Twins Pitching Depth to be Tested in Series Against the Texas Rangers
The Minnesota Twins suffered injuries to starting pitchers on back-to-back days in June. Pablo López on June 3rd and Zebby Matthews the next day. The rest of the rotation's starts since the setback haven’t been smooth sailing. The team is 1-3, allowing 28 runs, and the Twins' starting pitchers have picked up two decision losses. Joe Ryan was the only pitcher to lead Minnesota to victory, but he won’t be taking the mound in the next series against the Rangers. It’ll be up to the Twins' depth to bounce back from this bite from the injury bug.
While at the time of writing, the Twins don’t have a listed probable starter for Tuesday’s opener. David Festa will have an extra close eye on him Wednesday after his worst start of the season against the Athletics. Unable to finish four innings, he was pummeled for three home runs and eight total earned runs. The start came just one day after being called up from the Twins' Triple-A affiliate, the St. Paul Saints. Hopefully, with more standard preparation, Festa will have an improved day on the mound. Bailey Ober will start Thursday after he was handed his first decision loss since March when the Blue Jays caused trouble deep into his start. After a clean first few innings, Ober gave up five runs in innings four through six, including two home runs that sealed his fate. It was also Ober’s first time allowing more than three runs in a start since that March loss to the Cardinals. Luckily, the Texas Rangers rank 29th in batting average across the entire league, so the pitchers will have the perfect matchup to find their game.
Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers have battled through an up-and-down season at 31-35. Ironically, one of their strengths is the starting pitchers, including two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom. Like Ryan, the Twins won’t face the opposition's ace, but that doesn’t mean Minnesota is out of the woods. Trevor Mahle is the probable starter for Tuesday night's opener, standing at a 2.02 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. The ERA is better than Joe Ryan’s, and the WHIP stands equal to Pablo López’s. To say the Twins will have their hands full is an understatement. Jack Leiter is scheduled for game two, with a 3.48 ERA and a 4-2 record to make him an excellent depth starting pitcher. One area Minnesota must take advantage of is the free bases Leiter gives out. In seven of his last eight starts, he has walked two or more batters. Finally, Patrick Corbin is the probable starter for the finale on Thursday. He’s coming off his best start of the season against the Nationals, pitching eight innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs.
The Rangers series is incredibly important for the Twins. At the time of writing, the Twins won’t face another team below .500 until the Miami Marlins on July 1st. With road series against top teams like the Astros and Tigers coming up, Minnesota can ill afford to stumble now. With the injuries, the expectation isn’t another 13-game win streak, but rather just enough wins to stay in the hunt until help arrives. The series will start on Tuesday night at Target Field at 6:40 P.M. CST.
