The Minnesota Twins are currently in the thick of the postseason race, two games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central and tied with the Kansas City Royals for the second AL Wild Card position. Every game is critical going forward, which is part of the reason why Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was so frustrated with which pitcher his team would be facing on Sunday.

The Twins are playing the St. Louis Cardinals, who are starting Erick Fedde. The Cardinals traded for Fedde in a deal with the Chicago White Sox at the deadline.

Here's what Baldelli had to say about facing his former division rival again, according to Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com.

“I’m tired of facing him, to be honest with you. I am, like, genuinely tired of facing him,” Baldelli said. “Guy gets traded to the National League and we find him again.”

In two starts against the Twins with the White Sox this season before getting traded to the Cardinals, Fedde has pitched 11.0 innings, given up just seven hits and one earned run with 16 strikeouts and two walks.

While he may have been joking, Baldelli is right to be frustrated. Fedde was one of the lone bright spots on an abysmal White Sox team that currently has a 31-99 record, by far the worst in Major League Baseball and on pace to potentially be one of the worst records of all time. The Twins have a 12-1 record against the White Sox so far this season, and their only loss came with Fedde on the mound.

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Erick Fedde's 2024 season

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde (12) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the second inning at Busch Stadium.
© Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Before Fedde signed with the White Sox this past offseason, he had spent the 2023 season with the NC Dinos in the KBO. He dominated in Korea, winning the Choi Dong-won award, their equivalent of the Cy Young. Fedde continued pitching well throughout the first half of the season with the White Sox. Before getting traded to the Cardinals at the deadline, he had a 7-4 record with a 3.11 ERA through 21 starts.

However, Fedde has struggled through his first four starts in St. Louis. He has a 4.98 ERA just 5.8 SO/9. Luckily for Fedde, the Twins may be the perfect opponent for him to get back on track.

The Twins need a win against Fedde and the Cardinals to keep pace in the AL Central and AL Wild Card races. Can they finally get it done this time with Fedde in a different jersey?