This Saturday the (72-70) Minnesota Twins and the (76-66) Cleveland Guardians will play the second game of this five-game series. These two teams will be playing a doubleheader Saturday, as this will be the first game. The first pitch will be thrown out at 1:10 PM EST inside Progressive Field. These two teams matched up last week, as the Guardians swept the Twins in their three-game series.
The Minnesota Twins are coming into this one after sweeping the Kansas City Royals in three games. The Twins had it working on the mound, as they only allowed five combined runs in that series. The Twins will need to stay hot on the mound if they want to challenge the Guardians in this one.
The Cleveland Guardians are entering this one after sweeping the Los Angeles Angels. The Guardian's bats were working in that one, as they scored 13 combined runs in three games. They will be looking to keep their bats warm in this series.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Minnesota Twins are currently 7.5 games back from the Tampa Bay Rays for the third and final AL Wild Card spot. They are also 4-6 in their last 10, as they have to be better if they want to make a push towards the postseason. The Twins are only 4.0 games back from the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central, as this is a massive series.
At the plate, the Twins are scoring 4.41 runs per game and they are hitting .249 as a team. This is the 15th most runs scored per game and the 12th highest overall team batting average, as the Twins have consistently made contact with the ball this season. They have stranded a ton of base runners when they were in scoring position this season, as well. Luckily, Minnesota has realized that they have multiple guys that can change this game with one swing of the bat. They are averaging 1.17 home runs per game, which is the 12th most in the league. I would also expect the Twins to stay c onservative once they reach base safely. They have only stolen 30 bases this season, which is the least in the MLB. They have allowed their bats to move their base runners into scoring position.
According to MLB.com, the Twins will be starting Josh Winder on the mound. He is currently 4-4 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. In his last start, he pitched for 4.0 innings and gave up four hits and two earned runs before getting pulled. He has been better on the road this season, though. He is currently 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA outside of his home ballpark. The Minnesota bullpen has also held its own this season. They are allowing 3.85 runs per game, which is the 14th lowest bullpen ERA in the league. As a team, the Twins are allowing 4.26 runs per game, which is the 13th least.