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The Minnesota Twins will try to stop the longest postseason losing streak in the history of major North American professional sports when they host the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday in Game 1 of an American League Wild Card series. The Twins have lost 18 consecutive playoff games, a stretch that dates back to the 2004 AL Division Series against the Yankees. The next longest drought belongs to the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, who lost 16 straight playoff games between 1975 and '79. First pitch from Target Field in Minneapolis is scheduled for 4:38 p.m. ET.

Minnesota is a slight -120 favorite (risk $120 to win $100) in the latest MLB odds, while Toronto is a +101 underdog. The over/under for runs scored is 7.5. The game is one of four on the MLB wild card schedule for the first day of the playoffs. Elsewhere on Tuesday, the Rays host the Rangers, the Diamondbacks visit the Brewers and the Phillies welcome the Marlins. Before making any MLB Wild Card Series picks or parlays, be sure to check out the MLB predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven computer model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every MLB game 10,000 times. It went 331-285 on top-rated MLB money-line picks (+357) over the past two seasons. It entered the 2023 MLB playoffs 91-73 on all top-rated MLB picks this season and has excelled on top-rated run-line picks, going 18-6 (+766). Anybody following has seen big returns.

For Tuesday's wild card games, the model has locked in three MLB best bets. If you successfully parlay the picks, you'd be looking at a payout of more than 5-1. You can see the model's MLB picks only at SportsLine

Top MLB picks for Tuesday

The model, which ran 10,000 simulations on each of the four games on Tuesday, is taking Tampa Bay (-154) to knock off Texas. The Rays had another typical Tampa Bay season, winning 99 games despite having the fourth smallest payroll in all of baseball ($79.3 million). They succeed behind aggressive baserunning (they ranked fourth in the majors with 160 stolen bases) and strong pitching (fifth with a 3.86 ERA).

In addition, Randy Arozarena excels when the spotlight is the brightest. In the 2020 playoffs, he led all players in home runs (10) and hits (29) while driving in 14 runs, hitting .377 and posting a 1.273 OPS. Also, in the World Baseball Classic earlier this year, he ranked second among all players with a 1.507 OPS while hitting .450. See the model's top MLB picks here.

How to make Tuesday MLB parlays

The model also locked in two other best bets for Tuesday. You can see the model's MLB Tuesday best bets and parlay only at SportsLine.

What MLB picks should you target for a payout of more than 5-1? Visit SportsLine now to see the MLB best bets from an advanced model that is 91-73 on all top-rated MLB picks this season, and find out.