Can Quintana Keep His Form

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Two teams vying for wild-card spots will cross paths on Monday night. The Minnesota Twins (57-46; 28-25 away) are back in the Big Apple but in a different borough this time as they prepare for the New York Mets (55-49; 28-27 home). Round one of three will start at 7:10 p.m. Firmly in a playoff spot the Twins can still catch the Guardians in the AL Central. With their rivals scuffling a bit the gap is down to 4.5 games. Minnesota may not be busy at the trade deadline but that shouldn't slow down an offense that's sixth in scoring.

Pitching is where this team has faltered throughout the season. The burden has primarily belonged to the starters. Minnesota's relievers are eighth in FIP ninth in WAR and 12th in ERA. So the team will pray that Simeon Woods Richardson can keep the game competitive. He has a dazzling 2.86 ERA this month a 2.87 ERA in night games this season and has held six straight foes to three or fewer runs. Woods Richardson also carries a 3.56 FIP and 1.114 WHIP into this start. Let's see if he can piece together another quality start.

Whether it's because of Grimace or singer Candelita (infielder Jose Iglesias) the Mets have been incredible lately. They have more wins in July (15) than any other team. The team's recent trade for Jesse Winker is a sign that they're pushing for the playoffs. Winker will slot into a New York lineup that's seventh in runs per game. This team is 12th in batting average 10th in OBP and eighth in slugging percentage. They have the fifth-most home runs and the seventh-highest stolen-base percentage. The Mets are just outside MLB's top 10 in strikeout rate (12th) and walk rate (13th). Sneaky MVP candidate Francisco Lindor has a 1.009 OPS this month. Does New York's heat wave have more life?

On the mound a beat-up Mets pitching staff recently received another blow. Kodai Senga went down during his season debut and may be out for the rest of the regular season. That shortens the rotation further making lefty Jose Quintana more valuable to this team. Fortunately he enters Monday's start amid his best month of the season. Quintana owns a 2.19 ERA in July and only one opponent has scored multiple runs against him in those outings. The Mets are 5-2 in his last seven appearances. A troubling concern for Quintana is his 1.51 HR/9 the seventh-highest among qualified pitchers. After him New York will turn to an injured bullpen that's 19th in FIP and 20th in WAR. Giving the offense a chance to win is all they need to do.

Headlines 🚨

On This Day in Sport History: 1974 Lou Brock steals his 700^th base.

1983 Steve Garvey ends NL record 1,207 consecutive game streak.

2001 Lance Armstrong disqualified from the 88^th Tour de France

Texans DE Denico Autry 6 games suspension for PED policy violation.

Cowboys DE Sam Williams out for season with ACL injury.

Jayson Tatum will play in game 2 of the Olympics after sitting out the first game.

Royals acquire Michael Lorenzen form the Rangers to add to their rotation.

Cubs acquire All-Star Isaac Paredes in a trade with the Rays.

Trends 📈📉 via Oddsshark

⚾️ Guardians at Tigers

• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games on the road

• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games

• Detroit is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland

• Detroit is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Cleveland

⚾️ Yankees at Phillies

• The total has gone OVER in 7 of NY Yankees's last 8 games

⚾️ Mariners at Red Sox

• The total has gone OVER in 19 of Seattle's last 25 games when playing Boston

• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games when playing at home against Seattle

• Boston is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Seattle

⚾️ Cubs at Reds

• Chi Cubs is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road

⚾️ Twins at Mets

• The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Minnesota's last 9 games when playing on the road against NY Mets

⚾️ Rangers at Cardinals

• Texas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against St. Louis

• Texas is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games when playing St. Louis

⚾️ Pirates at Astros

• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing Houston

⚾️ Royals at White Sox

• Kansas City is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games when playing Chi White Sox

• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi White Sox's last 5 games when playing Kansas City

• The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Chi White Sox's last 11 games when playing at home against Kansas City

⚾️ Braves at Brewers

• Atlanta is 11-1 ATS in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Milwaukee

• Atlanta is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games when playing Milwaukee 

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⚾️ MLB

52% of bets and 87% of money is on OVER 9.5 TOR at BAL (G2)

27% of bets and 45% of money is on UNDER 7 CLE at DET

31% of bets and 66% of money is on OVER 9.5 CHC at CIN

23% of bets and 63% of money is on CHC -1.5 (+140)

40% of bets and 67% of money is on UNDER 8.5 SEA at BOS

36% of bets and 57% of money is on MIN -1.5 (+150)

37% of bets and 64% of money is on UNDER 8.5 TEX at STL

30% of bets and 68% of money is on TEX -1.5 (+145)

34% of bets and 69% of money is on UNDER 8 ATL at MIL

52% of bets and 85% of money is on ARI -1.5 (+125)

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