First Pitch: 6:05p Central
Television: FOX Sports North
Radio (English): WCCO 830 AM; KMNB 102.9 FM “The Wolf”; Treasure Island Baseball Network
Radio (Spanish): twinsbeisbol.com
Know Thine Enemy: Bucs Dugout
The Minnesota Twins begin their second road trip of the season on a tear, having won five games in a row. They have the second-best winning percentage in all of baseball (behind the Yankees) and the second-best run differential (behind the Dodgers).
If you’d told me that Josh Donaldson would get hurt early in the first homestand and the starting rotation would be down to Jose Berrios (and his 4.80 ERA) and Kenta Maeda with Jake Odorizzi, Rich Hill, and Homer Bailey all on the injured list, well ... I’d be ecstatic with a 9-2 record and a two-game lead in the division.
With the recent shuffle of the starting rotation, Randy Dobnak will take the hill on Wednesday evening in Pittsburgh. The MLB.com Gameday preview tells me that Dobnak grew up in the area and “attended dozens of Pirates games every year in his youth”, so I thought I’d pass that tidbit along. Dobber, as Rocco Baldelli enjoys calling him, has been really good so far this year for the Twins, giving up just one run on six hits through nine innings.
The Twins will take their hacks against Trevor Williams, who is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA so far this season. Last year, Williams was 7-9 with a 5.38 ERA in 26 starts, but it was only two seasons ago when he went 14-10 with a 3.11 ERA. So there’s apparently still hope for T-Will, but hopefully not in this one.
Minnesota will once again trot out a Donaldson-less lineup, with Miguel Sano also getting a rest.
Enjoy the game!