There’s only so much Taijuan Walker can do this late in the regular season to make his numbers look better. Still, Walker wants no less than a victory when he toes the rubber today against Minnesota.
Walker brings into the game a 6-11 record and a mediocre 4.32 ERA
Walker’s last outing was a forgettable one, allowing three runs on five hits while issuing four free passes in just 5.1 innings of a 3-2 home loss to Toronto. Walker’s season-long struggles definitely calls of Seattle’s offense to step up and rescue the team from any disaster the right-hander might accidentally cook on the mound.
Norichika Aoki is among those hitting well of late for the Mariners with the outfielder hitting 7-for-17 (.412) with a couple of doubles in his last five games as of this writing. Star second baseman Robinson Cano, on the other hand, is 7-for-24 (.292) in the last six games.
The under is 2-0 in Walker’s last two starts overall.
Betting on the Minnesota Twins
Let’s talk more about Taijuan Walker, a pitcher the Twins must be happy to see again.
The last time Walker pitched against Minnesota, the Twins channeled their inner Harmon Killebrew and pounded Walker for five runs (three home runs) and six hits in 4.1 innings in a 5-4 road win. Walker’s been bad when away from Seattle, too, as evidenced by his 2-5 record and 4.24 ERA in nine road starts.
Lighting it up early at the plate against Walker should make Minnesota starter Hector Santiago’s life a lot easier.
Santiago was last seen on the mound embarrassing his family name, as he allowed six earned runs on seven hits in 5.1 frames of an 8-1 loss to Detroit on September20. That’s a bit forgivable, though, as Santiago pitched two straight starts previously in which he surrendered just two earned runs in 12.2 total innings.
