Diamondbacks at Twins, 5:10 p.m., Cox, Ch. 34

Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (13-8, 5.18) vs. Twins RHP Pablo Lopez (5-4, 2.84).

At Target Field: Pfaadt threw well his last time out, giving up one run in six innings in a win over the Boston Red Sox. … It came on the heels of an August in which he logged a 6.16 ERA. … Pfaadt will be looking to reverse some other numbers this time out: his home/road splits. He has been far better at home (3.50 ERA) than on the road (7.13 ERA). … Lopez returned from the injured list last week following a three-month absence due to a shoulder injury. In his first start back, he threw six innings of two-run ball against the Kansas City Royals, walking one and striking out four. … Lopez is in his third season with the Twins. He was acquired from the Miami Marlins in exchange for 1B/2B Luis Arraez in January 2023. … In that start against the Royals, he averaged 94.3 mph with his fastball while also throwing sweepers, change-ups and curveballs.

Coming up

Sept. 13: At Minnesota, 4:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (7-3, 3.48) vs. Twins RHP Joe Ryan (13-8, 3.32).

Sept. 14: At Minnesota, 11:10 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Nabil Crismatt (2-0, 3.24) vs. Twins RHP Bailey Ober (5-7, 5.08).

Sept. 15: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (11-14, 4.84) vs. Giants LHP Carson Whisenhunt (2-1, 5.01).

In roughly a 96-hour period before the trade deadline this past July, the Twins traded 11 players off their major league roster, including SS Carlos Correa and RHP Jhoan Duran. They have been awful since, going 13-25 over their past 38 games; only the Colorado Rockies (12-26) have been worse (entering Thursday, Sept. 11). CF Byron Buxton is having a mostly healthy and highly productive season, hitting .275/.337/.568 with 31 homers. He is 22 for 22 in stolen base attempts and grades out as an above-average defender in center field, even at age 31. RHP Joe Ryan has been one of the more consistent starters in baseball this season. He has a 3.32 ERA in 157 innings and ranks fourth in the American League in both WHIP (1.006) and strikeout/walk ratio (5.176).

— Nick Piecoro