St. Louis Cardinals (37-29, second in the NL Central) vs. Minnesota Twins (31-39, third in the AL Central)
Minneapolis; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Kyle Leahy (5-3, 4.42 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 47 strikeouts); Twins: Joe Ryan (4-3, 3.07 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 84 strikeouts)
LINE: Twins -142, Cardinals +119; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Twins host the St. Louis Cardinals to start a three-game series.
Minnesota is 31-39 overall and 18-18 at home. The Twins have a 23-10 record in games when they scored five or more runs.
St. Louis is 18-13 in road games and 37-29 overall. The Cardinals have a 15-8 record in games when they did not give up a home run.
The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Bell has 12 doubles and seven home runs for the Twins. Kody Clemens is 10 for 37 with three doubles and three home runs over the last 10 games.
Ivan Herrera has 13 doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 28 RBIs for the Cardinals. Alec Burleson is 14 for 41 with four doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 4-6, .250 batting average, 6.24 ERA, outscored by 20 runs
Cardinals: 7-3, .272 batting average, 2.93 ERA, outscored opponents by 25 runs
INJURIES: Twins: Cole Sands: 15-Day IL (forearm), Mick Abel: 15-Day IL (elbow), Bailey Ober: 15-Day IL (elbow), Kendry Rojas: 15-Day IL (elbow), David Festa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Garrett Acton: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Jeffers: 10-Day IL (hand), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Cardinals: Ryan Fernandez: 15-Day IL (back), Ramon Urias: 10-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
