Something’s bound to give when the Minnesota Twins visit the Washington Nationals for a three-game series beginning Tuesday night.
The Twins are tied with the Miami Marlins for the fewest road wins (five) in the majors, while the Nationals — who have been strong on the road — have posted the fewest home wins (four).
Washington won its first game at Nationals Park since April 21 on Sunday, salvaging the finale of a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers with a 3-2 win. The Twins beat the visiting Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 Sunday to earn a four-game series split.
Minnesota right-hander Taj Bradley (3-1, 2.85 ERA) opposes Washington right-hander Cade Cavalli (1-1, 3.82) in the series opener.
Bradley, 25, has given up two earned runs or fewer in six of his seven starts this season. On April 24 he gave up six runs in 6 1/3 innings of a loss to his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays, but in his last start he bounced back. In a no-decision against the Seattle Mariners, Bradley allowed two runs and four hits over seven innings while striking out seven and walking two.
“I think I had command of my off-speed (pitches) early, and I feel like I could pitch backwards, pitch forwards, and I felt like I had good command of the fastball,” Bradley said.
He won his only previous start against Washington, tossing 5 2/3 scoreless innings.
Cavalli has allowed two earned runs and struck out 10 batters in each of his past two starts, against the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets. Cavalli picked up his first win against the Mets, spreading out eight hits and two walks over six innings.
“You probably have to do it more than once or twice to say, like: ‘Alright, this is real,'” Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “Now, we know what he’s capable of. We’ve seen it. I think the last outing is the Cade we expect to see and want to see.”
Cavalli has never faced the Twins.
On Sunday, Nasim Nunez had a pair of run-scoring singles, Jose Tena had an RBI triple and CJ Abrams had two hits and scored twice for Washington.
Nunez has reached base in eight of his last nine appearances, going 9-for-24 (.375) with five walks, four stolen bases and six RBIs.
“When he can come up in big spots, and do what he did (Sunday) … big hits, huge at-bats to help us win the game … there’s just a lot of different aspects to the game where Nas helps us win,” Butera said.
In Toronto, Twins starter Joe Ryan left with a sore elbow after facing two batters, but Andrew Morris pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief for the win.
Luke Keaschall had a pair of hits, including an RBI double in a three-run fifth inning for Minnesota. Kody Clemens and Matt Wallner each doubled in a run.
“Felt like everybody top to bottom had something going for them (Sunday) offensively,” Keaschall said. “Everybody hit a double or a single or a big walk or something. When the whole lineup produces, it really is a lot of fun.”
Minnesota’s bullpen, which entered the game with a 5.48 ERA, allowed three runs over 8 2/3 innings.
Manager Derek Shelton said after the game that Ryan was getting an MRI on the elbow.
–Field Level Media
