All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton can relax and rest as he recovers from a hip injury.
The Minnesota Twins seem to be doing just fine without him.
Minnesota will look to build on its four-game winning streak when it faces the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday afternoon in Minneapolis.
The Twins are looking to finish a three-game sweep of their division rivals, and they trail the first-place Chicago White Sox by only two games in the American League Central.
Alan Roden will do his best to follow up on his heroics from Wednesday for third-place Minnesota.
In his season debut, Roden delivered a walk-off single off the wall in right-center field to lift the Twins to a 6-5 win over the Guardians. It was the first career walk-off hit for Roden, who was promoted one day earlier from Triple-A Saint Paul to take the place of Buxton after the veteran was placed on the 10-day injured list.
Roden’s head might still be spinning for the quick turnaround game Thursday afternoon.
“Super excited,” he said after teammates mobbed him on the field Wednesday. “It’s an absolute pleasure to be a part of this team and to just keep winning.”
As Roden spoke on the field, a pair of teammates surprised him with a jug filled with ice water and dumped it on his back.
“It’s the best,” Roden said after using a towel to dry off his face. “These guys are awesome. It’s just an absolute joy.
“… It’s really exciting to enter into a situation like that and to come through on the first day I get to play. I’m just really excited and proud to be here.”
As the Twins look to extend their winning streak, the Guardians will try to snap a four-game skid.
Second-place Cleveland trails the White Sox by one game in the Central, and right-hander Gavin Williams (9-4, 3.89 ERA) will try to end to the Guardians’ losing streak. Williams leads the team with 123 strikeouts in 106 1/3 innings.
Williams has not pitched more than 5 1/3 innings in any of his past six outings. In his most recent performance, he gave up three runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox on Friday. Cleveland won 4-3 in 10 innings.
In eight career starts against the Twins, Williams is 3-3 with a 3.41 ERA. He has walked 14 and struck out 36 in 37 innings.
The Twins will counter with right-hander Bailey Ober (6-3, 4.59 ERA), who is set to make his 13th start of the season and his first since May 30 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ober spent about six weeks on the injured list because of elbow inflammation.
Ober has faced the Guardians 12 times in his career. He is 3-3 with a 3.15 ERA in those contests and has a 56-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 65 2/3 innings.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt will look for a better performance from his bullpen in the series finale. He watched his staff issue three bases-loaded walks on Wednesday.
“Yeah, I mean, that was a weird night from the bullpen, right?” Vogt said. “… (It was a) very uncharacteristic night for them.”
–Field Level Media
