The Minnesota Twins (52-46, 44-54 RL, 47-43-8 O/U) battle the San Diego Padres (55-45, 47-53 RL, 45-52-3 O/U) in the first of a three-game interleague series on Friday evening. The Twins will give the nod to a confident Joe Ryan. The Padres will reply with Blake Snell seeking his third win of the month. This is the first meeting since the 2017 season.
Minnesota will have Joe Ryan make his 16th start of the season on Friday. Ryan was solid in his previous start, limiting the Tigers to only one run in 5.2 innings pitched, and was awarded the victory to improve his record to 7-3. The talented young pitcher is having a marvelous season, amassing a stifling 2.89 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 81 innings pitched. Ryan has only conceded 13 runs in his last 22 innings of work. This marks his first career meeting against the Padres.
The Twins continue a seven-game road trek. They swept the Tigers followed by a two-game sweep dealt by the Brewers this week and have only won three out of their last eight games. The first-place lead has been narrowed down to one game ahead of the Guardians.
Jorge Polanco continues to shine at the di sh, amassing 13 RBIs and a .937 OPS this month. The 29-year-old slugger now has 49 RBIs accompanied by a respectable .780 OPS on the year. Polanco is 4 for 12 in his career against the Padres. Kepler is questionable for this one.
The Twins are posting an average of 4.55 runs, good for 11th overall. The pitching staff has accrued a 3.99 team ERA, placing them 19th in the big leagues.