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The Minnesota Twins finish their road series on Thursday with the Detroit Tigers looking to expand their lead on the American League Central.
Minnesota Twins (-148, 8.5) vs. Detroit Tigers
Kenta Maeda gets the start on the mound for the Twins and will look to continue his resurgence since coming off the injured list in late June, posting a 2.47 ERA with 12 strikeouts per nine innings in his eight starts since returning, allowing three runs or fewer in all eight starts.
Maeda gets to face a Tigers offense that entered Wednesday in the league’s bottom three in batting average, home runs, and on-base percentage with their 3.9 runs per game the second-fewest in the league ahead of only the Oakland Athletics.
The Tigers turn to Reese Olson to get back on track after allowing at least four runs in each of his past three pitching appearances and the underlying numbers point towards positivity for him.
Olson has a 1-5 record with a 4.94 ERA, but a lower fielding independent at 4.29 with 8.2 strikeouts and 2.1 walks per nine innings with his biggest issue being the 1.5 home runs per nine innings allowed.
Fortunately for Olson, he and a Tigers bullpen that entered Wednesday ranked 17th in bullpen ERA get to face a Twins lineup that has the second-lowest road batting average in the league with just under 4.2 runs per game on the road, which ranks 23rd.
With the Twins entering Wednesday 11th in the league in bullpen ERA coupled with both teams issues at the plate, Thursday’s series finale will lack offensive fireworks.
The Play: Twins vs. Tigers Under 8.5