Series Preview: Boston RedSox at Minnesota Twins

After taking two-of-three from the St. Louis Cardinals, the Red Sox are 6-9, just two games out of first place in the AL East. Ditto a Wild Card spot. Their run differential is zero. The offense has scored 62 runs, third in the division after Tampa Bay (70) and New York (65). The pitching is also th

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What is the story about?

After taking two-of-three from the St. Louis Cardinals, the Red Sox are 6-9, just two games out of first place in the AL East. Ditto a Wild Card spot. Their run differential is zero. The offense has scored 62 runs, third in the division after Tampa Bay (70) and New York (65). The pitching is also third in the division in runs allowed behind the Yankees (44) and Orioles (59).

After facing the National League so far this season it’s time to play in the AL. First up, the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins are

off to a very solid start at 9-7, just half a game behind the Cleveland Guardians. After the selloff at 2025 trade deadline, getting off to a +.500 record is music to their fans’ ears. FanGraphs still projects the team at a tick under .500 for the year, but with the Tigers coming out of the gate a little weaker who knows what the AL Central could look like.

As Boston looks to turn a two-game winning streak into three, Garrett Crochet takes the ball. Coming off a win against the Brewers where he was brilliant for about six innings and then a little gassed as his pitch count topped 100, the lefty looks to pitch not as the stopper but the continuer. He’s opposed by Bailey Ober, a tall righty who missed much of 2025. He’s back this season and things have been…ok. Over three starts he’s totaled 13.2 innings with 8 hits, 7 strikeouts, and 4 walks. In the early going this season his strikeout percentage has dropped from a career average of 23.7% of batters to 11.9% and his 6.8% walk rate is the highest of his career with a 5.3% average rate across his time in the majors. With a fastball sitting in the high 80s vs the mid-90s is he crafty enough to get by? Will the velocity return?

Tuesday we get anther start from Sonny Gray, who is coming off back-to-back strong outings against the Padres and Brewers. After a lackluster start to open the season in Cincinnati, Gray excelled in Fenway Park. Now he’s taking the show back on the road, hopefully with those bugs worked out. Mick Abel is a 24-year-old righty who came to Minnesota from the Philles in exchange for Jhoan Duran. It’s his second season in the majors and he’s sitting on a career 6.19 ERA / 3.87 FIP). So far this year he’s walking (14.9%) almost the same percentage of batters he’s striking out (19.4%) which isn’t going to end well. Luckily for him last year he only walked 9.2%. and he’s only 52.1 innings into his major league career.

The series finale is an afternoon start. Connelly Early has had trouble getting deep into games. He’s thrown 96, 88, and 86 pitches and lasted 5.1, 4.0, and 4.1 innings before needing to be removed for a reliever. He’s looked good at times but also a little lost. The team clearly believes in him. He’s opposed by Simeon Woods Richardson. Another righty, he’s coming off a bad start after two good outings to begin the season. On the year he’s tossed 15.2 innings allowing 16 runs (8 earned), 8 hits, struck out 8, and walked 4. He give up about 34% ground balls so there’s a chance to force the defense to make plays.

Royce Lewis is on the IL, as his career remains frustrating in that regard.

Byron Buxton is off to a slow start: .182/.258/.273

Josh Bell has been a tremendous asset so far: .286/.390/.551 with 3 homers. This is well ahead of his career averages but he’s sure on a hot streak at the moment.