Twins vs Rangers Preview: Pitching duel under June skies

Watch out, Texas. Minnesota's hot right now. The Twins just demolished Dallas 12-2 yesterday, and they're riding a three-game winning streak. Their last ten games? They've won five of them. Dallas is sliding the other way—they've lost two straight and won only four of their last ten. The Rangers are 35-38 overall. Minnesota's 35-40 but they're playing way better lately. This game matters huge for both teams. One squad's climbing back. One squad's trying not to fall further. You can feel the momentum shift already.

Joe Ryan is Minnesota's stopper. The guy throws strikes and keeps hitters off balance. Ryan's got a 2.11 ERA this season—that's really good. He's struck out 20 batters and has a WHIP of 0.99. Those numbers rank him high among all pitchers. The Twins need this kind of pitching to stay competitive. They're dealing with injuries, too—Bailey Ober's out with a flexor strain, and several other arms are banged up. Ryan has to be the rock here. Jack Leiter starts for Texas but struggles. His ERA sits at 7.11 with a 1.64 WHIP. That's a mismatch you want to see.

Corey Seager's hurt. He's on the concussion injured list after a hard collision at home plate. That's huge for Texas because Seager's a major threat. Ezequiel Duran will play shortstop instead. The Rangers' bullpen is banged up too—Chris Martin's out with shoulder trouble, and Robert Garcia moved to the sixty-day list. Texas has to score runs the hard way tonight. Minnesota's bats were absolutely electric yesterday. Bell homered, Clemens went yard twice in the same game, Jackson doubled, and Larnach crushed one. If Dallas can't match that offensive firepower, this gets ugly fast.