After losing their 10th straight regular-season series to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Diego Padres will head to Minneapolis for a three-game interleague series with the Minnesota Twins starting Tuesday night.

It’s the start of a six-game road trip that ends with a rematch with the National League West leaders at Dodger Stadium beginning on Friday.

Right-hander Michael Wacha (2-1, 5.46 ERA), who is 3-1 with a 4.13 ERA in five career starts against the Twins, will start the series opener for San Diego. Wacha is 1-1 with a 7.36 ERA in two career starts at Target Field.

Minnesota will counter with right-hander Louie Varland (0-0, 5.91), who will be making his eighth major league start and facing San Diego for the first time.

San Diego had an off day on Monday to try to regroup after a bitter 5-2 loss in 10 innings in the series finale against the Dodgers. Closer Josh Hader was one out away from closing out a 2-1 victory in the rubber game of the series when Mookie Betts homered to left-center to tie it.

The Dodgers then scored three times in the 10th off reliever Brent Honeywell on Michael Busch’s go-ahead single and a two-run homer by James Outman to pull out the dramatic win.

“It’s going to happen sometimes,” San Diego manager Bob Melvin said of Hader blowing his first save opportunity in 12 tries. “Hader’s been absolutely fantastic. He had one more out to get, and Mookie Betts is a tough customer.

“We would have loved to have taken the first series (with the Dodgers), especially here at home. We had a chance to. We just couldn’t finish it off.”

Despite the loss, the Padres, who sputtered out of the gate with an 8-11 start, trail the Dodgers by just three games heading into Monday’s action.

“We’re still above .500 (18-17),” shortstop Xander Bogaerts told MLB.com. “That’s not the baseball we want to play, but we started off pretty bad. Sometimes you lose tough games against a really good team.”

Minnesota is coming off a 2-4 road trip that concluded with back-to-back losses at Cleveland. The Twins are trying to jump-start an offense that managed a total of just five runs and 12 hits in Cleveland over the weekend.

The Twins, who rank last in the majors with a .220 team batting average, managed just one hit in a 2-0 loss in Sunday’s finale. Cal Quantrill threw 6 2/3 no-hit innings before yielding a line single to Alex Kirilloff. Guardians rookie Peyton Battenfield retired the first 17 Twins he faced in the series opener won by Minnesota, 2-0, on a two-run homer by Max Kepler.

“Our team has been hitting the ball over the fence when we do hit the ball,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Led by Byron Buxton (eight) and Joey Gallo (seven), Minnesota ranked eighth in the majors with 45 home runs and also was a respectable 14th in runs scored (152) as of Monday. The Twins enter the new week leading the American League Central by 2 1/2 games in strong part due to a pitching staff that ranks third with a 3.33 ERA, behind only Tampa Bay (3.01) and Houston (3.32).

Third baseman Jose Miranda is in the middle of a 3-for-24 slump while Gallo is 0-for-23 with six walks in his last 29 plate appearances. Shortstop Carlos Correa is batting just .193 with five home runs.

“I think there’s a few guys that don’t feel comfortable with the strike zone right now, and which pitches to attack or which areas of the plate they’re trying to really look towards,” Baldelli said. “We’ve got to do better. We’ve got to swing at better pitches. We’ve got to find a way to find the barrel (of the bat).”

–Field Level Media

Two slumping teams coming off bad blowout home losses will meet when the New York Mets visit the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series.

The Mets were routed 13-6 at home by the Colorado Rockies, losing for the 11th time in 14 games and falling below .500 for just the second time this season.

“We just have to play better. We did score six runs, but we just couldn’t seem to hold them,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “You try to stretch out the good times and shorten up the bad ones. Right now, we’re trying to figure out a way to shorten this.”

After opening 14-7, the Mets now stand 17-18 on the season, already seven games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East.

“It’s probably not going to be the last time that something like this goes on this season,” Mets designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach said. “I’m not very good at math, but we have a lot of games left.

“We’re starting to get healthy, we’re starting to get guys back, so we just have to stick together,” he added. “I think that’s something that this group does very well; when the game challenges you like this, it’s easy to separate and it’s easy to start pointing fingers. This group doesn’t do that.”

The Reds have followed up a season-best five-game winning streak by dropping five of seven, including Sunday’s 17-4 embarrassment at home to the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox scored 11 runs in the second inning to chase starter Graham Ashcraft.

The Mets are 38-22 in 60 games all-time at Great American Ball Park. The .633 winning percentage is the highest of any National League team since the stadium opened in 2003.

The Mets will send right-hander Max Scherzer (2-2, 5.56 ERA) to the mound, looking to rebound from his worst start of the season.

Last Wednesday, in his return from a 10-game suspension for violating MLB’s foreign substance policy, Scherzer was tagged for six earned runs on eight hits over just 3 1/3 innings against Detroit. Scherzer struck out only three batters in an 8-1 loss to the Tigers.

Scherzer has had Cincinnati’s number over his career. He is 6-2 lifetime with a 1.67 ERA in 10 starts. He is 4-0 with a microscopic 0.27 ERA in five starts in Cincinnati, including last July 5, when he allowed just two hits over six scoreless innings. He struck out 11 but received a no decision in a 1-0 Cincinnati win.

