Game 52: Twins at Athletics

First Pitch: 2:35 pm CST

TV: FSN+, MLB Network

Radio: Go 96.3 FM, TIBN

Know Thine Enemy: Athletics Nation

It's getaway day and you know what that means: Spring training lineups! Well, not really but Brian Dozier is batting 3rd, Eduardo Nunez is the DH, and Eduardo Escobar is your 6th hitter today. I get that A's starter Sean Manaea has struggled this season, but the Twins don't need to be making things any easier for their opponents.

Speaking of Manaea, you may want to think of him as the Athletics' version of Jose Berrios. He's supremely talented, he's dominated the minor leagues, and yet his first taste of the majors has not gone well. He has ceased striking out hitters and he's allowed too many home runs and hits, leading to his unsightly 7.03 ERA.

Facing Manaea is another rookie lefthander in Pat Dean, who as of 1:00 pm CST is currently 7th among FanGraphs searches today (he's been searched more than reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper!), so you know he's kind of a big deal. To say that Dean has been a surprise would be an understatement. Although he's had tidy ERAs throughout the minor league system, he's relied heavily on inducing weak contact to carve up opposing lineups. That formula has carried over to the majors, except Dean has also discovered how to rack up the strikeouts. He'll look to effectively mix up his tailing fastball and cutter to navigate the A's lineup today.

Additionally, welcome back Max Kepler!