The Minnesota Twins (62-59) will be trying to cut into Cleveland’s lead in the AL Central when they face the San Francisco Giants (61-61) in the second game of their three-game interleague series on Saturday night.
Alex Cobb, 4-6, 3.99 ERA, will get the start for the Giants. The Twins will counter with Sonny Gray, 7-4, 3.10 ERA.
San Francisco is 6-3 in its last 10 games against Minnesota.
**This preview was written before Friday’s game was played**
The Giants are playing well at the moment, but they are still hovering around .500and stand 5.5 games behind the Brewers, which are in the third NL Wildcard spot. They will try to reduce the distance between them with a win over the Twins, which will give them their eighth win in their last 11 games.
San Francisco is averaging 4.51 runs per game. Their .234 batting average is 22nd in the league. Their .317 on base percentage is 10th, while their .394 slugging percentage is 14th.
Thairo Estradan leads San Francisco with a .261 batting average. Joc Pederson leads the team with 18 home runs, while Wilmer Flores leads the team with 59 RBI.
San Francisco’s pitching isn’t very good, with the team giving up 4.36 runs per game. Opponents have a .252 batting average against the Giants, which is 24th in the league. Their 3.90 ERA is 16th, while their 1.27 WHIP is 17th.
In his last start, Cobb gave up 10 hits and three runs in 6.2 innings, leading to a 4-3 loss to Colorado. They will need a better effort from him if they want to win this game.