THREE-GAME SERIES AT TARGET FIELD
Twins host Royals to start final homestand before All-Star Game
The Royals are coming off a series win against the Dodgers but have 11 players on the injured list.
July 3, 2023 at 12:56AM
All games on BSN, 830-AM and 102.9-FM
Monday, 7:10 p.m.: LHP Austin Cox (0-1, 2.25 ERA) vs. RHP Joe Ryan (8-5, 3.44)
Tuesday, 1:10 p.m.: RHP Zack Greinke (1-8, 5.15) vs. RHP Kenta Maeda (1-5, 6.23)
Wednesday, 6:40 p.m.: RHP Alec Marsh (0-1, 11.25) vs. RHP Pablo López (4-5, 4.24)
ROYALS UPDATE
The Royals (25-59), who were 6-20 in June, beat the Dodgers 9-1 at home Sunday to earn their first series victory since mid-May. After losing Friday's series opener, the Royals won 6-4 on Saturday. ... C Salvador Pérez went 2-for-8 in the final two games of the series after ending June on an 0-for-19 slump. He is hitting .253 with 15 HR and 40 RBI. ... Greinke, in his 20th big-league season, has 224 career victories. He has faced the Twins twice this season, losing both times and giving up nine earned runs in nine innings. ... The Royals have 11 players on the injured list, including five who were on the Opening Day roster against the Twins. ... Diego Hernandez, Brad Keller, Michael Massey, Ryan Yarbrough and Angel Zerpa are each on rehab assignments. Josh Taylor, who has been sidelined since May 28, had surgery on June 28 to repair a herniated disk in his lower back. ... Vinnie Pasquantino (torn labrum) had surgery two weeks ago and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
TWINS UPDATE
The Twins (42-43) return home after a 4-5 road trip; they won two of three at Detroit and Baltimore, but in between those series they were swept at Atlanta. ... They finish the pre-All-Star Game portion of their schedule with a six-game homestand — the Orioles will visit this weekend. ... The Twins are 6-1 vs. the last-place Royals, sweeping a three-game series at Kansas City to open the season and winning three of four at Target Field in April. ... SS Carlos Correa went 4-for-12 in the series at Baltimore. His single to lead off Sunday's game was the 995th hit of his career. ... RHP Griffin Jax pitched a scoreless inning Sunday and has not given up a run in 17 appearances dating to May 19. That is tied for the second-longest active streak in the majors. ... IF Jose Miranda, recalled from Class AAA St. Paul in place of the injured Royce Lewis, went 0-for-2 on Sunday in his first MLB appearance since May 9.
Twins shortstop Carlos Correa is arguably their best player and easily their most expensive one. He’s frequently injured and a payroll-strapped team is up for sale. It feels like the Twins can’t afford to keep Correa, but the same is true of losing him.
