Mengden expected to start as Oakland hosts Minnesota

Minnesota Twins (53-30, first in the AL Central) vs. Oakland Athletics (46-39, third in the AL West)

Oakland, California; Tuesday, 10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Jake Odorizzi (10-3, 2.73 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 94 strikeouts) Athletics: Daniel Mengden (2-1, 4.03 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 24 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: Max Kepler and the Twins will take on Oakland at RingCentral Coliseum.

The Athletics are 24-19 in home games. The Oakland pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 4.09. Mike Fiers leads the team with a 3.88 ERA.

The Twins are 27-16 on the road. The Minnesota offense has compiled a .270 batting average as a team this season, good for first in the MLB. Jorge Polanco leads the team with an average of .320. This is the first meeting of the season for these two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Chapman leads the Athletics with 52 RBIs and is batting .268. Matt Olson has 12 hits and is batting .324 over the last 10 games for Oakland.

Kepler leads the Twins with 21 home runs and has 53 RBIs. Nelson Cruz is 11-for-35 with two doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs over the last 10 games for Minnesota.

LAST 10 GAMES: Athletics: 7-3, .237 batting average, 3.44 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs

Twins: 5-5, .257 batting average, 3.75 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs

Athletics Injuries: Blake Treinen: 10-day IL (shoulder), Sean Manaea: 60-day IL (shoulder), Daniel Gossett: 60-day IL (elbow), Marco Estrada: 10-day IL (lumbar strain), Jharel Cotton: 60-day IL (elbow/hamstring), Stephen Piscotty: 10-day IL (right knee sprain), Khris Davis: day-to-day (hand), Nick Hundley: 10-day IL (back), Chris Herrmann: 60-day IL (knee).

Twins Injuries: Adalberto Mejia: 60-day IL (calf), Eddie Rosario: 10-day IL (ankle), Max Kepler: day-to-day (knee), Willians Astudillo: 10-day IL (oblique).