Well, this is a big one, as the Minnesota Twins host their AL Central rivals, the Cleveland Guardians Friday in the first game of a three game series. The Guardians are 70-65 and lead the division by two games over the Twins and the White Sox. Minnesota has a golden opportunity to reclaim first place here, while Cleveland has a great opportunity to put some ground between them and the Twins. This should be a good one.
The Cleveland Guardians hold a tenuous 2 game lead in the AL Central with a record of 70-65. As none of these teams are going to make the wildcard, it will be required to win this division outright to make the playoffs. The Guardians have the Twins and White Sox breathing down their necks, just two games back, so they can't afford any losses. However, it hasn't helped matters that the Guardians have lost 6 of their last 8 games, including a 2-1 loss to the hapless Royals on Wednesday heading into this all-important series.
First place Cleveland Guardians (by an inch).#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/BWoGTZK5GP
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) September 6, 2022
The Guardians will rely on Cal Quantrill to get them back on track. Quantrill, Friday's starter, is 1-5 on the season with a 3.55 ERA in 26 starts. He has 101 strikeouts and 42 walks in 152 innings pitched. Quantrill was a tad shaky in his last start, allowing 2 earned runs on 5 hits in just 3 innings with 3 strikeouts and 1 walk. This season against Minnesota, Quantrill allowed 3 runs on 8 hits with 3 strikeouts in 8 innings. In his career versus Minnesota, Quantrill is 2-0 with an ERA of 3.79 and 25 strikeouts in 8 appearances. The Guardians bullpen has an ERA of 3.10, which is 4th in baseball. The team ERA is 3.61, which ranks 8th in the league.