Gibson expected to start for Minnesota against Oakland
Oakland Athletics (55-41, second in the AL West) vs. Minnesota Twins (58-36, first in the AL Central)
Minneapolis; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Mike Fiers (9-3, 3.56 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 71 strikeouts) Twins: Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.03 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 99 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: The Oakland Athletics travel to Target Field to play the Minnesota Twins.
The Twins are 28-17 on their home turf. Minnesota has slugged .493, the best mark in the majors. Nelson Cruz leads the club with a .548 slugging percentage, including 34 extra-base hits and 18 home runs.
The Athletics have gone 24-21 away from home. Oakland has hit 158 home runs this season, fifth in the MLB. Matt Chapman leads them with 22, averaging one every 16 at-bats.
TOP PERFORMERS: Eddie Rosario leads the Twins with 61 RBIs and is batting .282. C.J. Cron is 4-for-18 with four doubles and two RBIs over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
Marcus Semien leads the Athletics with 106 hits and is batting .269. Ramon Laureano is 14-for-35 with three doubles, six home runs and 12 RBIs over the last 10 games for Oakland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 5-5, .271 batting average, 3.68 ERA, outscored by one run
Athletics: 8-2, .275 batting average, 2.45 ERA, outscored opponents by 38 runs
Twins Injuries: LaMonte Wade Jr: 10-day IL (thumb), Byron Buxton: 7-day IL (concussion), Jonathan Schoop: day-to-day (side), Willians Astudillo: 10-day IL (oblique).
Athletics Injuries: Sean Manaea: 60-day IL (shoulder), Daniel Gossett: 60-day IL (elbow), Marco Estrada: 60-day IL (lumbar strain), Jharel Cotton: 60-day IL (elbow/hamstring), Stephen Piscotty: 10-day IL (knee), Matt Chapman: day-to-day (ankle), Nick Hundley: 10-day IL (back).
