Twins open 3-game series with the Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates (38-56, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Minnesota Twins (45-48, third in the AL Central)

Minneapolis; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Paul Skenes (4-7, 1.94 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 125 strikeouts); Twins: Joe Ryan (8-4, 2.76 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 116 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Twins -119, Pirates -100; over/under is 6 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Twins host the Pittsburgh Pirates to begin a three-game series.

Minnesota is 26-19 in home games and 45-48 overall. The Twins have gone 21-37 in games when they have allowed a home run.

Pittsburgh is 38-56 overall and 12-35 on the road. Pirates pitchers have a collective 3.69 ERA, which ranks fourth in the NL.

The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Trevor Larnach has 15 doubles, a triple, 12 home runs and 39 RBIs while hitting .253 for the Twins. Royce Lewis is 9 for 29 with two doubles over the past 10 games.

Oneil Cruz has 16 home runs, 46 walks and 37 RBIs while hitting .204 for the Pirates. Tommy Pham is 13 for 34 with two doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 5-5, .211 batting average, 3.48 ERA, outscored by five runs

Pirates: 4-6, .217 batting average, 2.57 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs

INJURIES: Twins: Byron Buxton: day-to-day (hand), Bailey Ober: 15-Day IL (hip), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Zebby Matthews: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Luke Keaschall: 60-Day IL (forearm)

Pirates: Chase Shugart: 15-Day IL (knee), Ryan Borucki: 15-Day IL (back), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Enmanuel Valdez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Lawrence: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tim Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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