Minnesota @ Atlanta Game Overview

The Braves rallied for five runs in the eighth inning on Friday to beat the Twins 6-4 in the series opener. Atlanta has won nine straight games against Minnesota, a streak that began on Aug. 5, 2019.

"This felt more like the Braves here tonight. It was a good one to win," manager Brian Snitker said after Friday's game. "We were kind of laying dead in the weeds there for a while, and it was good how the guys kept fighting back and had some really good at-bats. They should be very encouraged by what went down."

The team entered the series hitting only .222, 11th in the National League.

The pitching matchup for Saturday will feature Minnesota right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (1-1, 4.30 ERA) against Atlanta left-hander Chris Sale (0-2, 6.63).

Woods Richardson will make his fourth start of the season. He is coming off his first win, a 5-1 victory over Detroit on Sunday, when he allowed one run on five hits and struck out five over five innings.

"I just had to go out and make pitches -- that was the biggest thing," said Woods Richardson, who has made one start against the Braves and received no decision after pitching 4 2/3 innings and allowing four runs last August.

Sale has not shown the form that allowed him to win the National League Cy Young Award in 2024. In each of his four starts this season, he hasn't pitched more than five innings. In his most recent outing on Sunday at Tampa Bay, he pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits, three walks and struck out seven in an 8-3 loss.

"Frustrated would be a wild understatement," Sale said. "I'm just bad. I'm just trying to compete and trying to throw strikes, and it's just not working. I don't know if I've ever been this frustrated. I feel like I'm against the wall right now, and I'm getting nothing out of it."

Sale has made 31 career appearances, 23 starts, against the Twins, going 12-6 with a 3.72 ERA. He beat Minnesota in his only appearance against the Twins last year, allowing one run (unearned) on one hit in six innings.

Minnesota rookie Luke Keaschall, 22, made his major league debut as the DH on Friday and went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Keaschall, the team's second-round draft pick in 2023, was hitting .261 at Triple-A St. Paul while playing second base and DH. He was recalled as insurance if Willi Castro's oblique did not improve. Keaschall was a replacement for Matt Wallner, who went on the injured list with a hamstring strain.

"I'll play wherever they want me to. I feel great. I'm super excited and super confident I can deal with everything," Keaschall said on Friday. "Feel like I can do damage up here and help this ballclub win. Excited to see what I can do. It's a dream come true."

"He's an exciting young player," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "We had a really good chance to watch him this spring, watch the way he swings the bat."

-Field Level Media