Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics 5/16/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Minnesota Twins will head west to the Oakland Coliseum to open a series against the Oakland Athletics. Minnesota has lost four of its last five games but remains three games ahead of the White Sox and Guardians in the AL Central at 20-15 on the season. The A’s have had more success on the road than at home, where Oakland is a dismal 5-12. After dropping two of three at home to the Angels, the A’s are 15-22 on the year.

Oakland’s offense has been one of the worst in the MLB hitting just .200, last in the MLB, and averaging just 3.36 runs per game which is 28th in the league. Sean Murphy has been a solid power-hitter leading the team with four home runs and 18 RBIs, leading the team in both, but Murphy is hitting just .192 on the year. Third baseman Sheldon Neuse is hitting .281, and looks to have taken a step forward in year 3 in the Big Leagues.

The A’s will start Zach Louge in this contest, and he’s been very solid in his rookie season posting a 1.365 ERA in his 13.1 innings across three starts. He has struck out 12 while walking just three and allowed 11 hits. He’s 26-years-old, which is old for a rookie, but he still has plenty of gas left in the tank and should be a big piece of the A’s rotation the rest of the way.

The Twins' offense is in the top-10 of the MLB in batting average hitting .241 but they’ve struggled to generate runs averaging just 3.94 a game. Byron Buxton is red hot to start the year hitting .259 with 11 home runs which leads the team. Shortstop Jorge Polanco has driven in a team-high 20 runs and the Twins offense has received contributions across the board. 

Veteran right-hander Chris Archer will get the start for the Twins after a rough outing in his last start. Archer allowed five runs on five hits and struck out just two in three innings of work as the Twins were dominated by the Astros. Archer has had injury troubles in his last couple of years and is on the wrong side of 30, he could be running out of time left in his career if he doesn’t get it turned around.