The Minnesota Twins (50-44, 42-51 RL, 43-42-9 O/U) battle the Detroit Tigers (38-56, 44-50 RL, 35-55-4 O/U) as the AL Central foes continue a three-game divisional series on Saturday evening. The Twins will have Joe Ryan on the bump. The Tigers will send Michael Pineda to the hill looking to rebound from an ugly outing. Minnesota leads the season series by a 6-5 count.
Joe Ryan will take the mound for the 15th time of the season on Monday. Ryan was great in his previous start, limiting the Brewers to one run on two hits in 5.1 innings, resulting in a no-decision in a game the Twins won by a 4-1 score. The young right-hander is having a remarkable season, registering a 2.99 ERA and a stellar 1.06 WHIP complemented by a 6-3 record in 75.1 innings of work. Ryan tossed seven shutout innings against the Tigers in April and has allowed six runs in 11.2 career innings against the rivals.
Minnesota is having a great rebound season after a poor display last year and stands in a great spot to win the division ahead of the White Sox. They stand 2.5 games ahead of Chicago and Cleveland entering Friday’s action. They are just 3-7 in their last ten games.
Max Kepler has feasted o n the Tigers' pitching this season, clubbing four homers with 12 RBIs and a strong 1 OPS. The 29-year-old right fielder has nine big flies with 37 RBIs and a .739 OPS. Kepler has been quiet at the plate this month, recording only three RBIs.
The Twins are scoring an average of 4.49 runs per game, ranking them 13th overall. The pitching staff has logged a 3.92 team ERA placing them 15th in the big leagues.