Twins host the Athletics to start 3-game series

Athletics (43-59, fourth in the AL West) vs. Minnesota Twins (51-53, third in the AL Central)

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

PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Jacob Lopez (4-4, 6.64 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 49 strikeouts); Twins: Zebby Matthews (4-7, 5.40 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 58 strikeouts)

LINE: Twins -145, Athletics +119; over/under is 9 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Twins host the Athletics on Friday to open a three-game series.

Minnesota is 51-53 overall and 26-25 at home. Twins hitters have a collective .410 slugging percentage to rank third in the AL.

The Athletics are 43-59 overall and 23-29 in road games. The Athletics have the second-ranked team on-base percentage in the AL at .324.

The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Byron Buxton has 16 doubles, a triple, 25 home runs and 45 RBI while hitting .274 for the Twins. Trevor Larnach is 12 for 34 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.

Shea Langeliers has 18 doubles, 23 home runs and 51 RBI for the Athletics. Jacob Wilson is 17 for 42 with a triple, three home runs and six RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 5-5, .238 batting average, 5.06 ERA, outscored by 13 runs

Athletics: 2-8, .257 batting average, 8.04 ERA, outscored by 41 runs

INJURIES: Twins: Cole Sands: 15-Day IL (forearm), Marco Raya: 15-Day IL (shoulder), David Festa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Mick Abel: 60-Day IL (elbow), Anthony Banda: 60-Day IL (lat), Garrett Acton: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Connor Prielipp: 15-Day IL (finger), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Athletics: Brooks Kriske: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Josh Kuroda-Grauer: 10-Day IL (testicle), J.T. Ginn: 15-Day IL (finger), Colby Thomas: day-to-day (wrist), Mark Leiter Jr.: 15-Day IL (hip), Nick Kurtz: 10-Day IL (thumb), Zack Gelof: 10-Day IL (knee), Justin Sterner: 15-Day IL (knee), Luis Severino: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brent Rooker: 60-Day IL (knee), Denzel Clarke: 60-Day IL (foot), Gunnar Hoglund: 60-Day IL (knee)

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