Bailey Ober, Twins shoot to slow Padres momentum
August 20 - |A|
The San Diego Padres |B|
own the best record |C|
in the major leagues |D|
since the All-Star break, |E|
21-6, after earning a |F|
5-3 win over the |G|
visiting Minnesota Twins on |H|
Monday. The Padres will |J|
try to continue their |K|
run on Tuesday against |L|
Minnesota in the middle |M|
contest of a three-game |O|
series. The Monday result |P|
allowed San Diego to |Q|
maintain a one-game advantage |R|
on Arizona for the |S|
National Leagues first wild-card |U|
spot. With the Diamondbacks |V|
going 21-8 since the |Y|
break, the majors second-best |Z|
mark in that span, |A|
San Diegos fine form |B|
has not only been |C|
satisfying but necessary to |D|
maintain playoff positioning. We |E|
see what theyre doing |F|
and its obviously very |G|
impressive, Padres infielder Jake |H|
Cronenworth said of the |J|
Diamondbacks. Theyre playing really |K|
good right now. So |L|
are we. Were focused |M|
on us -- what |O|
were doing every day |P|
and what we can |Q|
do to win each |R|
game. The Padres latest |S|
victory featured a big |U|
hit -- Jackson Merrills |V|
three-run double in the |Y|
third inning that snapped |Z|
a 2-2 tie -- |A|
as well as five-hit |B|
pitching from starter Michael |C|
King and three relievers. |D|
The veteran |U| left-hander has pitched well |V| in his first three |Y| starts for San Diego |Z| after being acquired from |A| the Pirates on July |B| 30. He is 1-0 |C| with a 1.95 ERA, |D| and the team has |E| won all three of |F| his starts.
Perez is |G| 0-4 with a 5.40 |H| ERA in 12 career |J| outings against Minnesota, seven |K| of them starts. The |L| Twins have hurt Perez |M| with home runs, as |O| he has yielded 10 |P| in 48 1/3 innings.
|Q| dir="ltr">Minnesota will try to |R| even the series behind |S| its best starter this |U| year, right-hander Bailey Ober |V| (12-5, 3.49 ERA). He |Y| is coming off a |Z| solid performance Thursday in |A| Texas, where he battled |B| through six innings during |C| a no-decision in the |D| Twins 3-2 win. He |E| surrendered seven hits and |F| two runs with three |G| walks and three strikeouts.
|H| dir="ltr">Ober has faced the |J| Padres once in his |K| career, permitting three runs |L| over six innings while |M| fanning six in a |O| no-decision on May 11, |P| 2023. In his past |Q| five starts, Ober is |R| 4-0 with a 1.59 |S| ERA, whiffing 34 batters |U| and yielding only 16 |V| hits in 34 innings.
|Y| dir="ltr">The 6-foot-9, 260-pound right-hander |Z| enters play Tuesday with |A| 10 straight quality starts, |B| the longest such stretch |C| by a Minnesota hurler |D| since Johan Santana put |E| together 21 in a |F| row during a Cy |G| Young Award campaign in |H| 2004.
I didnt really |J| have it the whole |K| game, Ober said of |L| his outing on Thursday |M| night, but I was |O| able to get by, |P| and that was good |Q| enough.
The Twins are |R| tied with Kansas City |S| for the American Leagues |U| second wild-card spot, 4 |V| 1/2 games clear of |Y| the Boston Red Sox. |Z| However, Minnesota is playing |A| short-handed with center fielder |B| Byron Buxton on the |C| 10-day injured list due |D| to an inflamed right |E| hip. Buxton could be |F| back next week.
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