Twins vs Red Sox Preview: Pitching Duel Sparks Week 61 Showdown

The Twins' right-handed pitcher Taj Bradley is back. He's been recovering from right pectoral inflammation and threw around 65 pitches during a rehab start Sunday. He threw off the mound again Wednesday. If he recovers well, Bradley slots back into Minnesota's rotation Saturday at Fenway Park. Before getting hurt, Bradley was dominant. He held a 2.87 ERA and struck out 52 batters over 47 innings across eight starts. This is huge for the Twins. Bradley will be limited from a workload perspective since he's coming off injury. But his return gives Minnesota's pitching staff a real boost heading into this game.

Minnesota comes into Fenway with momentum. The Twins are 24-27 on the season and just won their last two games. They're 6-4 over their last ten games. Yesterday, the Twins beat the Red Sox 8-6 in a wild first inning. Boston's bats came out swinging early—Duran scored, Contreras tripled in a run, Monasterio singled home another. Minnesota fought back hard. Buxton hit a go-ahead home run that rocketed 419 feet to center field in the seventh inning. Martin launched one over the left-center wall right after. The Twins added one more run in the ninth. Now they're back Saturday looking to keep winning.

The Red Sox are 22-28 and just lost their last game. They're 5-5 over their last ten. Boston's home record is rough at 8-15. The good news? Jovani Moran takes the mound Saturday. The Red Sox need their pitching to hold up. Boston is dealing with injuries to key arms. Garrett Crochet is coming back from shoulder inflammation—he'll throw a bullpen session this weekend. The Red Sox offense has to wake up. Yesterday they scored six runs but still fell short. Can Boston's batters find their swing Saturday and help Moran get a win at Fenway?