Twins vs. Rangers (July 9): Will Perez continue his stellar season at home?

After back-to-back one-run losses, the Minnesota Twins will look to get back into the win column on Saturday afternoon against former Martin Perez and the Texas Rangers.

On Wednesday, Minnesota gave up leads 1-0, 3-1, 5-3, 6-5, and 8-6 on the way to losing 9-8 to the White Sox in 10 innings.

Then in last night’s opener in Arlington, they led 3-0 after four innings, but a six-run fifth completely turned the game and would prove to be all the Rangers needed as they held on for a 6-5 win.

In the second game of the series, Minnesota will match up with Perez, who went 10-7 in 29 starts in his lone season with the Twins in 2019.

Perez has been one of the biggest surprise success stories in MLB this season and will be looking to help bridge the gap between he and the main AL Cy Young Award contenders with an impressive showing against the AL Central leaders.

Minnesota Twins vs. Texas Rangers Betting Odds and Matchup Information

Matchup Information

• Matchup: Minnesota Twins vs. Texas Rangers
• Venue & Location: Globe Life Field (Arlington, Texas)
• Date: Saturday, July 9, 2022
• Game Time: 4:05 p.m. Eastern Time (3:05 p.m. local time)
• TV Broadcast/Streaming Info: Bally Sports North (Twins), Bally Sports Southwest (Rangers), MLB Extra Innings/MLB.TV (subscription packages)

Twins vs. Rangers Pitching Matchup

• Minnesota Twins: Devin Smeltzer (2022: 10 starts, 4-2, 3.04 ERA)
• Texas Rangers: Martin Perez (2022: 16 starts, 7-2, 2.34 ERA)

Twins vs. Rangers Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline. This article may also include odds from other top online sportsbooks that we have reviewed and recommend.

Moneyline

• Minnesota Twins +102
• Texas Rangers -120

Over/Under

• OVER 8 (-120)
• UNDER 8 (-102)

Run Line

• Minnesota Twins +1.5 (-215)
• Texas Rangers -1.5 (+176)

Can Perez Continue Dominant Run at Home?

As things stand, it is not likely that a career season by Perez will result in a prominent place in AL Cy Young Award voting. At +6000 entering today, he is tied for 12th in BetOnline’s AL Cy Young odds, well behind favorites Shane McClanahan (+250) and Justin Verlander (+270).

But the only thing he can do is continue to put up good results and let things fall as they may, and he comes into this start with three wins in his last three starts. The last two haven’t been some of his best work this season, but he pitched well enough to win on the road against the Royals and Mets.

Now he is back in the friendly confines of Globe Life Field, where he has been pretty darn dominant for almost two and a half months.

In his first two home starts this season, both of which were losses, he allowed seven runs (six earned), 12 hits, and four walks in eight innings.

But in five home starts since, he is 5-0 with a 1.17 ERA. In 38.1 innings, he has allowed 28 hits, eight runs (five earned), and seven walks.

Overall, since beginning his season with those two losses, he is 7-0 with a 1.96 ERA and 12 quality starts in 14 starts. Given that five of his seven wins are against teams that currently occupy a playoff place–the Astros, Mets, Rays, Red Sox, and Phillies–this matchup will be anything but intimidating for Perez.

Minnesota Twins vs. Texas Rangers Prediction and Best Bets

Twins vs. Rangers Prediction: Rangers to win

Twins vs. Rangers Best Bets: Rangers ML (-115 at Bovada Sportsbook) & Rangers team total over 4 runs (-115 at BetOnline)

While the Twins’ batting splits show worse numbers against lefties and in games started by lefties, the opposite is the case for the Rangers.

2022 Batting Splits for the Minnesota Twins

• Batting Average vs. LHP: .247
• Batting Average vs. RHP: .255
• Batting Average in Games Started by LHP: .241
• Batting Average in Games Started by RHP: .257
• Runs Scored Per Game in Games Started by LHP: 4.39
• Runs Scored Per Game in Games Started by RHP: 4.60

2022 Batting Splits for the Texas Rangers

• Batting Average vs. LHP: .243
• Batting Average vs. RHP: .237
• Batting Average in Games Started by LHP: .256
• Batting Average in Games Started by RPH: .230
• Runs Per Game in Games Started by LHP: 5.26
• Runs Per Game in Games Started by RHP: 4.00

The run support that Perez has gotten as the season has progressed backs those numbers up.

In his first five starts, the Rangers scored only ten runs. Surprise, surprise, they went 2-3 in those games.

In his 11 starts since, they have scored 66 runs. Surprise, surprise, they have a 10-1 record in those 11 games, including wins in five straight and four of his five home starts in this stretch.

There is no reason to get off of the ride when it’s going that well, is there?

Other Twins vs. Rangers Content on Betting News

• Twins vs. Rangers Picks, Stats & Trends (7/9)