MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:

THE TWINS: Completed their seven-game homestand with a record of 4-3, going 3-1 vs. Texas and 1-2 vs. Cleveland…tonight, the Twins will begin a six-game road trip with three against the Rangers over the weekend, followed by three against the Guardians from Monday-Wednesday… the Twins have gone 40-29 at home and 29-36 on the road, but have gone just 2-6 in their last eight away from Target Field. Twins are seeking their 70th win of the season tonight…last season, they won their 70th game on September 13, finishing the season with 78 wins.

TWINS ONE STRIKE AWAY FROM A W: The Twins lost to the Guardians on Wednesday afternoon at Target Field by a score of 5-2 in 10 innings, making them 11-7 in extras this season… Sonny Gray was the starter but did not factor into the decision, pitching 7.0 shutout innings, with three hits allowed, one walk and five strikeouts…Jhoan Duran allowed the game-tying run in the top of the ninth inning on a wild pitch, making the Twins 56-1 this season when leading after the eighth inning…Kody Funderburk allowed the go-ahead three-run homer to Kole Calhoun in the top of the 10th…the offense recorded just four hits, two apiece from Jorge Polanco and Donovan Solano…Minnesota went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, making them 1-for-18 in such instances in the final two games of the series.

SEPTEMBER EXPANSION: The Twins have selected the contract of outfielder Andrew Steven- son from Triple-A St. Paul and recalled left-handed pitcher Brent Headrick from the Saints. Stevenson, 29, has played in 106 games for the Saints this season, hitting .317 (132-for416) with 23 doubles, seven triples, 16 home runs, 57 RBI, 91 runs scored, 42 walks, 44 stolen bases (49 attempts), a .395 on-base percentage, a .522 slugging percentage and a .916 OPS…the Lafayette, Louisiana native has played in parts of five seasons with the Nationals from 2017-21, hitting .248 (98-for-395) with 18 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 49 RBI, 51 runs scored and a .322 on-base percentage in 248 games. Headrick, 25, previously appeared in 10 games over three stints with the Twins this season, going 2-0, 6.20 ERA (20.1 IP, 14 ER), nine walks, 26 strikeouts, a 1.38 WHIP and a .247 opponent batting average…in 17 games (12 starts) with St. Paul in 2023, the lefty has gone 4-2, 5.04 ERA (69.2 IP, 39 ER), 24 walks, 77 strikeouts, a 1.36 WHIP, a .263 opponent batting average and a 9.9 strikeouts-per-9.0 innings pitched ratio. To make room for Stevenson on the 40-man roster, the Twins have transferred infielder Jose Miranda to the 60-day Injured List…Miranda has been on the 10-day Injured List since July 15 with right shoulder impingement.

RANGER THINGS: The Twins and Rangers are playing each other tonight for the fifth of seven meetings in 2023…these two met at Target Field last week from Thursday-Sunday (August 24-27) as the Twins won three of four, dropping just game three…they averaged 7.0 run-sper-game during the series. Since the start of 2021, 15 of 18 games between these two have been decided by three runs-or-fewer, while nine games have been decided by one run. Carlos Correa has 21 career home runs vs. the Rangers (102 games), his most against any opponent…21 homers are the fifth most among actives, trailing Mike Trout (44), George Springer (28), Jose Altuve (27) and Nelson Cruz (23). Since the start of 2019, the Twins have scored 5.5 runs-per-game in 24 games against the Rangers…marks the second-most against any AL club in that span, trailing Seattle (5.8). Notable individuals vs. Texas during the last four-game series: Max Kepler went 6-for-13 (.462) with two doubles, one home run and two walks…Jorge Polanco went 6-for-16 (.375) with a home run and three walks.

LIVING OUR BEST (GLOBE) LIFE: The Twins are 4-2 all-time at Globe Life Field, dropping a three-game series 2-1 last season from July 8-10 (winning only the finale) and sweeping the Rangers in three games here from June 18-20, 2021…since the start of 2016, the Twins have a record of 14-6 at Globe Life Field and Globe Life Park combined.

