St. Louis at Minnesota

Connor Prielipp entered the season with the tools of a future top-of-rotation starter, and through his first five big-league outings, he looked exactly that: 2.88 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and a WHIP under a run per inning. The league made adjustments, and Prielipp has gone 2-3 with a 6.57 ERA over his last five starts, including a three-start stretch where he surrendered 16 earned runs. He settled somewhat in his most recent outing, limiting Kansas City to two runs over four-plus innings, and the Twins need him to build on that today. Matthew Liberatore provides no comfort on the other side: a 4.48 ERA and 1.51 WHIP on a Cardinals rotation that rarely gives St. Louis a dominant afternoon. Minnesota's offense answered last night, rallying for three home runs in the eighth to take a 9-8 win and snap four straight losses to St. Louis in this series. At a coin-flip price, that kind of home power with a lineup that has already hit 82 home runs this season puts the Twins in the right spot. Back the Twins this afternoon.