The Minnesota Twins (10-7, 10-7 RL, 5-10-2 O/U) battle the Boston Red Sox (9-9, 9-9 RL 12-6 O/U) in the final bout of a three-game series on Thursday afternoon. The Twins will give the starting nod to Kenta Maeda. The Red Sox will reply with Tanner Houck. The Red Sox earned a 5-4 victory on Tuesday.
Kenta Maeda will make his third start of the season. Maeda held the Marlins to only one run in five innings in his first start in a 1-0 loss and wasn’t at his best last time out, conceding four runs on eight hits in six innings against the White Sox, and was charged with the loss to plummet to 0-2. The veteran left-hander has yet to issue a walk. Maeda has pitched in the NL most of his career and has not seen a whole lot of the Red Sox, squandering six runs (five earned) with an 0-2 record in 10 career innings.
It’s been an encouraging opening month of the season for a Minnesota squad that has the right pieces to contend for the top spot in the AL Central. They have only dropped one series all season, which occurred on the road in Miami in the second series of the season. They split two of four in the Bronx prior to this series and are 2-3 in their last five road games entering Tuesday.
Hello, bullpen. pic.twitter.com/YWKktBVBLr
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 19, 2023
Bryton Buxton will be a big part of the Twins' success at the plate this season if he can stay healthy. The 29-year-old has been plagued with injuries and can reach 30 home runs and an .850 OPS if he can play a full season. He has six RBIs and a .672 OPS this season. Buxton has six RBIs in 16 career games against the Red Sox.
Minnesota is averaging 3.94 runs per game, ranking them 23rd. The pitching staff has propelled the strong start, recording a 2.61 team ERA which now leads the Major Leagues.