MLB betting preview (Aug. 27): Twins vs. Blue Jays predictions

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Eric Lauer (56) follows through on a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

Photo credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Aug 27, 2025, 13:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 27, 2025, 13:01 EDT

The Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins will play the rubber match of their three-game series at Rogers Centre on Wednesday evening.

Minnesota staged a late rally to score a 7-5 win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday night after Toronto took the series opener, 10-4, on Monday.

Let’s take a look at the game odds for Wednesday’s series finale between the Twins and Blue Jays courtesy of bet365.

Twins vs. Blue Jays odds

Twins moneyline odds	+155
Blue Jays moneyline odds	-185
Runline odds	Blue Jays -1.5 (+110), Twins +1.5 (-130)
Game total	Over 9 runs (-115), Under 9 runs (-105)
Date/time	Aug. 27, 7:07 p.m. ET

About the Twins (60-72 SU, 65-67 ATS, 58-68-6 o/u)

The Twins snapped a three-game slide on Tuesday, but it took a four-run ninth inning, which included a pair of homers, to propel them to victory over the Blue Jays. Mickey Gaspar hit a game-tying home run off of Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman, and then four batters later Matt Wallner launched at two-run blast to help the Twins pull away.

One fun betting fact ahead of Wednesday’s game: Minnesota has homered in 22 consecutive games at Rogers Centre dating back to 2017, its longest home run streak at any road stadium.

About the Blue Jays (77-56 SU, 77-56 ATS, 73-55-5 o/u)

Should the Blue Jays be concerned about their closer down the stretch and into October? Hoffman is fifth in baseball in saves (28), but he’s also tied for the second most blown saves with seven. His latest meltdown on Tuesday inflated his ERA to 4.77, but he does rank in the 99th percentile in chase rate (37.3%) and the 94th percentile in strikeout rate (32.6%). However, opponents are barreling him up at 13.7%, which ranks in the first percentile of qualified pitchers.

For now, manager John Schneider remains confident in Hoffman’s closing abilities, but it’s certainly a storyline to follow down the stretch.

Probable starting pitchers

Minnesota: RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.24 ERA, 7.70 K/9)

Once a promising prospect in the Blue Jays organization before being traded to Minnesota in 2021 as part of the deal for Jose Berrios, Woods Richardson has been activated from the IL after missing much of August due to a digestive tract issue. He was really rounding into form in July before missing some time, posting a 2-0 record with a 3.22 ERA over five starts while holding opponents to a .229 batting average.

Toronto: LHP Eric Lauer (8-2, 2.76 ERA, 8.90 K/9)

The Blue Jays elected to temporarily remove Lauer from the starting rotation once Shane Bieber was activated to make his Toronto debut, but he’ll make this start after not pitching since Aug. 16, so we could see some rust from the veteran southpaw. Overall, Lauer has had a great season, especially when pitching at Rogers Centre, where he owns a 3-0 record with a 2.45 ERA while holding opponents to a .162 batting average. It should be noted that the Twins have struggled against left-handed pitching this season, recording a .229/.308/.372 slash line with a .680 OPS.

Notable injuries

Pitcher Pablo Lopez (shoulder), outfielder Alan Roden (thumb), and catcher Christian Vazquez (shoulder) are on the injured list for Minnesota.

Outfielder Anthony Santander (shoulder), pitcher Yimi Garcia (elbow), pitcher Bowden Francis (shoulder), and pitcher Alek Manoah (elbow) are on the IL for Toronto.

Weather

Forecasts are calling for temperatures around 20 C with clear skies. Winds will blow from left field to right field at 11 mph.

Twins vs. Blue Jays betting trends

The over is 5-0 in the previous five meetings between these teams this season.
The over is 8-2-1 in Toronto’s last 11 games.
The over is 5-1 in Minnesota’s last six games.
The Twins have hit the first five innings team total under in 41 of their last 63 games.

Twins vs. Blue Jays player prop trends

Wallner has homered in three straight games with four total in that span. He’s around +375 to go deep again.
Luke Keaschall has hit safely in four straight games and 16 of his last 20. He’s -205 to get a hit.
Woods Richardson has walked two or more batters in seven of his last 10 appearances, averaging 2.3 per game during that span. He’s around -140 to walk over 0.5 batters.
George Springer has homered in five of his last nine games and is around +230 to go yard.

Twins vs. Blue Jays best bet

Blue Jays over 4.5 total runs: -140 for one unit (best odds @ PointsBet). The Blue Jays are averaging a hearty 5.34 runs per game at home this season, which is the second-highest total in baseball behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (5.75). It’s been almost a month since Woods Richardson took the mound, which means it’ll likely be a short outing for him, giving the Blue Jays a chance to feast on a Twins bullpen that used four different pitchers on Tuesday and looks much different since the trade deadline. Toronto should bounce back in this spot with a strong offensive showing after Tuesday night’s disappointing loss.
Matt Wallner over 0.5 walks: +200 for one unit (best odds @ bet365). This bet didn’t cash for us on Tuesday, but there’s an even better case to be made Wednesday at longer odds. Wallner is so hot right now with four homers in his last three games that Toronto’s pitchers will have to nibble at the strike zone or simply pitch around him. Wallner ranks in the 82nd percentile in walk rate (11.7%), so he’s already one of the more patient hitters in the league. We played this at just +135 odds on Tuesday, and the market is more enticing this time around at +200 (33.3% implied probability) on a line Wallner has beaten at a 37% rate this season, walking in 31 of his 84 games played.