Athletics vs. Twins: Thursday baseball brings us an early matchup in Minneapolis, where the Athletics chase a sweep and the Twins try to salvage pride. Minnesota has stumbled with just three wins in their last ten games, while the Athletics has shown surprising life on the road. With an afternoon start, eyes turn toward a familiar power bat looking to snap out of a small slump. The setup feels ripe for a bounce back performance against a vulnerable arm.
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Athletics vs. Twins Best Bets – August 21
Can Brent Rooker snap this cold streak this afternoon?
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Happy Friday Junior! The weekend is almost here. To those reading this thinking, “today is Thursday?” Please reread what I wrote. Friday…Junior. Thursday is Friday’s little brother. Come on now, you get the joke.
Anyway…
Today our focus is on the day game in Minneapolis, where the Athletics are chasing a road sweep and the Twins are desperately trying to avoid further embarrassment. Minnesota has dropped seven of their last ten, and the pressure is mounting.
The play is Brent Rooker to snap out of his two-game hitless streak and go over 1.5 bases this afternoon, priced at $1.05. Rooker enters with an elite rating on Batters-Box, where his trends are rock solid. In 50 elite road ratings, he records a hit 68% of the time, 2+ hits 40% of the time, and clears this prop 56% of the time. Stretching back over the last three years with 102 elite ratings, his numbers stay consistent. Most recently, in his last ten elite ratings on the road, he has gone over 1.5 bases seven times.
Rooker vs. Urena
He gets a great matchup against Jose Urena, who has bounced between seven teams since 2023. The right-hander enters with the third-worst pitcher rating on today’s slate. In 31 innings this season, the 33-year-old owns a 4.06 ERA and 1.42 WHIP. Right-handed bats have crushed him, hitting .315 with a .463 SLG and .819 OPS.
Urena relies on four pitches, but 58% of his arsenal grades below league average, per FanGraphs. His sinker and slider are the main culprits, and Rooker feasts on both. This season against those offerings, he is batting .283 or better, with an OPS north of .778 and a wRC+ of 129 or higher. He also profiles well against the rest of Urena’s mix.
This sets up as the perfect bounce back spot for the Athletics star after back-to-back hitless games. Paying light juice is more than worth it here.
Come on Rooker!
Best Bet: Brent Rooker Over 1.5 Total Bases (-105) odds via BetOnline
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