NO SCHER THING: The Twins are facing Max Scherzer for the 18th time in his career tonight…Scherzer has gone 9-2, 4.32 ERA (106.1 IP, 51 ER) with 10 quality starts in his previous 17 starts, 16 of which came when Max was a Detroit Tiger…Max’s last loss to Minnesota came on September 23, 2012 at Comerica Park as he has gone 6-0 in eight starts since.

HOW DO YOU SAY ‘RED HOT’ IN GERMAN: In his last 38 games, since July 17, Max Kepler is hitting .321 (43-for-134) with 14 doubles, nine home runs, 20 RBI, 25 runs scored, 13 walks, a .383 on-base percentage, a .627 slugging percentage and a 1.009 OPS…additionally, he has seven doubles in his last 11 games. Since July 17, Kepler has raised his OPS 106 points, from .701 to .807…his .807 OPS is the second-highest of his career (.855 in 2019).

UNLOCKING POLANCO: Jorge Polanco has multiple hits in four of his last five games, hitting two doubles and two home runs with seven RBI in that span…he has reached safely in 21 of his last 22 games…additionally, in his last 17 games, since August 11, he is hitting .333 (20-for-60) with four home runs, 16 RBI, 11 walks, a .432 on-base percentage, a .567 slugging percentage and a .999 OPS. He has a .990 OPS as a left-handed batter since August 11.

STARTING PITCHER – #41 JOE RYAN
2023: 9-8, 4.33 ERA CAREER: 24-17, 3.93 ERA

Making his 24th start and appearance of 2023 and his 12th road start of the year…also his 56th career start and appearance. Making his second start since returning from his rehab assignment and being reinstated from the 15-day Injured List on August 26. Facing Texas for the second-straight start and third time in his career; took a no-decision vs. the Rangers in his last start on August 26, a 6-2 Twins’ loss (5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R/ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 7 K)

LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor into the decision in his return from the 15-day Injured List on August 26 vs. Texas in a 6-2 Twins’ defeat…allowed one run on five hits (1 HR) in 5.0 innings pitched, with two walks and seven strikeouts…his lone blemish was a solo homer by former Twin Mitch Garver in the top of the second inning…stranded two runners in scoring position in the second inning, inducing an inning-ending groundout from Leody Taveras…exited after 5.0 innings and a season-low-tying 80 pitches (also, 80 pitches on April 2 at Kansas City) with the score tied 1-1; Griffin Jax allowed four runs in the top of the ninth and Minnesota fell in the third game of the four-game series. Has allowed at least one home run in eight-straight starts (18 HR total), the longest streak of his career and tied with Bailey Ober and Kenta Maeda (both active streaks) for the longest by a Twin this year…is the sixth pitcher in American League/National League history (since 1901) to allow 18-or-more homers in an eight-game span; first since BAL’s Bruce Zimmermann in 2022. DO YOU REMEMBER?: Making his 11th career start in September tonight, his most in any month in his career…is 5-2, 3.09 ERA (55.1 IP, 19 ER) with 17 walks, 60 strikeouts and a .161 (31-for-193) opponent batting average in 10 previous September starts…his .161 opponent batting average in September is his best in any month of his career and is the lowest in baseball since 2021 (min. 10 September GS)…made his major league debut two years ago tonight on September 1, 2021 vs. Chicago-NL (5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R/ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 5 K); also set his single-game career high strikeout total on September 22, 2021 at Chicago-NL (11 K in 5.0 IP).

TEXAS TUSSLE: Facing the Rangers for the second-straight start and third time in his career…will be the second time in his career that he has faced the same opponent in back-to-back starts (also, September 8-14, 2021 against Cleveland)…took a no-decision vs. Texas in his last start on August 26 at Target Field, a 6-2 Twins’ loss (see “LAST TIME OUT” note above)…also took the loss despite recording a quality start vs. the Rangers on August 21, 2022, a 7-0 Twins’ defeat at Target Field (6.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R/ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 6 K). Making his seventh start of the season against an American League West opponent (HOU – 2, TEX – 1, LAA – 1, OAK – 1, SEA – 1)…is 1-2, 5.70 ERA (30.0 IP, 19 ER) with 12 walks and 46 strikeouts…his 5.77 ERA (53.0 IP, 34 ER) in 11 career starts vs. the AL West is his highest ERA against any AL division in his career.

