Twins, Braves scuffling ahead of three-game series

Two pitchers looking for their first win will square off on Friday when the Minnesota Twins visit the Atlanta Braves to begin a three-game series between a pair of struggling teams.

Minnesota will send Chris Paddack (0-2, 9.49 ERA) to the mound against Atlanta's Bryce Elder (0-1, 7.20) in the first meeting between the teams this season. The Braves swept three-game series against the Twins in 2023 and 2024.

The Braves lost two of three to the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays on their recently completed road trip. The Twins won their past two games, both against the New York Mets, but have lost seven of their last 11.

Each team enters the series with the second-worst record in their respective league.

Paddack was the losing pitcher in a 4-0 loss Saturday to the Detroit Tigers. He allowed two runs (one earned) over five innings with five strikeouts. It was the best outing in three starts for the right-hander and a dramatic turnaround from his opening appearance when he allowed nine runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox.

"In this game, it's not how you start, it's how you finish," Paddack said. "The longevity of a season, hopefully I have 29 more starts ahead of me, so I'm continuing to build and grow and learn something new every start and get ready for my next outing."

Paddack will make his third career start against the Braves. He last faced them on July 21, 2021, when he pitched for the San Diego Padres, throwing five scoreless innings in the opener of a doubleheader.

Elder moved into the Braves' starting rotation when Reynaldo Lopez was lost for an extended amount of time because of right shoulder surgery. It will be the third start of the season for Elder and comes after a six-inning stint against the Tampa Bay Rays last Friday when he allowed five runs on nine hits, two of them home runs.

Elder has made one previous start against the Twins, beating them in 2023 while allowing two runs over six innings.

Consistency has been a problem for the Braves, who have been unable to win back-to-back games this season. Marcell Ozuna (.306, three home runs, 16 walks) and Austin Riley (.284, five homers, 12 RBI) have been the steadiest. But Matt Olson is batting .203 with two homers, while Ozzie Albies is batting .239.

Manager Brian Snitker is taking a long-range view of the situation and believes it's too early to panic.

"I'm glass half-full because we've got too much baseball to play," Snitker said "We've seen it the last few years, we can turn this thing around and run off a good streak, too. So we just gotta hang in there and compartmentalize it and take it a day at a time and go out and win a game tomorrow."

Minnesota placed outfielder Matt Wallner on the 10-day injured list because of a strained hamstring. He is batting .263 in 18 games, mostly hitting leadoff. The Twins also removed shortstop Will Castro with tightness in his right oblique and replaced him in the field with Carlos Correa, who has been dealing with a sore wrist and was unable to hit Wednesday.

Jonah Bride may fit into the picture for the Twins. The utility infielder was acquired from the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the Braves recalled outfielder Alex Verdugo, who was signed as a free agent in March, while Bryan De La Cruz was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

--Field Level Media