St. Louis Cardinals at Minnesota Twins

Joe Ryan gets the ball for the Twins against Kyle Leahy, and on paper this is a lopsided pitching matchup. Ryan's 3.07 ERA towers over Leahy's 4.42, and Ryan is the only reason Minnesota has any business being favored here. First pitch is 7:10 PM CT at Target Field.

The Cardinals showed up to Minnesota in a very different mood than the home club. They took 2 of 3 in Queens, swept the Reds before that, and even Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Mets was a one-run game they could've stolen. At 37-29 with a 4-1 stretch behind them, the bats are humming and the bullpen has been holding the late innings together with Ryan Fernandez back from Memphis.

St. Louis Cardinals

(37-29)

Jun 11L@ Mets4-5

Jun 10W@ Mets9-2

Jun 9W@ Mets7-0

Jun 7Wvs Reds5-3

Jun 6Wvs Reds6-5

Minnesota Twins

(31-39)

Jun 11L@ Tigers0-11

Jun 10W@ Tigers6-4

Jun 9L@ Tigers4-10

Jun 7Lvs Royals5-6

Jun 6Lvs Royals2-3

The Twins are a different story. Minnesota sits at 31-39 and just got run off the field 11-0 by the Tigers to close a brutal road trip. 4 losses in their last 5, an offense that just got shut out, and a rotation that has been gutted. Bailey Ober is down with a flexor strain, Pablo Lopez and David Festa are on the 60-day, and Mick Abel is still on a rehab assignment. Joe Ryan is essentially the entire rotation right now.

That's the part that makes Ryan starting tonight feel huge. Over his last 6 outings he's been an ace — 5 quality starts, a 2.39 ERA, and a 44-to-6 strikeout-to-walk number per RotoWire. His last time out he gave the Twins 6 innings of 1-run ball against Kansas City. If Minnesota is going to stop the bleeding, this is the night and this is the guy.

St. Louis Cardinals

(7)

• Day-To-DayPacky Naughton RP — Naughton will undergo surgery next month to repair the damaged UCL in his left elbow, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
• Day-To-DaySem Robberse SP — Robberse (elbow) signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Monday, which includes an invitation to spring training, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
• Day-To-DayVictor Santos RP — The Red Sox traded Santos (undisclosed) and Nick Robertson to the Cardinals on Friday in exchange for Tyler O'Neill (foot), Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
• Day-To-DayIxan Henderson SP — Henderson (elbow) is starting the season on the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis.
• Day-To-DayZack Thompson RP — The Cardinals reassigned Thompson (shoulder) to minor-league camp Monday.
• 10-Day-ILRamon Urias 3B — Urias (elbow) returned to St. Louis to undergo an examination on his left elbow, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
• 15-Day-ILRyan Fernandez RP — The Cardinals recalled Fernandez from Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday.

Minnesota Twins

(11)

• Day-To-DayWalker Jenkins CF — Jenkins (shoulder) recently resumed hitting against live pitching and could soon head out on a rehab assignment, MLB.com reports.
• Day-To-DayJulian Merryweather RP — Merryweather (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with the Twins' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate Tuesday, Theodore Tollefson of ZoneCoverage.com reports.
• Day-To-DayMatt Canterino SP — Canterino (shoulder) will be with the Twins in big-league spring training but isn't expected to pitch during camp as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
• 10-Day-ILRyan Jeffers C — Jeffers had the cast and stitches removed from his surgically repaired left hand and has resumed throwing, Matthew Leach of MLB.com reports.
• 15-Day-ILMick Abel SP — Abel (elbow) struck out five and permitted two hits and no walks over three scoreless frames in his first rehab start with Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.
• 15-Day-ILKendry Rojas RP — Rojas (elbow) will throw a bullpen session Wednesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
• 15-Day-ILCole Sands RP — The Twins returned Sands (forearm) from his rehab assignment Tuesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
• 15-Day-ILBailey Ober SP — Ober has a mild flexor strain and will be shut down for 10-14 days, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic

Leahy, meanwhile, is the soft spot St. Louis has to live with. His last start was 4 innings, 3 earned, just 1 strikeout on 79 pitches against Cincinnati — a no-decision that screamed bullpen game. The Cardinals' lineup is built to slug through traffic, but they're handing 5-plus innings to a guy who hasn't given them length lately. Walker Jenkins is still day-to-day for the Twins and could be inching toward a rehab assignment, but he's not walking through that door tonight.

Stylistically it's vibes vs. a workhorse. A streaking road team that's been everything Minnesota hasn't, against a home club whose only path is Joe Ryan throwing 110 pitches and the bats finally waking up. Target Field has been kind to Ryan; it might need to be again.