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Series preview: Pirates continue AL road trip vs. Twins

The Pirates are heading to the Twin Cities.

By Jeremy_Brener
Minnesota Twins v Pittsburgh Pirates Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images

Pittsburgh Pirates (9-10) vs. Minnesota Twins (6-11), April 23-25, 2021

Location: Target Field, Minneapolis, MN

TV: AT&T Sports Pittsburgh

Radio: KDKA-AM

Twins SB Nation Site: Twinkie Town

The Pirates continue their AL Central road trip and travel to the Twin Cities to face the 2020 AL Central Division Champion Minnesota Twins.

Here’s a look at what we can expect this weekend:

Projected Starters

Friday, 8:10 p.m. EST

JT Brubaker (2-0, 1.76 ERA) vs. J.A. Happ (0-0, 3.12 ERA)

Saturday, 2:10 p.m. EST

Trevor Cahill (0-2, 9.69 ERA) vs. Michael Pineda (1-0, 1.00 ERA)

Sunday, 2:10 p.m. EST

TBD vs. Jose Berrios (2-2, 3.00 ERA)

Projected Lineups

Pirates

  1. Adam Frazier (2B)
  2. Phillip Evans (LF)
  3. Bryan Reynolds (CF)
  4. Colin Moran (1B)
  5. Erik Gonzalez (3B)
  6. Todd Frazier (DH)
  7. Gregory Polanco (RF)
  8. Jacob Stallings (C)
  9. Kevin Newman (SS)

Twins

  1. Mitch Garver (C)
  2. Josh Donaldson (3B)
  3. Nelson Cruz (DH)
  4. Byron Buxton (CF)
  5. Luis Arraez (2B)
  6. Jorge Polanco (SS)
  7. Willians Astudillo (1B)
  8. Jake Cave (LF)
  9. Brent Rooker (RF)

We spoke with TJ Gorsegner from our sister site Twinkie Town to discuss some storylines for the Twins heading into 2021. Here’s what he had to say about the team:

1. What has been the biggest surprise for the team so far?

This current, awful, putrid, retched stretch of baseball. The Twins have lost four in a row, and nine of their last ten to fall to a division-basement 6-11 record. They also had several games impacted by Covid, and will be missing several key players for that reason. No one has been playing very well, so I won’t name a player in particular right now...

2. Who is one player from the Twins who Pirates fans would be surprised by in this series?

I just said I wasn’t going to name a player, but how about Alex Kirilloff or Nick Gordon, as both former first rounders will be joining the team. They are in very different places, as Gordon has lost most of his shine, while AK is the team’s top prospect.

3. What is your prediction for the series?

I’m an eternal optimist. Twins win a game. Twins lose a game. The third one is a coin flip, but I’m going to say it will go to ten innings, and therefore the Twins will lose. They literally haven’t won a game in extras yet. Stupid Manfredball. Pirates end up taking two. yuck.

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