ROCKY ROAD: After winning his first three road starts of the year, Ryan has gone 0-4, 6.25 ERA (40.1 IP, 28 ER) with 11 walks, 46 strikeouts and a .302 (49-for-162) opponent batting average in his last eight road outings…is 3-4 with a 5.01 ERA (59.1 IP, 33 ER), 14 walks and 65 strikeouts in 11 overall road starts in 2023…has recorded seven quality starts on the road this season, with the Twins going 4-3 in those games (1-3 in his other road starts)…has posted better numbers at home this year, going 6-4, 3.77 ERA (71.2 IP, 30 ER) with 13 walks and 94 strikeouts in 12 starts at Target Field in 2023. Making his first career start at Globe Life Field; will be the 19th different ballpark he has pitched at in his career…is 5-8, 6.00 ERA (90.0 IP, 60 ER) with 23 walks and 97 strikeouts in 18 prior starts when pitching at a new ballpark. Is 11-8, 4.32 ERA (135.1 IP, 65 ER) with 33 walks and 141 strikeouts in 25 career road starts…in 30 career home starts, he is 13-9, 3.61 ERA (169.1 IP, 68 ER) with 46 walks and 199 strikeouts.

LEFT OUT: Left-handed hitters are batting just .211 (49-for-232) with a .618 OPS and 61 strikeouts against Ryan this year…his .618 opponent OPS against left-handed hitters is the 11th lowest in the American League this season (min. 20 GS)…right-handed hitters are batting .270 (74-for-274) with an .818 OPS and 98 strikeouts against Ryan in 2023…his .285 overall opponent on-base percentage in 2023 ranks 11th in the AL (min. 20 GS). Over his career, lefties are batting .201 (110-for-546) with a .625 OPS against him…his .625 career opponent OPS vs. lefties is the 10th lowest in the AL since his debut (min. 250 at-bats)… righties are hitting .240 (144-for-601) with a .735 OPS off Ryan in his career.

TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:

WINS AND LOSSES: Texas lost to the Mets in walk-off fashion, 6-5, on Wed. in Queens, finishing with a 3-6 record on a 9-G, 10-day road trip thru ARI (0-2), MIN (1-3), and NYM (2-1)…the Rangers have won 2 of 3 and 3 of 5, but are 3-10 in last 13 G, including a season-long 8-G losing streak from 8/16-25…the 8-G skid was 2nd-longest for Texas since start of ’22 (0-9, 8/27-9/5/22)…club has 75 wins, most since 2019 (78)…team has dropped 11 of 16 and is 7-12 since a season-best 8-G win streak (8/1-8), longest for club since going 10-0, 5/9-19/17…TEX went 15-12 (.556) in August (see separate note)…have gone 16-16 in last 32 G and 17-19 in last 36 G since a 6-G win streak (7/14-19) out of the break…team is 23-19 (.548) in the 2nd “half”, 6th-best record in the A.L… TEX is 24-21 in last 45, 25-25 in last 50 G, and 26-27 in last 53 G…team was 12-19 over a 31-G span from 6/7-7/9 to end the 1st “half”…TEX is 70-54 last 124 G. At 75-58 (.564), TEX has 5th-best record in the A.L. (BAL- .624, 83-50; TB-.612, 82-52; SEA-.571, 76-57; HOU-.570, 77-58) & 7th-best in MLB…75 wins rank 5th in A.L./7th in MLB (88-ATL, 83-BAL/LAD, 82-TB, 77-HOU, 76-SEA, 75-TEX). The 75-58 mark is T5th-best 133-G start to a season in Washington/Texas franchise history, best mark at this point since 2016 (79-54).

SERIES STUFF: Rangers secured a series victory (2-1) over the Mets at Citi Field from Mon.-Wed., ending span of 3 consecutive series losses…prior to those 3 straight series defeats, club had a 5-0-0 span from 8/1-16 that was 2ndbest streak in ’23 (6-0-0, 5/19-6/7)…club is 8-6-0 in series since break…the span follows a 2-6-1 stretch to end the 1st “half”…is now 25-16-2 overall in series in ’23: 13-6-2 at home; 12-10-0 on the road…team has won 3 of last 4 and 5 of 7 series in Arlington since the All-Star break.

