 3/10 on quality starts this season, but two for his last three. Monday he gave up three runs on three solo home runs through six innings of a 6-5 Seattle victory over Oakland. And over his last three starts, he's allowed just five runs and 11 hits through 20 2/3 innings.
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<p>
On the season the Mariners are 6-4 with Kikuchi, 4-1 over his last five starts.
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<p>
This will be Kikuchi's first-ever start against Minnesota, which could give him an edge, at least for the first couple of times through the lineup.
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<p>
Gibson is 3/8 on quality starts this season but three for his last five. Tuesday he gave up three runs and six hits through 5 2/3 innings of a 4-3 Twins victory over the Angels, and over his previous five starts, he's allowed nine earned runs and 23 hits through 29 2/3 innings, with 33 strikeouts.
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<p>
Minnesota is 6-2 with Gibson this season, 4-1 over his last five starts.
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<p>
In his only start against Seattle, last season Gibson gave up two runs – one earned – and seven hits through 4 1/3 innings of a 4-2 Twins win.
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<h2>
Thursday's Batting Splits<br />
</h2>
<p>
Minnesota is batting .296/.364/.542 against left-handed pitching this season. This lineup has also scored 44 runs over its last four games.
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<p>
Seattle is batting .242/.316/.465 against RH pitching this season. This lineup has also scored a total of 30 runs over its last nine games.
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<h2>
The Bullpens<br />
</h2>
<p>
The Twins bullpen owns a 4.10 ERA this season, along with a 1.40 WHIP, while going 13/14 on save conversions.
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<p>
The Mariners bullpen owns a 5.49 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP, both of which rank right near the bottom in all of MLB while going 13/21 on save conversions.
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<h2>
Totals Report<br />
</h2>
<ul>
<li>
Overs are 23-21 in Twins games this season.
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<li>
Overs are a lopsided 32-14 in Mariners games this season.
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<li>
Overs are 14-8 in games played at T-Mobile Park this season.
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<li>
Overs are a combined 12-5 in games started by Kikuchi and Gibson this season.
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<li>
Overs are 2-1 in this series.
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</ul>
<p><section></p>
<ul>
<li>
<span style="font-size:16px;"><b><span style="color:#008000;">Get more details:</span></b> <a class="advblue" href=" https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/matchup/1076713">Minnesota at Seattle MLB Match-up Stats </a> </span>
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</ul>
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