This will be just the second start of the season for AJ Smith-Shawver, and Minnesota's lineup, aside from Josh Bell, has no experience facing him. While the Twins have won the first two games of this series, they have still managed just four wins in their last 10 games overall. Atlanta's offense has been in a slump, failing to score more than three runs in any of its last five games. That sets up a favorable matchup for Taj Bradley this afternoon, as the Braves are batting just .186 over the past seven days.

Seattle has lost Bryce Miller’s last six starts. All but one of those games have seen eight or more runs. Kyle Harrison owns a 1.38 home ERA and has a favorable matchup against a Mariners team hitting .226 on the road against left-handers. Milwaukee currently ranks in the top five in average, WRC+, and OBP when facing right-handers at home.

Detroit was just swept by the White Sox at home while allowing over 20 runs over that span. The Pirates have won three of their last four games, and their offense has scored at least eight runs in each outing. Carmen Mlodzinski has allowed nine earned runs over his last 5.1 innings of work. Detroit counters with Framber Valdez who has been inconsistent for most of the season, allowing two runs, or more, in six of his last eight starts.

Minnesota gets Bryon Buxton back tonight for the Field of Dream game. Taj Bradley has outperformed Aaron Nola is this season as Nola owns a 4.76 ERA on the road. The Phillies haven’t provided Nola with any run support either as they’ve lost seven of his last eight starts. Minnesota is only a half game back of the final AL Wild Card spot and three back of the division as they can’t afford to lose a winnable game like this.

Pittsburgh’s postseason hopes have been dwindling, losing seven of the last eight games. The Pirates offense has regressed as well as Braxton Ashcraft, allowing 21 runs in his last 24 innings. Tyler Phillips owns a 1.68 home ERA and backed by an offense that has outscored their opponents by a combined 24 runs over Miami’s last four games.

Texas is middle of the pack int he majors with hitting right-handers on the road, .248 average. On the other side, the Angels are dead last in the majors hitting, .216 against righties at home. Los Angeles got opening game of the series yesterday but now send out George Klassen, owning a 6.75 home ERA and who struggles with walks, allowing 14 in 8.2 innings. It’s a bullpen day for Texas with Cal Quantrill opening and he's backed by the much better bullpen and more consistent offensive squad.

Seattle has lost five straight while scoring just five runs in those outings. Bryce Miller has struggled on the road, 4.02 ERA, while Will Warren has been inconsistent for the majority of the season but pitches better at home. The Yankees have a better bullpen to keep the Seattle bats quiet, only hitting .234 on the road for the year.

This is a very low total as Dylan Cease has been in control almost every game he’s pitched thus far. Cease has only recorded one victory at home but owns a 2.86 ERA. Toronto should back Cease up defensively but their offense has been the worst in the majors when facing left-handers at home, hitting .200 on the year. This is only the sixth appearance for Patrick Sandoval but owns a 2.89 road ERA. The Red Sox offense may have hit a lull, losing three straight and in the last seven meetings between these two, the game has gone under the total in six of them.

Two teams fighting for a postseason spot and Dean Kremer faces his former team for the first time. Kremer should be motivated after just being traded from Baltimore, but he’s not in good form at all. Trevor Rogers has allowed a combined 10 earned runs in his last 36.1 innings as is the best he's has looked since his last All-Star appearance. The Twins are only hitting .238 against left-handers at home while Baltimore is last in the majors in average against righties on the road, hitting .220 on the year.

The Dodgers are finding new and creative ways to lose games, just look at last nights outing. It’s not easy to go against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who owns 2.17 road ERA. But, Brandon Pfaadt has been great since coming back from his back injury as Arizona has won seven straight when he takes the mound. The Diamondbacks have also won five straight against Los Angeles.

Logan Gilbert has recorded seven home wins thus far but owns a 4.12 ERA and has allowed three runs, or more, in four straight outings. Seattle has struggled offensively at home against right-handers, hitting .230 on the season. All-Star Drew Rasmussen has been having a great season with a 3.07 road ERA. He has a favorable matchup as the Rays are the much better team against right-handers in average, OBP., and slugging.

There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding both starters. This is only Kohl Drake’s fourth start of the season as his first three starts have seen at least 11 runs in each outing. Walker Buehler has allowed three runs, or more, in four of his last six starts while owning a 5.74 road ERA. In three of Buehler’s last four starts, those games have also seen at least 11 runs as well. These have been two of the best producing offenses over the last 30 days with the both teams in the top five of OPS and top three in average.

Still no Byron Buxton for Minnesota. The game has gone under the total in five of the last seven meetings between these two divisional opponents. Bailey Ober owns a 7.15 road ERA but has progressed of late, holding three of his last four opponents to two runs, or less, in three of four, including holding the Royals to two runs last week. Michael Wacha has had success in his career against Minnesota while owning a 3.57 ERA and should have more success against a struggling Twins lineup hitting .205 over their last 15 days.

Ryan Johnson owns 9.55 road ERA, allowing a combined 12 runs over his last 7.2 innings. Los Angeles also sent a healthy amount of their relief pitchers packing before the deadline as their bullpen is near the bottom of the AL, 4.66 ERA. Luckily for Johnson, the Orioles have struggled offensively over their last 15 days, hitting .212 as a team. Brandon Young has pitched well at home for Baltimore, 3.19 ERA, and should be able to limit an Angels team hitting .179 over their last seven days.

San Diego sends out newly acquired Casey Mize, for his Padre debut. He owns a 2.71 ERA while allowing seven earned runs over his last 28 innings pitched.  Arizona's Mitch Bratt makes his second home start for the season, owning 5.35 ERA, and allowed 12 earned runs over his last 20 innings pitched. Bratt has had control issues, and the Padres offense has averaged six runs per game over their last three outings.