Losing Byron Buxton to the injured list is the kind of thing that can quietly sink a homestand. He's been the engine of this Twins team, and now Minnesota has to win series without its best all-around player patrolling center.
Still, the Twins have found ways to win without him, taking 4 straight and looking like a genuinely different team than the one stumbling around .500 a few weeks back. The Angels, meanwhile, are still buried at 37-56, and one blowout win over the Rangers doesn't erase months of losing.
The Angels' pitching situation remains the story of their season. With Yusei Kikuchi, Grayson Rodriguez and Jack Kochanowicz all lost for extended stretches, Los Angeles has been piecing together starts all year, and sending a TBD arm out for a getaway-day matinee against a hot Twins lineup is not exactly a recipe for stopping the bleeding.
For Minnesota, the calculus is different. Bradley's turned into a genuine strikeout weapon over his last 4 starts, and the Twins have shown they can win low-scoring games and slugfests alike during this stretch. If Trout and the middle of the Angels order stay hot, this could be the rare competitive game out of a mismatched series — but the smart money is on the team playing with far more confidence right now.