The Minnesota Twins and Pittsburgh Pirates opened a weekend series Friday night with the same problem on both sides of the field: each team was trying to avoid a three-game losing streak. It made a routine late-May matchup feel a little sharper than the calendar would suggest.
That is why Twins Vs Pirates was drawing attention Friday, May 29. Minnesota had just swept Boston in three straight after dropping three of four to the White Sox, while Pittsburgh had won its first two games against the Cubs before losing the next two. The Twins also had taken three of four from the Pirates in their only series last year, a small edge that at least gave them a recent reference point.
The pitching setup gave the game its clearest headline. Taj Bradley came in after allowing 5 earned runs in 18 innings across his last three starts, but he had given up more than two earned runs in only one of his nine starts this season. Last year, he finished under 2.5 earned runs in 14 of 27 starts, which explained why he still carried the profile of a pitcher who could settle a game quickly if his command held.
Across from him was Jared Jones, who was set to make his first MLB start since 2024 after undergoing internal brace surgery. Jones had already gone through five rehab starts this year across three minor-league levels, a slow path back that made his return more notable than the average Friday assignment. For Pittsburgh, it was also a reminder that the rotation was still trying to regain its full shape after he was sidelined.
The Pirates needed the help. They had scored just 16 runs in their last six games outside of a 12-run outburst on Tuesday, a stretch that pointed to an offense still looking for steady production. They also lost yesterday with Paul Skenes on the mound, another missed chance to break the slide before the series opener with Minnesota.
That is the friction in this matchup: the Twins arrived after a bright road sweep in Boston, but the standings pressure did not disappear with it, and the Pirates were leaning on a returning starter while their offense searched for more than one big inning. Friday’s game was only the first night of the series, but it already felt like a test of which club could turn a brief surge into something more lasting.
