Cleveland will play the second game of its three-game series at Minnesota on Saturday night. The Guardians took two out of three at Kansas City earlier this week, while Minnesota lost three out of four against the Yankees in its last series. This story was published prior to Friday night’s series opener.
Cleveland was playing good baseball from the end of July to the middle of August, but the Guardians have not been able to maintain that form of late. They have lost nine of their last 13 games, getting swept by Seattle last weekend. Cleveland bounced back with a pair of wins over Kansas City earlier this week before losing the series finale on Wednesday. The Guardians are on a six-game road trip that will conclude on Sunday afternoon. They are still clinging to a slim lead in the American League Central, but they are just 1.5 games ahead of Minnesota and Chicago heading into Friday night’s slate.
It's hard to say there's anyone better manning the center of outfield.#ForTheLand | #MS4GG pic.twitter.com/s2W0J2yqBF
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 9, 2022
The Guardians have been a solid offensive team this season, ranked No. 11 in the majors in batting average (.250). Shortstop Amed Rosario leads the way with 146 hits, while third baseman Jose Ramirez has hit a team-high 26 home runs. They will be facing a Minnesota pitching staff that is No. 19 with an ERA of 4.00. Right-handed pitcher Triston McKenzie is going to be on the mound for Cleveland on Saturday. He allowed three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out five across 5.2 innings against Kansas City on Monday. McKenzie has a 3.18 ERA and 0.97 WHIP across 25 starts this season.