Twins: Joey Gallo: 2-22, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 14 K, .091/.130/.273
It shouldn't be all that surprising that Gallo would have a line like this against some teams in baseball. We just so happened to be one of the lucky ones. Gallo could easily wreak havoc against a team when he is feeling it (sorry, Phillies), but he can go the opposite just as easy. To give up just one homer, one single, and one walk in 23 appearances against Gallo is a great way to limit the Twins... especially when Julien and Kepler are on base.
White Sox: Luis Robert Jr: 3-25, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 13 K, .120/.154/.160
This is the more surprising one. Robert narrowly lost out on Rookie of the Year back in 2020 to Kyle Lewis, and has easily had the better career since then. A .279/.327/.500 hitter, Robert took a major step forward in 2023 swatting 38 homers and stealing 20 bases while playing strong defense as well. That didn't matter to the Mariners, as he struck out in half his ABs against Seattle, doing nearly no damage at all across 26 PAs. To hold one of the more dangerous hitters in baseball to a line like that, especially on a team that struggled, makes for a nice feeling and a good chance to win a series.
They've even done well against Robert throughout his career, holding him to a .148/.207/.352 slash line, with 3 HR but just 5 RBI across 58 PA. The AL West has been noticeably absent so far, but I wanted to save that for the end since it's the one with the most impact.