<p>The Twins just lost a series on the South Side of Chicago and now head North for a three-game series with the Cubs at Wrigley Field starting Friday night. Both these teams are headed for the playoffs, so this is a possible preview of an upcoming World Series match-up. How are we playing Friday's game for our free MLB pick?
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<h2>MLB Betting Odds </h2>
<p>Friday's MLB betting odds opened Chicago and Hendricks at around -130 over Minnesota and Hill, while holding off on posting a total, as they so often do with Cubs home games. That price was holding steady in the early betting action.</p>
<h2>Twins vs. Cubs Set-Up </h2>
<p>Minnesota just dropped three of four games in Chicago to the rival White Sox, losing Thursday's series finale 4-3. But just before that, the Twins swept three games from rival Cleveland.
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<p>At 31-21, overall, Minnesota trails the division-leading ChiSox by three games in the AL Central, but it's also three games clear of the third-place Indians. And second place makes the playoffs this season.
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<p>Meanwhile, Chicago just took two games at home from the Indians by scores of 6-5 Tuesday and 3-2 Wednesday. The Cubs then enjoyed Thursday off.</p>
<p>Before that, Chicago took two of three games from Milwaukee, and just before that, it took two of three from Cincinnati. Going back a bit further, the Cubs are 7-2 over their last nine games.</p>
<p>At 30-20 overall, Chicago leads the NL Central by 5.5 games over second-place Cincinnati, and it only trails San Diego by a game and a half in the battle for the No. 2 spot in the National League.
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<p>This meeting is the first match between these two teams since 2018 when the Cubs swept three games from the Twins at Wrigley.
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<h2>Friday's Starting Arms </h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/pitcherlog/57402&quot; target="_blank" title="Kyle Hendricks Pitching Logs">Hendricks</a> is a solid 7/10 on quality starts this season, working on a run of three in a row. Last Saturday, he held Milwaukee to two runs and six hits through 7 2/3 innings of a 4-2 Cubs win. And over his last three starts, he's allowed just four runs and 19 hits through 21 2/3 innings.
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<p>Chicago is 6-4 with Hendricks this season, 3-0 over his last three starts.
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<p>This will be Hendricks' first start against the Twins since 2015, and that's a long time ago.
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<p><a href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/pitcherlog/39411&quot; target="_blank" title="Rich Hill Pitching Stats">Lefty Hill</a> is 0/6 on quality starts this year, but part of that is due to a short leash. Last Saturday, he limited Cleveland to two runs and four hits through five innings of an 8-4 Minnesota victory. And over his last four starts, he's allowed seven runs and 17 hits through 18 1/3 innings.
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<p>For the season, the Twins, a team that's ten games over .500 overall, are only 2-4 with Hill, 1-4 over his last five starts, although that's not all his fault.
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<p>Over his last three starts against the Cubs, one each in 2017-18-19 while with the Dodgers, Hill allowed four runs through 18 innings. Los Angeles won two of those three games.
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<h2>Friday's Batting Splits</h2>
<p>Minnesota is batting .245 against right-handed pitching this season, with a .322 team OBP and a .464 team slugging percentage. The Twins have also scored a total of just 11 runs over their last four games.
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<p>Chicago is batting a meager .208/.318/.330 against left-handed pitching this season.
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<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/1265740&quot; style="font-weight: bold">Twins vs. Cubs Match-up Stats</a> </span>
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<h2>The Bullpens</h2>
<p>The Minnesota bullpen owns a 3.70 ERA this season and a 1.27 WHIP.
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<p>The Cubs pen owns a 4.33 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.
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<h2>MLB Betting Trends</h2>
<ul>
<li>Minnesota is just 11-16 on the road this season.</li>
<li>The Cubs are 16-11 at home this season.</li>
<li>Minnesota is 23-14 against right-handed starters this season.</li>
<li>The Cubs are 6-3 vs. left-handed starters this season.</li>
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<h2>Totals Report</h2>
<ul>
<li>Unders are a lopsided 34-16 in Twins games this season.</li>
<li>Overs are 25-24 in Cubs games this season.</li>
<li>Unders are 16-11 in games played at Wrigley Field this season.</li>
<li>Overs are a combined 10-6 when Hendricks and Hill start this season.</li>
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