Quick Picks with Coach Rick Bowe, MLB Picks, MLB Free Picks, MLB Predictions 6/24/26

Quick Picks with Coach Rick Bowe, MLB Picks, MLB Free Picks, MLB Predictions 6/24/26

LA DODGERS @ MINNESOTA (LA -175, 8)

MLB ODDS, MLB PREDICTIONS, MLB PREVIEWS

COACH RICK MLB PREVIEWS

DODGERS @ TWINS 6/24/26

The Dodgers enter this contest with significant momentum but are grappling with a massive injury list. Key arms like Tyler Glasnow, Bobby Miller, and Gavin Stone are on the 60-day IL, putting immense pressure on Shohei Ohtani to deliver a "stopper" performance. Minnesota, meanwhile, is missing Pablo López and Bailey Ober, making this a battle of depth and star power. Target Field is playing as the 3rd most hitter-friendly park in the league (103 Overall Park Factor), which favors the explosive offenses on both sides.

SIDE PLAY

The Dodgers are heavy favorites for a reason. Despite their injuries, they possess the most dangerous top-of-the-order in baseball. Ohtani takes the mound tonight, and while he has a limited history against this Twins roster (2-for-12 career summary against current Twins), his ability to suppress runs is elite. The Dodgers' offense just hung 12 runs on Minnesota yesterday, and with Joe RyanJoe Ryan starting for the Twins—who has a career 0.383 wOBA against current Dodgers hitters—the mismatch is evident. Ryan has struggled specifically with Kyle Tucker (36.4% BB rate) and Max Muncy (1.000 SLG in limited matchups).

GAME TOTAL 

The Over is in play here. Target Field is currently boosting runs at 106% of the league average. While Ohtani is on the mound, the Dodgers' bullpen is thin due to injuries to Evan Phillips and Brusdar Graterol. On the other side, Joe Ryan has allowed a career .500 SLG to this Dodgers roster. With both teams featuring high-powered offenses and a hitter-friendly environment, expect the scoreboard to stay busy.

TOP PLAYER PROPS

Royce Lewis has been the heartbeat of the Twins' offense recently. He is currently on a tear, hitting the  Over 0.5 HRR in each of his last 5 games and 9 of his last 10. Even more impressive is his historical performance against the Dodgers, where he has hit this Over in 100% of his matchups in both 2025 and 2026.

Byron Buxton is seeing the ball incredibly well right now. He has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 5 games and 9 of his last 10. While Ohtani is a tough matchup, Buxton has historically handled him better than most, going 1-for-2 with a home run in their career head-to-head meetings.

Buxton has a 1.019 wOBA against Ohtani. He is also a much better hitter at home, clearing this hit prop 72.73% of the time at Target Field compared to his season average of 73.53%. Take Buxton Over 0.5 Hits.

Despite the Dodgers' offensive prowess, Ryan is a workhorse at home. He has cleared 17.5 outs (6.0 innings) in 77.78% of his home starts this season. The Twins' bullpen has been taxed recently, and the coaching staff will likely lean on Ryan to go deep into this game to preserve their arms after yesterday's blowout.

While the Dodgers' bats are hot, Ryan has averaged 18.4 outs over his last 5 starts. He is efficient at Target Field, where the park factor for strikeouts is slightly suppressed (97), allowing him to pitch to contact and keep his pitch count low.

This might seem counterintuitive given Ohtani's talent, but the data suggests he won't finish the 7th inning tonight. He has stayed under 18.5 outs in 4 of his last 5 starts and has a season average of 18.27 outs. Against Minnesota in 2025, he only managed 9 outs (3 innings) in his lone start.

Ohtani is facing a Twins lineup that features Lewis and Buxton, both of whom have high wOBA marks against him. Additionally, the Dodgers are likely to be cautious with Ohtani's workload given the sheer number of injuries to their starting rotation.

Josh Bell has been a model of consistency for the Twins. He has recorded a hit in 80% of his last 5, 10, and 20 games. He is a veteran presence who rarely beats himself, and his 64.1% hit rate at home this season makes this a very safe addition to any card. Bell has a career 100% hit rate against the Dodgers over 4 games analyzed in 2025, averaging 1.25 hits per game in those matchups. Take Bell Over 0.5 Hits.

Get free MLB Picks and MLB Predictions for the top games on the weekly 2026 MLB schedule from the YLose.com  crew, one of the industry's largest networks of premier expert MLB handicappers. YLose.com has been bringing the MLB betting community the best MLB free picks and predictions for nearly three decades. Visit daily for the best MLB moneyline and point spread odds and game totals.

FREE PICK: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE 3+ RUNS

The initial thought for most bettors here is that the game is going Under the total. Ohtani and Ryan are two of the elite pitchers in MLB. However, Ohtani has given up 3 and 4 ER in his last two starts, proving that bats can get to him. Minnesota is a top-10 scoring team that has really been putting up runs recently. We all know the Dodgers lineup can score as well. Both of these teams score at least 3 runs in a game over 70 percent of the time. Once each starter leaves the game, they will contend with bullpens that are mediocre (LAD) to extremely poor (MIN). In the last 10 head-to-head matchups, each team has scored at least 3 runs 7 times.

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