MINNEAPOLIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – This is the time of the season when a hug can set off alarm bells.
The Minnesota Twins will try their best to avoid distractions when they face the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon in the teams’ final game before the trade deadline.
On Tuesday night, Twins closer Jhoan Duran sparked a social-media firestorm when he was spotted giving a hug to the team’s bullpen catcher. Fans quickly speculated that the gesture meant that Duran had been told that he was traded.
Fans’ fears subsided almost as quickly once reports emerged that Duran still was on the Twins and that no trade was imminent.
The Twins hope to produce more runs — and avoid any ominous dugout embraces — when they meet the Red Sox in the decisive contest of a three-game set. Minnesota won the series opener 5-4 on Monday before falling 8-5 on Tuesday.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora hopes that his team’s offensive production will continue. He praised several of his hitters, including Trevor Story, for their recent approach at the plate.
Story will try to stay hot after he went 2-for-5 with a double, a homer and three RBIs on Tuesday night. He has 16 homers and a team-best 64 RBIs on the season.
“Solid season,” Cora said. “It didn’t look that way before we went to Milwaukee, and he turned it around. He’s actually one of the best offensive shortstops in the big leagues right now.”
Jarren Duran has provided a spark, too. The Boston outfielder contributed a double and a homer in the Tuesday win while batting third in the lineup for the third day in a row.
“The last month, if you look at it, I think it’s like .950 OPS (for Jarren Duran),” Cora said. “He’s getting on base. Hitting the ball all over the place.
“He’s in a good spot. We like this lineup, we really do.”
Twins right-hander Zebby Matthews (2-2, 4.97 ERA) will try to subdue Boston’s lineup. Matthews is coming off his best start of the season, when he fired six scoreless innings on Friday against the Washington Nationals. He allowed two hits, walked none and struck out seven.
Matthews has made one career start against the Red Sox. He gave up one run on two hits in 4 2/3 innings during a no-decision on Sept. 22, 2024.
Boston will counter with Brayan Bello (6-5, 3.32 ERA). The 26-year-old right-hander will try to avoid a third consecutive defeat after dropping his past two starts to the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In two career starts against Minnesota, Bello is 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA. He didn’t get a decision vs. Minnesota on May 2 after permitting one run on four hits in 6 2/3 innings.
The Twins’ lineup will not be at full strength after the team placed All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton on the injured list because of soreness in his left ribcage. Carlos Correa also is uncertain for the series finale after leaving the Tuesday game because he felt light-headed.
Other players including Jhoan Duran, Joe Ryan, Harrison Bader, Willi Castro, Danny Coulombe will try to avoid distractions with their names mentioned in trade rumors.
Coulombe acknowledged that the next couple days might feature a lot of uncertainty.
“It’s impossible not to (think about it),” the left-handed reliever said. “Your life gets flipped upside down. You’re with a different team, new city, new teammates — not to mention all the logistical parts for wives and families. It’s definitely unsettling.”
–Field Level Media