AT HOME: TEX is 42-24 (.636) at home in ’23, 4th-best in MLB (LAD-.676, 46-22; ATL-.667, 44-22; TB-.662, 45-23)… T3rd-best 66-G home start in team history behind 2016 (.682, 45-21) and 2004 (.652, 43-23)…TEX is A.L.-best 16-5 (.714) at home in 2nd “half”, 3rd-best in MLB (LAD-.739, 17-6; WAS- .737, 14-5), and owns a 20-11 mark in Arlington beg. 6/17… won GLF-record 9 straight home games from 7/23-8/15.

VS. MINNESOTA: The Rangers and Twins are in the midst of a span in which the two teams will play 7 times over a period of 11 days (TEX went 1-3 from 8/24-27 at MIN)…TEX was 5-2 vs. MIN in 2022, winning a season series against the Twins for the 1st time since 2018 (4-2)…TEX is 10-15 vs. MIN since the start of 2019 and 19-26 since the beg. of 2016…TEX took 2 of 3 G in Twins last visit of Globe Life Field from 7/8-10/22, but is 2-4 all-time vs. MIN at GLF…Texas trails in the all-time series w/ Minnesota (283-285), but is 153-132 in Arlington. vs. A.L. Central: Texas is 18-8 (.692) vs. A.L. Central teams this season, A.L.’s 3rd-best win pct. vs. the division in ’23: TB (.769, 20-6), BAL (.714, 20-8)…the club record for single-season win pct. vs. A.L. Central is .673 in 1999 (35-17).

ROSTER MOVES: Texas today recalled C Sam Huff and
LHP Cody Bradford from Round Rock (AAA) with the Sept. 1 MLB expansion of active rosters to 28 players…additionally, INF/OF Brad Miller will begin a injury rehabilitation assignment with Frisco (AA) this evening…Miller was placed on the 10-day Injured List on 8/2 (left hamstring strain).

SEAGER CINEMA: Despite appearing in just 90 of Texas’ 133 G this season, Seager ranks among A.L. leaders in bWAR (2nd, 6.1), fWAR (2nd, 5.4), XBH (3rd, 60), 2B (3rd, 35), HR (T10th, 25), TB (T12th, 235), and RBI (13th, 80)…he will reach qualifier status with 4 PA’s in tonight’s contest, and would rank among MLB qualifiers entering today’s slate in BA (2nd, A.L.-high .346), OPS (2nd, 1.062), SLG (2nd, .651), and OBP (3rd, A.L.-high .411). According to Stathead’s ‘Span Finder’, Seager’s 60 XBH in ’23 (25 HR, 35 2B) are the most ever by a Ranger in his first 90 G of a season (prev. 58 XBH by Iván Rodríguez in 2000).

AUGUST IS OVER: Despite the month’s wild swings, Texas finished August with a 15-12 (.556) record, T5th-best in the A.L…the club outscored its opponents 129-101 (+28) last month, 5th-highest in A.L. (68-SEA, 47-TB, 46-BAL, 44-HOU)…it was the Rangers’ 3rd month in 2023 with 15+ wins (16-11 in April, 18-9 in May), most in a single season since 2016 (4x)…from 2017-22, the Rangers had a total of 4 months with 15+ wins: May 2017 (15-14), Aug. 2017 (16-12), June 2019 (18-11), and May 2022 (17-10)…August 2023 was also the 1st in team history to include a win streak (8-0, 8/1-8) and losing streak (0-8, 8/16-25) of 8+ G in a single month.

MAX POWER: Tonight’s scheduled Rangers starting pitcher, Max Scherzer, has gone 3-1 with a 2.64 ERA (9 ER/30.2 IP), 10 BB/40 SO, .167 opp. BA (18-108) over his first 5 starts with Texas…all 5 of his TEX starts came in August, as he ranked among A.L. leaders for the month in opp. BA (1st), opp. OPS (1st, .503), WHIP (T3rd, 0.91), and SO/9 (4th, 11.74)…Scherzer joins Nolan Ryan (49 SO in 1989) and Jacob deGrom (43 SO in 2023) as the only pitchers in Washington/Texas franchise history to record 40+ SO in their first 5 outings with the club (Stathead).

