Series Preview: Twins set for late night baseball against the Mariners

The Twins took two of three from Ron Gardenhire and the Tigers this week, and will now take their momentum to visit an always-dangerous Mariners team. Seattle has been playing well lately, earning a position in second place in the AL West.

The Twins, meanwhile, have been scuffling a bit. While they sit in second place as well, they have lost six of their last ten games. The trouble this season has largely been offense, with only four teams having scored less runs, so hopefully they can start scoring. So far this season, the Mariners have won two games against the Twins, while Minnesota has only won one. Across the three games, the Twins have put eight runs on the board, while giving up fourteen. I’ve heard that if you score more runs than your opponent, you usually win.

Fernando Romero will look to even things up. The rookie has been phenomenal so far this season for the Twins. In four starts he has pitched over 21 innings, and owns a 1.66 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. He hasn’t seen Seattle yet.

Taking the mound against Romero is James Paxton, friend of the birds. Paxton has been pitching well this year. He recently threw a no-hitter in Toronto. The Twins faced him back in April for the home opener. Despite Minnesota winning that game (due to magical Gibson run support,) Paxton pitched six innings and only surrendered two runs. Here is just how bad the Twins have been hitting against him:

Game two brings us Jake Odorizzi. I keep saying he’s been a good acquisition for the Twins, and he keeps proving it. He held the Brewers to a single run in just under six innings last time he pitched. His start before that was against Seattle. He held them scoreless over six innings, although the bullpen couldn’t hold, and the bats didn’t help. Overall, here is how he has fared against the Mariners:

Odorizzi gets a rematch against Wade LeBlanc, who Le-blanked the Twins last time they saw him. He has a 2.65 ERA this season, which is much below his 4.30 career figure. How have the Twins hit him overall? I’m glad you asked, because it’s right below:

The third start of this series is scheduled to go to Jose Berrios. He struggled against Seattle in his second start of the year, giving up five runs in less than five innings. He seems to have gotten back into his groove lately — his last two starts have combined for over 15 innings, and only three runs. Overall, he hasn’t pitched too badly against Seattle, either. Here are the numbers:

This is also a rematch game, as Mike Leake was on the other side of Berrios’ start earlier this year. Leake has struggled a bit since then, with his ERA ballooning to 5.46. His last start was pretty good, but hopefully it won’t be two in a row. Anyway, here are his numbers against the Twins:

Pitching Match-ups

Game 1: Friday, May 25th; 9:10 pm CT — Fernando Romero RHP vs. James Paxton LHP

Game 2: Saturday, May 26th; 9:10 pm CT — Jake Odorizzi RHP vs. Wade LeBlanc LHP

Game 3: Sunday, May 27th; 3:10 pm CT — Jose Berrios RHP vs. Mike Leake RHP