Game 151: Twins at Reds

First Pitch: 5:40 PM Central Time
TV: Bally Sports North, FS1
Radio: TIBN
Know Thine Enemy: Reds Reporter

Entering play on Monday night, the Minnesota Twins’ magic number to clinch the A.L. Central stands at just five games, thanks to a Cleveland loss earlier in the day.

The Twins have won five out of their last seven series, including three of four over the Chicago White Sox over the weekend. In general, their play has been far more signficant over the last several weeks than it was at almost any point over the first few months of the season.

Joe Ryan has been giving up fewer homers since returning from his injured list stint, but he’s also failed to complete five innings in each of his last two starts. It remains likely he would slot in as the Twins’ Game 3 starter in the Wild Card Series, but a couple of strong starts to close out the regular season would help to cement that role.

Ryan will be opposed by Connor Phillips, a 2020 Competitive Round B (basically, 2nd round) draft pick who has all of two big-league starts to his name. He gave up five earned runs in 4 ²⁄₃ innings against Seattle in his debut and three earned runs in four innings to Detroit last time out.

Also: it appears as though Michael A. Taylor is making his return after a sting on the injured list due to a nagging hamstring issue. Welcome back, MAT!

Enjoy Monday evening baseball!