Twins take 5-game losing streak into matchup with Athletics
Oakland Athletics (24-16, first in the AL West) vs. Minnesota Twins (12-24, fifth in the AL Central)
Minneapolis; Saturday, 4:05 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Cole Irvin (3-4, 3.29 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 37 strikeouts) Twins: Jose Berrios (3-2, 3.49 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 43 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Twins -139, Athletics +119; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota enters the matchup as losers of their last five games.
The Twins are 6-12 in home games in 2020. Minnesota has slugged .417, good for third in the American League. Byron Buxton leads the team with a .772 slugging percentage, including 19 extra-base hits and nine home runs.
The Athletics are 11-5 on the road. Oakland has hit 51 home runs this season, fourth in the MLB. Ramon Laureano leads them with eight, averaging one every 17.2 at-bats.
The Athletics won the last meeting 6-1. Frankie Montas earned his fifth victory and Sean Murphy went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs for Oakland. Matt Shoemaker took his fourth loss for Minnesota.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nelson Cruz ranks second on the Twins with nine home runs and has 22 RBIs.
Laureano leads the Athletics with eight home runs and is slugging .478.
LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 2-8, .234 batting average, 5.52 ERA, outscored by 23 runs
Athletics: 6-4, .216 batting average, 3.74 ERA, outscored by three runs
INJURIES: Twins: Devin Smeltzer: (elbow), Edwar Colina: (right elbow), Byron Buxton: (hip), Alex Kirilloff: (right wrist).
Athletics: J.B. Wendelken: (left oblique), Trevor Rosenthal: (chest), A.J. Puk: (left biceps), Jesus Luzardo: (left hand), Mike Fiers: (right elbow).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.