Pirates host the Twins to start 3-game series

Minnesota Twins (27-30, third in the AL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (29-28, fifth in the NL Central)

Pittsburgh; Friday, 6:45 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Taj Bradley (5-1, 2.77 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 59 strikeouts); Pirates: Jared Jones (0-0)

LINE: Pirates -138, Twins +116; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates open a three-game series at home against the Minnesota Twins on Friday.

Pittsburgh has a 15-15 record at home and a 29-28 record overall. The Pirates are 17-7 in games when they did not give up a home run.

Minnesota has a 27-30 record overall and a 12-16 record in road games. The Twins have the ninth-ranked team batting average in the AL at .235.

Friday's game is the first time these teams match up this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Spencer Horwitz has seven doubles, a triple, six home runs and 25 RBIs for the Pirates. Henry Davis is 2 for 29 with two home runs over the last 10 games.

Byron Buxton leads the Twins with 17 home runs while slugging .575. Josh Bell is 9 for 35 with two home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 5-5, .262 batting average, 3.48 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs

Twins: 6-4, .233 batting average, 4.35 ERA, outscored by seven runs

INJURIES: Pirates: Nick Gonzales: day-to-day (knee), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow), Chris Devenski: 15-Day IL (illness), Joey Bart: 10-Day IL (foot infection), Ryan O'Hearn: 10-Day IL (quadricep)

Twins: Kendry Rojas: day-to-day (elbow), Cody Laweryson: 15-Day IL (forearm), David Festa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Garrett Acton: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Jeffers: 10-Day IL (hand), Cole Sands: 15-Day IL (forearm), Mick Abel: 15-Day IL (elbow), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.