St. Louis Cardinals at Minnesota Twins, MLB forecast
Win probability
Starts from the pregame forecast, then moves with the score and the time left after each inning. Above the line favors MIN.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Cardinals- Brendan DonovanBatting1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
- Andre PallantePitching7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 K
Twins- Ryan JeffersBatting2-3
- David FestaPitching3.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 K
Scoring summary
- 8Winn hit sacrifice fly to left, Nootbaar scored.6–1
- 8Pitch 1 : Ball In Play6–1
- 8Scott II walked, Arenado scored, Baker to second, Nootbaar to third.5–1
- 8Pitch 5 : Ball 45–1
- 8Pitch 4 : Ball 35–1
- 8Pitch 3 : Strike 1 Foul5–1
- 8Pitch 2 : Ball 25–1
- 8Pitch 1 : Ball 15–1
- 6Donovan homered to center (414 feet).4–1
- 6Pitch 5 : Ball In Play4–1
- 6Pitch 4 : Strike 2 Foul4–1
- 6Pitch 3 : Ball 24–1
- 6Pitch 2 : Ball 14–1
- 6Pitch 1 : Strike 1 Looking4–1
- 4Nootbaar doubled to right, Contreras scored and Donovan scored.3–1
- 4Pitch 2 : Ball In Play3–1
- 4Pitch 1 : Ball 13–1
- 3Winn singled to left, Scott II scored.1–1
- 3Pitch 7 : Ball In Play1–1
- 3Pitch 6 : Strike 2 Foul1–1
- 3Pitch 5 : Strike 2 Foul1–1
- 3Pitch 4 : Ball 31–1
- 3Pitch 3 : Ball 21–1
- 3Pitch 2 : Strike 1 Looking1–1
- 3Pitch 1 : Ball 11–1
- 2Martin reached on infield single to third, Jeffers scored, Julien to second, Kepler to third.0–1
- 2Pitch 1 : Ball In Play0–1
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Twins 58%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: MLB favorites the forecast gave 55–60% have won 55.5% of 2,596 graded games.
- Market
- MIN 58%
- ML STL +130 / MIN -155
- Pre-line forecast
- MIN 56%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- MIN 60%
- Ratings vs. market
- +2.2 pts
- MIN: Elo 60.5%, market 58.3%
- Fair odds
- MIN -140
- STL +140 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- STL 3.9 – 4.6 MIN
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 8.5
How the number is built
Elo inputs in rating points (higher favors that team; 25–28 Elo is about a point of spread in football and basketball), then how the pieces combine.
| Factor | STL | MIN | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1480 | 1534 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +18 | Worth 18 Elo in MLB |
| Starting pitchers | +4 | +5 | STL: Andre Pallante: team allows 0.18 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈7 weighted starts) · MIN: David Festa: team allows 0.25 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈5 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | MIN +74 Elo | MIN 60.5% | |
| Market-implied ratings | MIN 54.7% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | MIN 55.6% | 15% Elo, 85% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | MIN 58.3% | Follows the market (vig removed): in testing, adding the ratings made it less accurate | |
Tale of the tape
This season coming into the game, regular season, each number with its league rank (the longer the bar, the higher). Home and road: the host's record at home against the visitor's on the road.
| STL | Stat | MIN |
|---|---|---|
| 24th of 304.1 | Runs scored | 4.96th of 30 |
| 22nd of 304.6 | Runs allowed | 4.317th of 30 |
| 23rd of 30−0.4 | Margin | +0.68th of 30 |
| 25th of 303–7 | Last 10 | 6–46th of 30 |
| 20th of 3029–34 | Road vs home | 36–246th of 30 |
Rating history
Each team's Elo over the last two seasons. Hover or drag to compare on any date.
Recent form
Last five results, and whether the forecast hit.
Against the line
How each team has done against the closing spread and total, coming into this game.
| This season |  STL |  MIN |
|---|---|---|
| Run line | 61–65 | 62–64 |
| Last 10 | 4–6 | 6–4 |
| Favorite | 19–41 | 37–47 |
| Underdog | 42–24 | 25–17 |
| Overs–unders | 61–63–2 | 66–60 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 4–6 | 6–4 |
Against each game's closing line. Books set every line knowing these records: across 3,901 past games, the team with the better record against the spread so far that season covered 51.2%, short of the 52.4% a standard −110 bet needs, and over/under streaks held 48.0% of the time. They describe the past.
Head to head
STL 1–2 MIN in their last 3 meetings; the forecast called 1 of 3.