GLOBO GYM: The Rangers lead MLB in R (402) and R/G (6.09) at home this season, batting .279/.351/.497/.848 (625- 2243) in 66 G at Globe Life Field vs. .257/.326/.414/.741 (615-2390) in 67 G on the road…the 6.09 R/G figure in Arlington this season would be the 4th-highest home scoring average in club history: .27-1996, 6.20-1998, 6.15-2011…team’s prev. high at Globe Life Field (est. 2020) was 4.22 in 2022. SHORTS: Texas starting pitchers had an MLB-low 3.15 ERA in August…of the Rangers’ last 14 HR, 13 have been solo shots and the other is a grand slam (Heim – Sun. at MIN)… Corey Seager is slashing .369/.445/.738/1.183 at GLF in ’23, leading A.L. in all 4 categories for home games…Nathaniel Lowe’s 12-G hitting streak is the 2nd-longest active streak in MLB (13-SEA’s Julio Rodríguez)…the Rangers have gone 9-7 when wearing their City Connect uniforms this season.

TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER

31 Max Scherzer, RHP (12-5, 3.71)

TONIGHT: The 3-time Cy Young Award winner (2013, 2016-17) and 8-time All-Star will make his 6th start with TEX in tonight’s homestand opener…acquired from the Mets, along with cash considerations, in exchange for INF/OF Luis Angel Acuña on 7/30, and added to TEX’s active roster on 8/1…has gone 3-1 with a 2.64 ERA (9 ER/30.2 IP), 10 BB/40 SO, .167 opp. BA (18-108) over his 1st 5 starts w/ TEX…quality starts in 4 of 5 G, and Rangers are 4-1 in his starts… over last 6 starts w/ NYM and TEX, is 4-1, 2.39 (10 ER/37.2 IP) to drop season ERA from 4.20 to 3.71…will pitch on extra 5 days’ rest after taking no decision in Rangers’ 6-2 win Sat. at MIN (7.0 IP, 2 R-ER), a victory which snapped club’s 8-G losing skid (see below)…Scherzer is MLB’s active leader in career strikeouts (3,354), and is one of only 19 pitchers to reach 3,000+ K’s in MLB history…the 39-year-old is the oldest pitcher to start a game for TEX since Bartolo Colon on 9/5/18 vs. LAA (45 years, 104 days)…also ranks among active ML leaders in win pct. (2nd, .666) SO/9 (2nd, 10.70), wins (3rd, 213), ERA (3rd, 3.14), starts (3rd, 445), innings (3rd, 2820.1), and WHIP (3rd, 1.08), with his .666 win pct. being the 12th-highest in MLB history (min. 140 decisions)…originally selected by Arizona in the 1st round (11th overall) of the 2006 MLB draft out of the University of Missouri…has spent 16 Major League seasons with ARI (2008-09), DET (2010-14), WAS (2015-2021), LAD (2021), NYM (2022-23), and TEX (2023)…TEX/NYM have gone 16-8 in his 24 starts this season (4-1 w/ TEX and 12-7 w/ NYM).

ALL-TIMER: Three pitchers in MLB history have 200+ wins, 3000+ SO, and a WHIP figure below 1.10: Walter Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Max Scherzer. -Strikeouts: Scherzer is MLB’s active career leader in strikeouts (3,354), ranking 11th on the all-time strikeouts list as one of only 19 players to reach 3,000+ career K’s in MLB history…passed Phil Niekro (3,342) for 11th all-time on 8/20 vs. MIL…next on list is 10th-place Greg Maddux (3,371)…is only the 5th member of the esteemed “3,000 Strikeout Club” to appear for Texas, joining Nolan Ryan (1989-93), Bert Blyleven (1976-77), Gaylord Perry (1975-77, 1980), and Fergie Jenkins (1974-75, 1978-81)…has recorded 9 seasons of 200+ strikeouts, which ranks 5th all-time behind Nolan Ryan (15), Randy Johnson (13), Roger Clemens (12), and Tom Seaver (10)…Sat. at MIN (10 SO) was his 113th career double-digit strikeout game, 3rd-most in MLB history behind only Nolan Ryan (215) and Randy Johnson (212). -The Wild Card Era: Among pitchers with 1500.0 IP in the Wild Card Era (since 1995), Scherzer ranks 2nd in SO (3,354) to only Randy Johnson (3,545), 4th in WHIP (1.08), 4th in opp. BA (.220) and 6th in ERA (3.14).

