The Twins (15-20) roll into Washington as one of the cooler teams in baseball, but they're handing the ball to the one guy who's actually working. Taj Bradley has been the rotation's lifeboat, and at 3-1 with a 2.85 ERA he's the closest thing Minnesota has to a stopper right now. The Nationals (16-19) have the better record but a 3-12 home mark that suggests Nats Park has not been a fortress.
Bradley is the story on the Minnesota side. The trade-deadline acquisition from Tampa has flashed 100 on the gun, leaned heavily on a refined splitter, and just punched out 10 Tigers over 6.1 innings without walking a soul. With Joe Ryan still day-to-day after coming out of his Sunday start with right elbow soreness, the Twins need every inning Bradley can hand them.
Cade Cavalli draws the home assignment for Washington at 1-1, 3.82. He's been trending up — his last time out against the Mets, he generated 18 whiffs, second-most by any MLB starter that day. The stuff is finally playing, even if the win-loss line doesn't show it yet. This is a real test against a Twins lineup that punishes mistakes when Byron Buxton (already up to 10 homers) is locked in.
- Day-To-DayWalker Jenkins CF — Jenkins was diagnosed Monday with a Grade 2 AC joint sprain in his left shoulder and will be re-evaluated in 10 days, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
- Day-To-DayJoe Ryan SP — Ryan played catch Tuesday after an MRI on his right elbow came back negative, Dan Hayes of The Athletic 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.
- Day-To-DayCory Lewis SP — Twins head trainer Nick Paparesta said Thursday that Lewis (shoulder) is still a couple weeks away from throwing off a mound, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
- 15-Day-ILCole Sands RP — The Twins placed Sands on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a right forearm strain, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILGarrett Acton RP — The Twins placed Acton on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a right shoulder strain, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILMick Abel SP — Twins manager Derek Shelton said Monday that Abel (elbow) has resumed playing catch and "all signs have been encouraging," Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
- Day-To-DayLuis Garcia Jr. 1B — Garcia has been diagnosed with a minor sprain of his right hand/wrist, Andrew Golden of TheBanner.com reports.
- Day-To-DayTyler Baum DH
- Day-To-DayJarlin Susana RP — Susana underwent surgery last week to repair a right lat tear, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
- Day-To-DayTravis Sykora SP — Sykora will undergo a UCL reconstruction on his right elbow in two weeks, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
- 15-Day-ILMax Kranick RP — The Nationals signed Kranick (elbow) to a one-year contract Friday, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILClayton Beeter RP — Beeter (forearm) has been cleared to resume throwing off the mound, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILCole Henry RP — Henry (shoulder) played catch Saturday, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILJosiah Gray SP — Gray (elbow) has resumed a throwing program, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
The injury sheet is uglier on the Twins side, and that's saying something for a Nats staff that's been gutted by elbows. Walker Jenkins' Grade 2 AC sprain is the latest blow on the position-player side, and the Ryan situation looms over the rest of the week. Washington has its own problems — Luis Garcia Jr. is awaiting MRI results on a sore right wrist after Sunday's win over Milwaukee, which would knock another bat out of a lineup that already leans hard on CJ Abrams.
The market reads this one as basically a coin flip with the Nationals a hair on top, and the public is hammering the over on a 9 — DK has 83% of the over handle. Makes sense on paper given two bullpens that have taken on water, but Bradley's profile and Cavalli's recent whiff numbers argue the other way. If you trust the arms, the under is the side hiding in plain sight.
Bottom line: Twins desperately need Bradley to do Bradley things and quiet a bad week. Nationals need to defend their building before this homestand gets away from them. First pitch 5:45 PM CT from Nats Park.