The 4-6 Twins, after an extra long break, meet the Tigers in Detroit on Saturday. Perhaps an extended time off is what they needed, because nothing much was going right for them in the last two weeks. Both their usually formidable offense and especially their pitchers have struggled, with short poor appearances from the starters, and an overworked and underachieving bullpen. Saturday’s starter, Joe Ryan has been an exception. After a great beginning to his season, the rookie faltered after missing time, but has righted himself in his last three starts, with opposing hitters batting just .162 in July. Don’t look for length from him; he’s tossed just 16 innings in his last 3 starts.

If the Twins are temporarily in the offensive mire, the Tigers, with the league’s 29th rated offense, have lived there for the season. They are hitting just .189 against right handers in the last 10 games, but really their numbers for the season are not that much better. The Tigers’ starters have also been struggling, with an ERA of over six at the moment, but the bullpen has been surprisingly good.

Pineda starts for Detroit on Saturday. He missed a month and a half on the IL, returning in July. His first two starts were acceptable, a pair of five inning 2 run appearances, but he was shelled in his last start, giving up 8 runs in just 2 innings.

I am on the Twins today. Ryan is still a rookie, but he has really impressed me this year. There is nothing to say that Pineda’s poor outing is more than a one-off, but the Tigers really can’t hit. The Twins have the track record on offense, and have had considerable success vs Pineda. Unfortunately the odds-makers agree with me. It is tempting to play them on the run line, but the Twins pen scares me at the moment. Twins to win. 8*