LAST START: Is facing Twins for a 2nd straight start, as he took ND in Rangers’ 6-2, last at-bat win on Sat. at MIN (7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R-ER, 1 BB, 10 SO, 1 HR, 101 pitches/68 strikes)…the win ended the Rangers’ 8-G losing skid…had efficient outing after a 28-pitch 1st inning, as single runs allowed in the 3rd and 6th innings would tie the game after Rangers had taken 1-0 and 2-1 leads…Rangers provided the final margin with a 4-R 9th inning in which club had 2 bases loaded walks, a bases loaded HBP, and a sac fly.

VS. MINNESOTA: Is 9-2, 4.32 (51 ER/106.1 IP) in 17 G/GS career vs. MIN w/ 10 QS…last 13 starts vs. MIN beg. 7/22/11: 9-1, 2.94 (27 ER/82.2 IP) w/ 9 QS, w/ his teams going 12-1 in that span, as Scherzer has a 6-0 record in last 8 starts… these consecutive starts vs. MIN come after Scherzer had not faced Twins since he was with DET in 2014 (4 GS).

TEXAS: Has gone 3-1, 2.64 ERA (9 ER/30.2 IP), 10 BB/40 SO, .167 opp. BA (18- 108) over his 1st 5 starts w/ TEX…quality starts in 4 of 5 G, and Rangers are 4-1 in his starts…was just the 3rd pitcher in club history to earn wins in each of his first 3 starts with the team, joining Aaron Sele (1998) and Jamie Moyer (1989)… Scherzer became the 4th pitcher in the Modern Era (beg. 1901) to go 3-0 with 20.0+ innings pitched, 4-or-fewer runs allowed, and 26+ strikeouts in his first 3 starts with a new franchise, joining Justin Verlander in 2017 w/ HOU (3-0, 21.0 IP, 2 R, 26 SO), Randy Johnson in 1998 w/ HOU (3-0, 25.0 IP, 2 R, 33 SO), and Jim Bunning in 1964 w/ PHI (3-0, 26.2 IP, 4 R, 28 SO)…earned win in TEX debut on 8/3 vs. CWS (6.0 IP, 3 R-ER), as 9 SO in that game were most in a TEX debut since Jamie Moyer on 4/8/89 vs. TOR (13 SO). NEW YORK-NL: Went 9-4 with a 4.01 ERA (48 ER/107.2 IP), 121 SO/30 BB, and a .240 opp. BA over 19 G/GS with the Mets this season, ranking among N.L. leaders in SO/9 (8th, 10.11), BR/9 (8th, 10.95), SO/BB ratio (9th, 4.03), WHIP (9th, 1.19), and wins (T9th)…earned win in final start w/ Mets on 7/28 vs. WAS… Scherzer in his 2 seasons in NY: 20-9, 3.02 in 42 G/GS w/ 294 SO in 253.0 IP.

2023: Opponents have batted .224/.284/.406/.690 (116-517) against Scherzer this season, including opp. BA’s of .217 (55-254) vs. RHB and .232 (61-263) vs. LHB…has allowed at least one HR in 15 of 24 GS and 2+ HR in 6 GS, as 1.63 HR/9 figure is 7th-highest among MLB qualifiers…opp. BA by time thru the order: 1st (.202, 39-193), 2nd (.211, 41-194), 3rd (.276, 35-127), and 4th+ (1-3)…his 71.2% 1st-pitch strike pct. is the highest among MLB qualifiers and would be his 2nd-highest mark of career (71.3% in 2015)…season-high 8.0 IP on 6/19 at HOU (W, 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER)…recorded his 111th career double-digit strikeout game on 6/7 at ATL, moving ahead of Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez for 3rd place all-time…in his TEX debut on 8/3 vs. CWS, generated 21 swing-and-miss strikes (Statcast), his 2nd-highest whiff total of the season (22 on 6/1 vs. PHI w/ NYM).