The Minnesota Twins hope a simple approach helps them finish a difficult three-game series sweep against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Minnesota is coming off an 8-3 win in the series opener Monday and a 13-3 victory in the second game of the series on Tuesday. The Twins will look to continue their scoring surge in the finale, but manager Rocco Baldelli knows it will be a challenge.
“It’s a very good pitching staff,” Baldelli said. “Their starters, I’ve talked about them before — all the starters (we) see this series are top notch. You’re not just going to go out there and … wildly swing your way and try to hammer a few balls.
“You have to bear down and really get your feet sunk in the box and feel like you are making them work for every single pitch and give them nothing. It’s not easy to do when you’re facing talented arms like this.”
Royals left-hander Cole Ragans (9-7, 3.27 ERA) will try to slow down the Twins’ bats in his 25th start of the season. He enters the series finale with 166 strikeouts in 140 1/3 innings.
The 26-year-old Ragans is aiming for his third victory in a row. He limited the Boston Red Sox to one earned run on six hits in 6 1/3 innings last Wednesday in his most recent performance. However, he did also yield three unearned runs in that outing.
In three career starts against Minnesota, Ragans is 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA.
The Twins are expected to counter with right-hander Louie Varland (0-4, 6.46), who will make his eighth appearance and seventh start of the season. The native of nearby Saint Paul, Minn., will be recalled from Triple-A Saint Paul to take the mound.
Varland, who has never faced the Royals in his career, last pitched in the majors on Friday, when he came away with a no-decision against the Cleveland Guardians after giving up three runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Twins third baseman Jose Miranda will try to stay hot at the plate after going 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs on Tuesday. Miranda singled, doubled and tripled and boosted his batting average to .313.
Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. will also go for another strong performance after going 2-for-6 with a homer in the series’ first two games. Witt has hit .347 with 23 home runs and 88 RBIs this season and is making a strong case for American League MVP — an award no Kansas City player has taken home other than George Brett in 1980.
Kansas City has enjoyed a resurgent season but has struggled against division rival Minnesota. After their loss Tuesday, the Royals are 2-7 in nine games against the Twins this year.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro was asked why the Twins pose such a challenge to his club.
“These guys are a good team,” Quatraro said. “They have won the division three or four years out of the last five. I mean, they’re good and they have a deep team.
“They have guys that can do a lot of different things. They are versatile and they have good pitching, always have.”
–Field Level Media