The Reds will counter with right-hander Luke Weaver (0-2, 7.88), who will be looking for his first win in his fourth start since being promoted from Triple-A Louisville.

In his last start, May 1 in San Diego, Weaver was charged with four runs on nine hits over 4 1/3 innings in an 8-3 loss to the Padres. In three starts with Cincinnati, Weaver has been tagged for 14 runs on 21 hits in just 16 innings.

After Sunday’s blowout loss, lefty reliever Reiver Sanmartin said he expects to be placed on the injured list with a sore pitching elbow. He was pulled from Sunday’s game in the fifth inning after pitching to a 7.07 ERA through 14 appearances with 13 strikeouts.

“I’ve felt it for a couple of weeks now,” Sanmartin said through an interpreter. “I’ve tried to pitch through it. I just couldn’t push through it anymore.”

–Field Level Media

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected the contract of veteran utility man Chris Owings from Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday, while infielder/outfielder Mark Mathias was optioned to Triple-A.

Owings, 31, is set to take the field for his sixth MLB franchise over an 11-year career. He is a lifetime .239 hitter with 37 home runs and 220 RBIs over 710 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies and Baltimore Orioles.

In 13 games at Indianapolis, Owings was batting .273 with two home runs and four RBIs.

Mathias, 28, was batting .275 with four RBIs in 15 games for the Pirates this season. In three major league seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers and Pirates, he is a .261 hitter with six home runs and 28 RBIs in 61 games.

–Field Level Media

The Kansas City Royals placed left-hander Ryan Yarbrough on the 15-day injured list with head fractures Monday after he was hit in the face by a line drive in Sunday’s game against the Oakland Athletics.

The Royals released a statement Monday saying the pitcher is doing well as he recovers from the scary incident.

“We’re happy to share that Ryan is stable and improving and never lost consciousness,” the Royals said in a Twitter post. “He sustained multiple non-displaced fractures, and we do not believe he will need surgery.

“Ryan is undergoing more testing today, and we will share his progress as we can.”

We appreciate all the support for Ryan Yarbrough and the patience from fans and the media.

We're happy to share that Ryan is stable and improving and never lost consciousness. He sustained multiple non-displaced fractures, and we do not believe he will need surgery.

Ryan is…

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 8, 2023

Yarbrough, 31, was hit just above the left temple by a line drive from Oakland’s Ryan Noda in the top of the sixth inning. Yarbrough immediately crumpled to the ground, while the ball ricocheted back toward home plate.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez fielded the ball and threw to first base for the out.

Yarbrough was tended to by Royals medical personnel and walked off the field with some assistance while holding a towel to his face.

A transaction report from the Royals, as well as MLB’s official website, noted the “head fractures” for Yarbrough. Right-hander Jose Cuas was recalled from Triple-A Omaha.

Yarbrough is 1-4 with a 6.15 ERA in 10 appearances (three starts) with the Royals this season. He spent his first five major league seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays and is 41-35 in 137 appearances (62 starts) with a 4.41 ERA.

Cuas, 28, was 1-0 with a 5.65 ERA in 14 appearances earlier this season with the Royals and is 5-2 with a 4.15 ERA in 61 relief appearances with Kansas City over the past two seasons.

–Field Level Media

Lumen Field, the home of the Seattle Seahawks, will host the 2023 Major League Baseball draft, MLB announced Monday.

The draft is part of the festivities of the MLB All-Star Game, which will be played at T-Mobile Park, the home of the Mariners. The area surrounding Lumen Field, across the street from the Mariners’ stadium, is playing a role in the game week festivities.

The first round of the draft is set for July 9. The All-Star Game will be played July 11.

The Pittsburgh Pirates hold the No. 1 pick, followed by the Washington Nationals, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins.

Two LSU players, outfielder Dylan Crews and right-hander Paul Skenes, could be the first teammates selected Nos. 1 and 2 in the draft.

–Field Level Media

Three days after he was designated for assignment, Colorado Rockies outfielder Yonathan Daza will remain in the organization after he was outrighted to Triple-A Albuquerque on Monday.

Daza was cleared from the club’s 40-man roster on Friday when right-hander Antonio Senzatela was reinstated from the injured list.

No team claimed Daza off waivers and he doesn’t have enough service time to declare free agency.

Daza, 29, was batting .270 with six doubles and seven RBIs in 24 games with the Rockies this season. He is a career .281 hitter with four home runs and 74 RBIs in 288 games with Colorado over four separate seasons.

–Field Level Media

The Tampa Bay Rays placed reliever Garrett Cleavinger on the 15-day injured list Monday, with the Tampa Bay Times reporting the left-hander tore an ACL and likely is done for the season.

The 29-year-old exited Sunday’s game after a 10th-inning play in which he stumbled to the ground as the New York Yankees’ Aaron Hicks attempted to avoid a tag at home plate.

Cleavinger is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA through 15 appearances this season. He has 14 strikeouts in 12 innings.

The Rays recalled right-hander Trevor Kelley from Triple-A Durham to replace Cleavinger in the bullpen.

Kelley, 30, made one appearance with Tampa Bay last month, allowing two runs in two innings and taking the loss in 5-2 defeat at Toronto on April 15.

–Field Level Media