The slumping Minnesota Twins (61-40) are 9/1 odds to win the 2019 World Series according to William Hill. The Twins lost a big series against the NY Yankees but still hold onto first place in the AL Central with the third-best record in the American League.
The Twins have been fighting for respect all season with the Houston Astros and New York Yankees garnering most of the attention from fans, bookmakers, and the media. But now, Rocco Baldelli’s squad cannot worry about existential matters. The Twins must fend off a hot Cleveland Indians squad who are only 2 games out of first place.
WORLD SERIES ODDS (Thru 7/25/19):
LA Dodgers 5/2
NY Yankees 3/1
Houston Astros 7/2
Atlanta Braves 8/1
Minnesota Twins 9/1
Chicago Cubs 18/1
The NY Yankees are the top team from the American League in terms of World Series odds. The Yanks are 3/1 odds to win the title according to William Hill. The Minnesota Twins were anywhere from 10/1 to 12/1 odds to win the world series at different points this season.
In the National League, William Hill listed the Dodgers at 5/2 odds to win it all. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves are flying under the radar and look juicy at 8/1 odds.
Bad Twin
The Twins are in the middle of their worst stretch of the season with 9 wins in only their last 22 games. They lost seven out of their last ten games and dropped a crazy series to the NY Yankees. During this bad stretch, the Cleveland Indians (59-42) moved into striking distance of first place.
The Twins had a chance to get back on track with a highly-anticipated series against the NY Yankees. Baldelli and the Twins hosted the Yanks in a preview of the playoffs between two division leaders. The Yankees have a lock on the AL East while building up a double-digit lead over the Tampa Rays and Boston Red Sox.
The three-game series against the Yanks featured nonstop offense with both teams combining for 57 runs. The Bronx Bombers outgunned the Twins 30-27 including a 14-12 victory in extra innings. The Twins dropped two out of three and hope they can bust their slump when they hit the road to play the Chicago White Sox.
Game of the Year
After winning the first game of the series, the Yanks and Twins played the “game of the Year” during a 10-inning affair that saw multiple late-game lead changes and Didi Gregorius rake 7 RBI during a 4-for-4 monster game.
“That’s one of those games that, for being late July, we’ll probably be talking about for a long time,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
The Yanks jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Twins scored 8-unanswered runs. In the second inning, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli got rung up by home plate ump Ramon De Jesus for arguing balls and strikes. On the other side of the diamond, the Yanks lost their starting catcher when Gary Sanchez left the game with a groin injury.
The Yanks rallied down 9-5 in the 8th inning with five runs to take a 10-9 lead. The Twins scored twice in the bottom of the 8th to take a 11-10 into the final inning. The Yanks responded with 2 more runs in the top of the ninth to lead 12-11.
The wheels fell off the bus in the bottom of the ninth when Yanks’ closer Aroldis Chapman had the worst outing of the year. He couldn’t find the plate and allowed the Twins to tie the score. The Yankees got lucky because it should have been a lot worse. The Twins failed to lock up a walk-off win as the game headed into extra innings.
The Yanks did not waste any time and scored two more runs at the top of the tenth. The Twins were unable to pull off a comeback after Aaron Hicks made a spectacular catch in deep centerfield to rob Max Kepler and end the game.
“It can be an emotional rollercoaster if you let them get to you,” said Twins outfielder Max Kepler. “But it’s baseball, it’s unpredictable. Main thing is we battled and that’s what we’ve been doing. Keep doing that.”