MLB picks: Athletics vs. Rangers, Twins vs. Tigers

The Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers will wrap up their four-game set on national TV on Thursday night, while the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers begin a four-game series of their own. Join us as we handicap both matchups below.

Oakland Athletics (22-10) at Texas Rangers (11-19), 6:37 p.m. ET, FOX

Chris Bassitt and the Athletics should make light work of Jordan Lyles and the Rangers at Globe Life Field on Thursday night.

Lyles has been nothing short of terrible on the mound in 2020, going 1-3 with a 9.25 ERA and 1.89 WHIP. The A’s solid lineup – 11th in runs per game (4.97) –should be able to chase Lyles early, allowing for extra looks at the Rangers’ subpar bullpen that’s 20th in ERA (4.87).

Outfielder Stephen Piscotty and shortstop Marcus Semien have been doing plenty of damage for Oakland throughout this series – Piscotty has five hits and five RBI while Semien has seven hits and two RBI – so look for them to each have another strong night.

Bassitt’s stats in 2020 speak to how well he’s been throwing – he’s 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. He’s yet to face Texas this year, but in 17 innings of work against the Rangers in 2019, Bassitt surrendered a .197 opponent batting average. Bassitt is backed by an A’s bullpen that’s allowed no earned runs over their last 24 1/3 innings. The Rangers are currently last in the majors in runs per game (3.60).

MLB pick: Athletics runline

Minnesota Twins (20-12) at Detroit Tigers (13-16), 7:10 p.m. ET

The offensive sparks should fly in the series opener between the Twins and Tigers at Comerica Park on Thursday night.

Randy Dobnak gets the ball for Minnesota against a Detroit lineup that’s averaged 5.83 runs per game over their last six contests. He’s averaging barely above three strikeouts per start in 2020, which won’t help him exploit the Tigers’ tendency to whiff (fifth most Ks in the majors).

Second baseman Jonathan Schoop has been on a tear for Detroit over the last week, batting .400 with two homers and seven RBI. Not to be outdone, third baseman Jeimer Candelario has 10 hits in his last 29 trips to the plate. They should enjoy hitting off Dobnak and a Twins bullpen that has a 4.45 ERA over the last week (19th).

Countering for the Tigers is Matthew Boyd, who is struggling mightily in 2020 (0-4, 8.48 ERA, 1.74 WHIP). He’ll want to pitch carefully to Minnesota third baseman Miguel Sano, who’s hitting .400 with a pair of homers and six RBI over the last week. The Tigers bullpen has a 5.70 ERA over the last seven days (22nd), which won’t help Under bettors cash either.

MLB pick: Over