After an extra day off, the Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers will start their second-half action when they meet Saturday evening to open a two-game series at Minneapolis.
Both teams enjoyed five days off for the All-Star break, including a rare day off Friday as most of the other teams in the majors returned.
The Twins and Brewers faced each other twice in April at Milwaukee, with each team winning one game. This weekend marks the final two games of the regular season between the interleague rivals from neighboring states.
Minnesota hopes to build on its first-half success beginning this weekend. The Twins exit the All-Star break 12 games above .500.
Carlos Correa, who is hitting .308 with 13 homers and 47 RBIs, said Minnesota’s depth is key.
“We’re going to battle,” Correa said. “We have the team.
“We have the hitting; we have the pitchers. We’re going to do great. We’re going to keep playing the baseball we’ve been playing for the last month. We’re going to come back even stronger. We’re going to win a lot of games, that’s what I know.”
The Brewers also start the second half in a happy mood.
Milwaukee is 13 games over .500 and has a 4 1/2-game lead over the second-place St. Louis Cardinals for the top spot in the National League Central.
The Brewers boast a plus-79 run differential, which is third in the NL entering Friday behind only the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Milwaukee has a winning record on the road (26-25) as well as in its home ballpark (29-17).
“In spring training, we knew we had a good young group, a hungry group, and we were going to compete, and that’s what we’ve been doing all year,” said Brewers shortstop Willy Adames, who leads the team with 15 homers and 67 RBIs to go along with 12 stolen bases.
“That’s why we’re in first place. We’ve been in first place almost all year.”
Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez (8-7, 5.11 ERA) is scheduled to make his 20th start of the season. It will be his first outing since July 10, when he allowed two runs on four hits in five innings against the Chicago White Sox.
Lopez is 1-1 with a 3.41 ERA in six career starts against the Brewers. That includes one meeting in 2023, when he drew a no-decision after giving up three runs on four hits in six innings.
Milwaukee will counter with right-hander Freddy Peralta (6-5, 4.11), who also will make his 20th start. He leads the team with 130 strikeouts in 103 innings.
Peralta hopes to bounce back from a loss in his last outing before the All-Star break. Last Friday, he gave up four runs on 10 hits in five innings against the Washington Nationals.
In five career appearances (one start) against Minnesota, Peralta is 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA. He has allowed six runs on nine hits in 13 innings.
Both teams boast talented closers if needed.
Brewers right-hander Trevor Megill has 18 saves and a 2.05 ERA. He has walked seven and struck out 37 in 30 2/3 innings.
Twins right-hander Jhoan Duran enters the second half with 15 saves and a 2.93 ERA. He has 10 walks and 29 strikeouts across 30 2/3 frames.
–Field Level Media