Series Preview: Nationals Come to Town

On Friday night, the Twins begin a ten-game home stand with three against the Washington Nationals. While the Nationals come into Target Field 5-13 after getting shutout by the Baltimore Orioles at home in a two-game series, the Twins come home from an exhausting and average trip through Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park still leading the AL Central at 11-8. What can we expect from this series? 

Fun Fact: The Twins last played the newest rendition of the club that formed them at Target Field in September of 2019, dropping two out of three to the eventual World Series Champions.

Weather Factor: Cold. Very Cold. Highs will be in the low 40’s to high 30’s all weekend.

Pitching Probables
Game 1 - Friday, April 21st - 7:10pm CDT - The first game in the series will feature Twins RHP Tyler Mahle (1-2, 3.52 ERA) versus Nationals RHP Trevor Williams (1-1, 3.52 ERA).

Twins fans shouldn’t expect any drastic changes to the lineup for Game 1, unless Jorge Polanco were to make his 2023 MLB debut. (Update pregame Friday…Polanco IS up and batting 5th!). Neither team has a significant track record with any of three probable pitchers in this series, so the status quo figures to keep on playing out.

The Twins have also announced an autograph signing near Gate 34 from 5:45-6:15pm Friday to celebrate the fact that Pablo Day is here to stay!

Game 2 – Saturday, April 22nd, 2023 – 1:10pm CDT - Newly extended Twins RHP Pablo Lopez (1-1, 1.73 ERA) takes the mound opposite Nationals RHP Chad Kuhn (0-1, 8.59) who is looking for his first win of the season. 

The intrigue here involves Lopez’s response to the new deal, after being bested by Garrit Cole on the road. Will Pablo be able to match his Target Field debut with another strong showing in cold weather?

Game 3 - Sunday, April 23rd - 1:10pm CDT - The Twins have not announced a pitcher for Game 3 against the Nationals, but they do know that they will be facing a lefty in the Nationals Patrick Corbin (1-2, 6.30 ERA). 

With the Twins’ weak showing against left-handed starters so far this season, this looks to be another case of “they struggled until they faced us” matchup. Who the Twins send out will determine upon Kenta Maeda’s prognosis and the fact that the Twins have seven more games in a row until their next off-day. Do we see the return of Louie Varland? Or will Bailey Ober (who pitched on Tuesday, five days before this, hint, hint) make the drive across the Mississippi to enter the Twins rotation?

Prediction Time!
What’s your prediction for this chilly series with the Nationals? Can the Twins offense find some consistency off of the Nationals pitching? How will the Twins respond to the uncertainty in our rotation and bullpen after the Red Sox series? A sweep is there for the taking…right? Let's go, Twins Territory!