Minnesota

Twins

Bradley was off to a really nice start until Buster Olney called him underrated on Aor. 18. Since then, Bradley has served an IL stint and walked 19 while giving up 25 runs in 37 1/3 innings, which amounts to a 6.02 ERA. He gave up three homers, walked three and issued two wild pitches tonight. He’ll stay in the rotation, of course, and face the Cardinals on Sunday, but no one should be very enthused about him at this point.

Keaschall has been quite disappointing in managing just one homer through 253 plate appearances, but his .324 OBP isn’t half bad. He still needs a real hot streak at some point in order to ensure that he’s up for good; as is, he’s definitely a candidate to be demoted if the Twins wants to try top prospect Kaelen Culpepper.

Abel is aiming for roughly 50 pitches over three innings during his first rehab outing. The 24-year-old starter has been on the shelf with elbow inflammation since April 20. There’s a strong possibility he’ll need an additional outing to continue building up his pitch count and stamina before rejoining Minnesota’s rotation later this month.

Buxton missed the previous two games while dealing with a shoulder contusion. The 32-year-old will likely see some maintenance days over the summer, but it’s great to see the right-handed hitting slugger back at it for the series opener against Detroit.

Rashi is merely a depth addition for Minnesota after being removed from Arizona’s roster last week. The 30-year-old has posted a serviceable 5.40 ERA across 20 innings in the majors over the last two seasons. It’s worth noting that he’s compiled some impressive numbers at the Triple-A level in recent years, but that success hasn’t translated into a permanent role at the highest level.

Bell’s home run was his sixth of the year. He hit a three-run home run as part of a furious Twins comeback attempt in the ninth inning. Bell’s hitting .224 with a .636 OPS, so he’ll have to pick up the pace if he wants to get traded to a contending team before the end of the year.

Prielipp gave up four hits, walked one and struck out seven. He fell to 2-4 with the loss. Prielipp had a quick hook after only 77 pitches as he was pulled with one out in the fifth inning. The move backfired on Twins manager Derek Shelton as his chosen reliever Andrew Morris allowed three runs. Prielipp has a 5.15 ERA. He’s lined up to face the Cardinals at home next weekend.

Lewis made his first career appearance at the position late during Saturday’s game and now will draw his first start there on Sunday. The 27-year-old slugger was lighting the world on fire at the Triple-A level once again before going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout during his return to the Twins on Saturday.

Twins’ skipper Derek Shelton told reporters that the club considered putting Buxton in the lineup as the designated hitter but ultimately decided it was best to give him another day off following Friday’s collision with the center field wall. He’s still considered day-to-day and it’s possible he could be used off the bench on Sunday.

The first inning was eventful for Ryan. After the leadoff homer, Bobby Witt Jr. sent a shot to left-center that both Trevor Larnach and Ryan Kreidler tried to catch, leading to a collision. Fortunately, both were OK after being checked on and Kreidler actually held on to the ball. After that, things were pretty quiet. Ryan struck out five and allowed no additional extra-base hits. He remains 4-3 with a 3.07 ERA. He’ll next face the Tigers on Thursday, unless the Twins decide to add a fifth starter before then and push Ryan back to Friday against the Cardinals.