The Twins have put up double digit runs in 3 straight games, and they'll look to do it again against Brian Bannister and the Royals on Wednesday afternoon. Bannister is 1-6 over his last eight starts having given up four runs or more in seven of those outings. The righty faced the Twins earlier this season back in April; he gave up nine hits and two runs in 6.3 innings of work. Before getting that win, he had lost two straight starts to Minnesota. Jim Thome (9-26), Joe Mauer (7-25), Michael Cuddyer (9-22), Delmon Young (6-22), Denard Span (6-21), Alexi Casilla (4-13), and JJ Hardy (2-6) all hit Bannister well. The Twins have scored 54 runs in six games on their current road trip so far, and they’ve also scored 51 runs in their last five games against the Royals. Minnesota’s Brian Duensing's first start of the season went well. He gave up one run and four hits in five innings pitched in Baltimore. The lefty got the win in a start last year against the Royals where he gave up just two runs and six hits in five innings of work. As a team, Royals’ hitters are 7 for 35 against Duensing. Among those looking for their first hit against him are Billy Butler (0-4), Jose Guillen (0-3), Mitch Maier (0-3), Rick Ankiel (0-2), Willie Bloomquist (0-2), Brayan Pena (0-2), and Alex Gordon (0-2). Kansas City is only 9-13 against southpaws this season averaging just 3.8 runs per game against them. They are 20-27 at home this season, and since Minnesota is in terrific current form right now, we expect them to get another solid road win this afternoon.

Play TWINS (-) (action).

FREE PLAY

The Rangers are winning with good pitching as of late; they've gone Under the total in 9 of their last 12 games. They continue their series with the A's on Wednesday night as Colby Lewis gets the start for Texas. He's 9-6 with a 3.52 ERA and 12 Unders in his 19 starts this season. The righty is 5-1 with a 3.40 ERA in eight outings at home. In two starts against Oakland this season, Lewis has given up six runs and 11 hits in 13 innings of work. Cliff Pennington (1-7), Adam Rosales (1-6), Daric Barton (1-5), Rajai Davis (0-5), and Landon Powell (0-4) all struggle with Lewis. Oakland is averaging 4.1 runs per game away from home. Lewis is backed by a Texas bullpen that has an ERA below 3.50 as a unit at home. Trevor Cahill has been outstanding for Oakland. He's 9-4 with a 3.15 ERA and 11 Unders in his 17 starts this season. The righty has given up just nine runs and 14 hits in his last 20.7 innings of work. Ironically, Cahill has opposed Lewis twice already this season. In those two outings, he has given up only three runs and nine hits in 10.7 innings of work. David Murphy (4-16), Elvis Andrus (3-13), Ian Kinsler (1-11), Vlad Guerrero (2-10), Julio Borbon (2-10), Josh Hamilton (2-9), Nelson Cruz (0-7), Bengie Molina (0-6), and Taylor Teagarden (0-4) all have poor numbers against Cahill. Texas has scored just 16 runs in their last six games. These two teams have gone Under the total in 13 of their last 20 games in Texas, and we expect another low-scoring game between the A’s and Rangers tonight.

The last time Jaime Garcia and Johan Santana met, the game went 20 innings and the Mets won 2-1. These two pitchers meet again in New York on Wednesday night. Santana has gone five straight outings of pitching at least five innings giving up one run or less in each start. The lefty is 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA in four career starts against the Cardinals. Ryan Ludwick (4-25), Randy Winn (4-17), Skip Schumaker (3-13), Felipe Lopez (1-10), Matt Holliday (1-7), Brendan Ryan (0-7), Jason LaRue (0-3), Colby Rasmus (0-3), and Aaron Miles (0-1) all struggle against Santana. He is backed by a New York bullpen that has an ERA of 1.83 at home this season. St. Louis’ Jaime Garcia has shown some chinks in his armor as of late. He has gone just 15.7 innings over his last three outings giving up seven runs and 21 hits. The lefty is 5-3 with a 2.96 ERA on the road where he's shown less control. Garcia has walked 25 batters while striking out only 40. The Mets found their stroke a bit at home where they are now 31-16. New York is 15-12 against southpaws scoring 4.1 runs per game against them. The Cardinals are 21-29 on the road scoring 4 runs per game away from St. Louis. They have lost three straight games to left-handed starters falling to Jon Niese, Tom Gorzelanny, and Cole Hamels. St. Louis has scored just 11 runs in their last five games, and with New York holding the pitching and hitting edge here, we expect them to get a solid home win tonight.

Play METS (-) (action).