Definitely not a hugely strong feeling here but simply riding the torrid Padres. The Twins had two guys with two hits and a run each from Tuesday's game who are taking a seat today in No. 1 catcher Ryan Jeffers and outfielder Max Kepler. Fine by me. The reason I'm not very high on this is the recent struggles by Friars knuckleballer Matt Waldron so the lineup likely has to win it. Minnesota rookie starter Simeon Woods Richardson has struggled on the road with his 4.27 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 4.75 xFIP.

Matt Waldron has been struggling on the mound, despite the Padres surging in the win column. Waldron has failed to pitch 6+ innings in four consecutive starts while surrendering at least 5 ER in three of those outings. He will now face a Twins offense that is 6th in OPS. We're getting a nice price and I believe this line should have opened at 16.5.

It's been good business to back the Padres the past four-plus weeks, as their 22-5 run has put them firmly in the NL playoff field and breathing down the necks of the Dodgers in the NL West. Meanwhile, the Twins are having their problems this week at Petco, and not even their hottest pitcher (Bailey Ober) could overcome a shaky bullpen last night. Matt Waldron has had a couple of bumpy starts in a row for San Diego, but the Padres had still won four straight with Waldron on the mound prior to last Friday at Denver. Note Simeon Woods Richardson has been nothing special on the mound for Minnesota, reflected in his 4.36 ERA since the start of July. Play Padres on ML