ROYCE LEWIS

Mark Appel is proof that even for a No. 1 draft pick, the road to the major leagues is sometimes a bumpy one.

The struggling Minnesota Twins have arrived in Toronto without regular right fielder Max Kepler and relief pitchers Emilio Pagán, Caleb Thielbar and Trevor Megill.

Justin Verlander missed out on his fourth no-hitter by five outs but still faced the minimum through eight innings, and the Houston Astros beat the Minnesota Twins 5-0 for their eighth straight win.

But rain is the forecast for both places Saturday and could make it tough to play the entire series. There's no rush to make up the Mets-Phillies game rained out in Philadelphia because they play each other plenty. ROAD WARRIORSRandy Arozarena and the Tampa Bay Rays try for their eighth consecutive road win when they play at Seattle. Drew Rasmussen (2-1, 3.13 ERA) pitches for Tampa Bay against Marco Gonzales (1-3, 4.05). Correa will be evaluated day to day, and he won’t have to go on the injured list.

A day after six major league games were rained out, the weather could still cause scheduling problems in some places this weekend.

Correa will be evaluated day to day, and he won’t have to go on the injured list. Correa signed a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Twins that comes with an opt-out clause after this season and next. He has provided instant leadership and a steady presence at shortstop where he won the 2021 AL Gold Glove Award. NL Central rivals Pittsburgh and Cincinnati were postponed at Great American Ball Park and will make up the game in July. Cease struck out 11 while allowing only one hit in seven shutout innings in his last start Monday against the Angels.

The Minnesota Twins avoided a daunting injury when it was determined star shortstop Carlos Correa’s right middle finger is not broken as was initially feared after he was hit by a pitch this week.

Twins Orioles Baseball A trainer talks to Minnesota Twins' Carlos Correa, right, after he was hit by a pitch from Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Spenser Watkins during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, May 5, 2022, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) (Julio Cortez)MINNEAPOLIS — (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have avoided a scare with star shortstop Carlos Correa, whose right middle finger is not broken as initially feared following a hit-by-pitch in the previous game. The CT scan Friday confirmed that he did not suffer a fracture, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. The first one in the fifth inning appeared to graze off his left forearm and get him in the right shoulder. “He's going to have some good days, and he's going to have some bad days.”___More AP MLB coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

The Minnesota Twins have avoided a scare with star shortstop Carlos Correa.

Carlos Correa has declared the postseason “his time,” and the Minnesota Twins hope all that October experience can turn around the fortunes of a snake-bitten franchise.