Jake Odorizzi
vs
Lucas Giolito

Coming into this series, I was hoping the Twins to at least split. That's still possible but I'm not counting on it. FanGraphs dropped the Twins to 16.2% to win the division. They have an easier schedule for their final 10 games versus Chicago's final 12 but they need to also make up three games. And consistently score more than two runs a game.

Last Sunday:

• 36.6 win pace
• +1000 AL Pennant (7th behind NYY, TB, OAK, CHW, HOU, CLE)
• +1800 World Series (11th - behind AL teams above plus LAD, SD, ATL,  CHC)

Today:

• 37 win pace
• +750 AL Pennant (7th behind NYY, TB, OAK, CHW)
• +1600 World Series (9th - behind AL teams above plus LAD, SD, ATL,  CHC)

Playoffs.  Lets talk playoffs.  There is a HUGE difference between having the 4th seed or the 5th seed.  The 4th seed means the Twins stay home for the entire best of 3 game series against, and lets just be honest here, it will be, the New York Yankees although if the season ended today it would be Toronto and there is an outside chance it could be Houston.  Fall to the 5th seed and its off to New York - either Yankee stadium or the AAA stadium in Buffalo to play Toronto.

The Twins have the best home record in the majors at 20-5 and among playoff teams only the Astros at 7-17 and the Yankees at 8-14 have worse road records than the Twins 9-13.

The AL Division on AL Championship series will be played in neutral stadiums. According to the NY Times it appears the AL will play in California and the NL in Texas with the World Series in Texas.  So there is no home field advantage to getting a top 3 seed beyond the first round.

So the difference between catching the White Sox and getting a top 3 seed effectively only means the difference in facing Tampa Bay or Oakland in the ALDS or ALCS but the difference between 4th and 5th I believe is the difference between winning and losing that first round matchup - regardless of who the opponent is.  I am scoreboard watching - but I am just as if not more concerned with Toronto and the Yankees than I am with the Bitch Sox. And just as a side note - am I the only one who actually misses Hawk Harrelson?  He made watching Twins Sox games fun - especially when the Twins won.

It is worth note that the Vikings play today and one can understand Kirk Cousins' views on COVID-19. I mean whats more risky to his health: dropping back behind that joke of an offensive line or the corona-virus?

Before I get into the Twins - I have to tell everyone - 42 minutes.  Front door to front door round trip to Costco for the bi-weekly shopping trip to feed 4 children (3 teenagers) took only 42 minutes.

Odds last Sunday:

• 35.3 win pace
• +700 AL Pennant (4th behind NYY, TB,  OAK)
• +1400 World Series (5th LAD, NYY, TB, OAK)

Odds Today:

• 36.6 win pace
• +1000 AL Pennant (7th behind NYY, TB, OAK, CHW, HOU, CLE)
• +1800 World Series (11th - behind AL teams above plus LAD, SD, ATL,  CHC)

Even after a 5-2 week and a 5 game winning streak - the Twins see their postseason odds at a nadir. I think the odds are bit lagging but it is concerning to see for the first time the Twins with longer odds than both Chicago and Cleveland.

Today - Rich Hill vs Casey Mize.  For the second straight Sunday the Tigers put Mize on the Mound against the Twins who gave up 2 runs over 3 innings last Sunday as the Tigers completed a sweep of the Twins.

The Twins have gone under the total on every game this winning streak and have only gone over 3 out of 20 home games this season.

Take the Twins to win - and for the game to stay under.