The Minnesota Twins head into Angel Stadium on Saturday night looking to finish a road game against the Los Angeles Angels, with first pitch set for 9:38 p.m. ET.
Minnesota comes in at 72-82, while Los Angeles sits at 59-95. The game will be played in Anaheim, and fans can watch it on Fubo or listen on 830 WCCO.
On the mound, the Angels are set to start left-hander Reid Detmers, while the Twins will go with right-hander Joe Ryan.
Detmers has made 30 starts this season and is 6-8 with a 3.36 ERA. He has averaged 5.2 innings per start, posted a 1.046 WHIP and struck out 10.3 batters per nine innings.
Ryan has made 25 starts and is 6-10 with a 4.24 ERA. He has worked 5.1 innings per start, owns a 1.167 WHIP and has struck out 9.8 per nine.
The numbers at the plate tell the story of where these two clubs stand. The Angels are last in MLB with 146 home runs and rank No. 30 in scoring at 4.0 runs per game, with 619 total runs. Their .233 batting average is the third-worst in baseball.
Minnesota’s offense has been much stronger by comparison. The Twins have hit 178 home runs, good for 13th in the majors, and have scored 699 runs, which ranks 11th. Their team batting average sits at .243, placing them 15th in MLB.
For the Angels, Zach Neto has put together a solid season with 26 home runs and 74 RBI, while Mike Trout has 21 home runs and 53 RBI. Vaughn Grissom has added 11 homers and 65 RBI, Wade Meckler has hit .295, and Moisés Ballesteros has chipped in 9 home runs.
Minnesota’s lineup has plenty of production of its own. Brooks Lee leads the group with 23 home runs and 81 RBI, while Josh Bell has 20 homers and 89 RBI. Kody Clemens has reached 26 home runs, Luke Keaschall is hitting .279, and Ryan Jeffers has posted a .475 slugging percentage with 14 home runs.
The Angels’ next stretch includes another meeting with Minnesota on Sept. 20 before a trip to face the Athletics and Mariners. The Twins will follow this game with another date in Anaheim on Sept. 20, then head to San Francisco for a series against the Giants before returning home to face the Rangers.
In Other News...
Twins Outfield Picture Just Got More Complicated At The Worst Time
With the Twins in the middle of a four-game set against the Angels, the outfield picture shifted again after Trevor Larnach was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist sprain. Minnesota responded by recalling Alan Roden from Triple-A St. Paul, a reminder of how quickly the margins can change this time of year, especially for a club trying to keep its lineup stable while the series plays out.
The timing is notable because Walker Jenkins has started to look much more like himself at the plate, piling up six hits and two home runs in the first two games against Los Angeles. For a Twins team already juggling results in the series, Jenkins surge offers a bright spot, but Larnachs absence only adds another layer of uncertainty to an outfield that has suddenly become a lot harder to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
Byron Buxton's Long Injury Saga Just Got Worse For The Twins
Byron Buxtons season-long fight through hip pain has taken another turn, with the Twins center fielder undergoing successful arthroscopic surgery on his right hip. The procedure, performed by Dr. Christopher Larson, included a labral repair with decompression and cam resection, a sign of just how long this issue has been hanging over Buxton and the club after repeated trips to the injured list this year.
The timing only adds to the frustration in Minnesota, where the lineup is already dealing with another absence. Trevor Larnach landed on the injured list with a left wrist sprain, and Alan Roden was recalled from Triple-A to take his roster spot, leaving the Twins to patch together the outfield while Buxton begins the next phase of recovery. [Read more 🡒]
Trevor Larnach News Puts New Attention On A Twins Roster Move
The Twins roster shuffle this week put a new spotlight on the outfield mix, with Trevor Larnach landing on the Injured List and Alan Roden getting the call-up in his place. It was the kind of transaction that can ripple quickly through a club looking to keep its depth intact, especially when the organization is also watching how its upper-level players are performing day to day.
Across the system, the St. Paul Saints helped keep that conversation moving with a 4-3 win over Columbus, getting key contributions from Kalai Rosario and Jake Rucker. With player performances continuing to sort themselves out and another game on the schedule, Minnesota has a little more clarity in one area and a fresh question in another about how it will manage the outfield moving forward. [Read more 🡒]