Braves, Twins Open Crucial Series Tonight at Truist Park
- Charles Mays
- Apr 18
- 3 min read
The Atlanta Braves are back home at Truist Park tonight, set to open a three-game weekend series against the Minnesota Twins. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on Apple TV+.
Both teams enter the matchup looking for a much-needed reset. The Braves, sitting at 5-13, are off to one of their worst starts in recent memory. The Twins are 7-12 and struggling to find consistency of their own. This series presents a prime opportunity for one of these teams to flip the script and start building momentum heading into late April.
Pitching Matchup: Elder vs. Paddack
Bryce Elder will get the nod for Atlanta. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA after a tough outing against the Rays where he allowed five earned runs in six innings. The Braves are hoping Elder can settle in and give the team a shot to play from ahead, something they haven’t done often this season.
Minnesota counters with Chris Paddack, who is also searching for his rhythm. Paddack enters Friday 0-2 with a 9.49 ERA over three starts. Despite a rough start to the year, he looked sharper in his last outing against Detroit, allowing just one earned run over five innings.
Roster Shake-Up: Verdugo Joins the Club
Atlanta made a roster move on Thursday, recalling outfielder Alex Verdugo and optioning Bryan De La Cruz to Triple-A Gwinnett. Verdugo was expected to join the big-league club eventually, but the decision to send down De La Cruz, who had been given a long look in the outfield, caught some by surprise.
Verdugo brings a veteran presence and a chance to provide an offensive spark. While his numbers in Gwinnett (.207, 2 HR in 9 games) weren’t eye-popping, he has a proven track record of putting together tough at-bats and getting on base. The Braves are hoping that’s exactly what this lineup needs right now.
Twins Call Up Top Prospect Luke Keaschall Ahead of Braves Series
The Minnesota Twins are turning to their farm system for a spark, calling up top infield prospect Luke Keaschall ahead of their weekend series in Atlanta. Keaschall, ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the organization and No. 57 overall by MLB Pipeline, has been climbing quickly despite undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. He impressed during Spring Training and hit .261 with a .379 OBP over 14 games in Triple-A.
With the Twins dealing with injuries to Willi Castro and Carlos Correa, Keaschall’s call-up adds both depth and excitement to the lineup. This move comes just days after the team also reinstated another young talent, Brooks Lee, who homered earlier this week against the Mets. Minnesota is clearly leaning into its youth to help weather the early-season storm.
Mindset in the Clubhouse: Pressure Meets Positivity
Despite the tough start, players in the Atlanta clubhouse aren’t throwing in the towel. Third baseman Austin Riley, who appeared yesterday on 680 The Fan’s Cellini & Dimino, acknowledged the pressure they’re feeling but remained optimistic. “I know it’s been rough. If anybody knows it, the players know it. We got all the pressure, we deserve it, we haven’t played well. But the effort is there, and we’ll figure it out.”
That mindset is shared by others in the clubhouse. They all know what has to be done, and they are aiming to show us all that everything will turn around.
A Turning Point Opportunity
Simply put, the Braves need wins. Minnesota has struggled in many of the same ways as Atlanta, and this weekend’s series gives the Braves a real opportunity to turn the tide in front of the home crowd. They don’t need a sweep to fix everything, they just need a step in the right direction.
And as fans know all too well, it only takes one good weekend to start a new story.
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