Taj Bradley (6-3, 3.98 ERA) takes the mound for Minnesota against Tatsuya Imai (5-3, 5.36 ERA) at 7:10 PM CT. Bradley was sharp in his last outing — 7 innings, 2 earned runs, 7 strikeouts against Colorado on June 26 — the kind of performance that gives Minnesota a legitimate shot against anybody. Imai's ERA looks worse than he is right now. A disastrous April where he walked 11 batters across 3 starts and ended up on the IL for arm fatigue has been dragging that number down all year. The pitcher that's shown up over the past month is a different animal.
Since getting right, Imai has been one of the harder arms to square up in the AL. His last start was 6 innings of shutout ball against Detroit — 10 strikeouts, 1 walk, 2 hits — and he has 21 punchouts over his last 2 starts combined. Manager Joe Espada put it simply: 'His fastball and slider continues to get dirtier and dirtier.' The Twins are aware of what Bell can do against Imai — he hit 2 home runs off the righty back in May — but that was the version of Imai who was still finding himself. Wednesday night's matchup is a different ask.
The biggest wildcard for Minnesota is Byron Buxton's hip. The Twins' center fielder is listed day-to-day with an impingement and sat out Tuesday's loss — a significant blow to an offense that counts on his production in the middle of the lineup. With Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober, David Festa, and Mick Abel all on the injured list, the Twins' organization is stretched thin. Bradley is one of the few healthy things going right for this club right now, which makes how deep he can go against a resurgent Imai the central question of the night.
- Day-To-DayByron Buxton CF — Buxton (hip) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Astros, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DayRicardo Olivar C — Triple-A St. Paul transferred Olivar from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day IL on June 4 while he recovers from a right knee sprain, Twins writer Brandon Warne 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 (hand) was spotted taking swings in the batting cage and catching a bullpen session Monday, Theodore Tollefson of ZoneCoverage.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILAnthony Banda RP — The Twins placed Banda on the 15-day injured list Monday with a left lat strain.
- 15-Day-ILBailey Ober SP — Ober (elbow) struck out one batter and allowed three earned runs on seven hits and no walks over 3.1 innings in a rehab start Sunday with High-A Cedar Rapids.
- 15-Day-ILMick Abel SP — Abel will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow, Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com reports.
- Day-To-DayWalker Janek C — Double-A Corpus Christi placed Janek on its 7-day injured list Sunday due to an unspecified injury.
- 10-Day-ILLaMonte Wade Jr. 1B — Wade (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILJeremy Pena SS — The Astros placed Pena on the 10-day injured list Tuesday due to a mild left calf strain, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILBraden Shewmake SS — The Astros announced Monday that Shewmake (adductor) has taken part in baseball activity and is working his way through a running progression at the team's facility in Florida, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 15-Day-ILLance McCullers Jr. SP — McCullers (shoulder) struck out four and allowed two hits and no walks over three scoreless innings in a rehab start Thursday with Triple-A Sugar Land.
- 15-Day-ILBennett Sousa RP — The Astros announced Friday that Sousa (elbow) has begun a throwing progression, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
- 60-Day-ILRonel Blanco SP — Blanco (elbow) struck out two and allowed two hits and two walks over 3.1 scoreless innings Thursday in a rehab start for Double-A Corpus Christi.
- 60-Day-ILCristian Javier SP — Javier (shoulder) struck out four and scattered three hits and two walks over six scoreless innings Saturday in a rehab start with Triple-A Sugar Land.
Houston is short-handed too — Jeremy Pena's calf landed him on the 10-day IL and Carlos Correa is months away from returning from ankle surgery. But the Astros have the pitching edge and the momentum edge after Alvarez's 395-foot blast to right-center capped a six-run fourth inning Tuesday and erased a 3-0 Twins lead. Joe Ryan took the loss giving up all 6 runs in 4 innings. The Astros don't need a blowout tonight — they just need Imai to keep doing what he's been doing and let Josh Hader finish it off.