Cincinnati at Minnesota

The Reds have more talent and a far superior bullpen than the Twins. Yet Minnesota is favored because they are home and the starting pitching matchup is Andrew Abbott (0-2, 5.85 ERA) vs. Taj Bradley (3-0, 1.25 ERA). Abbott is better than his record shows, while Bradley has rarely displayed this kind of consistency. The Rays gave up on Bradley, who finished 6-8 with a 5.05 ERA last year. Bradley is 22-27 lifetime with a 4.67 ERA. The Twins are one of those teams that lack a true closer. Abbott went 10-7 with a 2.85 ERA last season. Cincinnati has the lowest bullpen ERA in the majors at 2.44. Reds closer Emilio Pagan has allowed no runs and one hit during his past seven appearances spanning seven innings. Cincinnati opened this series by beating Joe Ryan, 2-1, last night. That was the Reds' sixth win in eight road games this year. As well as Bradley has been pitching, he is a drop-down from Ryan. Take the Reds.