The Los Angeles Angels open a three-game set against the Minnesota Twins on Friday at Target Field with Grayson Rodriguez taking the ball in the series opener. It is Rodriguez’s first appearance since his stint on the injured list, and it lands at a moment when the Angels need a cleaner answer from their rotation than the one they found in Texas.
That is why this series is being watched now. The Angels arrive in Minnesota after losing two of three to the Texas Rangers, even though their offense has put up 19 runs in its last two games. Mike Trout homered in his first game back in the lineup, Jo Adell followed with a two-homer game against Texas on Wednesday, and Nolan Schanuel had four hits on Thursday. Vaughn Grissom had also delivered a four-hit game one day earlier, giving the Angels a short burst of production that has not yet translated into a better record. They are 37-57 and fifth in the AL West.
The Twins have a different kind of urgency. They are 46-48, third in the AL Central and one game back of the third and final Wild Card spot heading into Friday. Zebby Matthews is set to oppose Rodriguez, with Joe Ryan and Taj Bradley lined up for Saturday and Sunday. That kind of pitching sequence matters for Minnesota, which has stayed in the race by leaning on its rotation even as the roster has thinned. Byron Buxton was placed on the injured list on Tuesday with a right hip strain, and the club also has to manage Ryan Jeffers, who was in the clubhouse on Thursday after completing a rehab stint and is expected to be activated this weekend.
The friction is obvious. The Angels have found offense, but they have not found enough wins. The Twins have the standing to care deeply about every start, but Thursday’s loss snapped a four-game win streak and reminded them how narrow the margin is. If Rodriguez gives the Angels length in his return, it changes the shape of the weekend immediately; if he does not, Los Angeles will once again be asking a hot lineup to carry a staff that has not settled in yet.
What happens next is already mapped out. Rodriguez opens Friday, Ryan Ryan Ryan not — Joe Ryan follows Saturday and Taj Bradley on Sunday for the Twins, and Jeffers should be back in the mix this weekend. For a series that starts with one starter coming off the injured list and one club trying to stay in the Wild Card picture, that is enough to make the next two days matter.
