Notebook 8/26: Series Finale in Cleveland

[Cooper Carlson]

The Twins and Indians will play the rubber match of their three game series tonight. Minnesota hopes to build the division lead with Berrios against Mike Clevinger.Tuesday’s series finale recap:

Cleveland Counterpunch

 

TODAY

Twins @ Indians, 6:10 pm CDT

 

Twins Starter: Jose Berrios, RHP 4.75 ERA

 

Jose Berrios will be taking the mound for the series finale tonight. The series is tied at one game apiece heading into tonight’s game and both teams have a great pitcher on the mound. Berrios has easily his best outing of the year his last time out, going six shutout innings with nine strikeouts. The Twins will need that Berrios again today.

 

One of the most notable improvements for Berrios this season is his fastball velocity. Last year it averaged 93.1 MPH and this year it is up to 94.5 MPH. The increased velocity has not been fooling hitters so far, as they have a crazy .871 SLG% against it so far. If he is able to command that fastball with the velocity bump then he should be fine soon.

 

Indians Starter: Mike Clevinger, RHP 3.24 ERA

 

Clevinger has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. About ten days ago he was sent to the Indians minor league camp as punishment for violating the social distancing rules set by MLB. It was a bold move by Cleveland to send him down but it is no coincidence that he will be returning in this very important game.

 

Another (speculated) reason the Indians called Clevinger back up is to showcase him to other teams. With the trade deadline rapidly approaching the Indians may be shopping Clevinger to a team like the Yankees. Cleveland owners desperately want their team to be bad again I love it.

 

Twins Lineup

 

1 Kepler RF

2 Polanco SS

3 Cruz DH

4 Rosario LF

5 Gonzalez 3B

6 Arraez 2B

7 Sano 1B

8 Wade Jr CF

9 Avila C

 

News & Notes:

 

-If Cleveland wins this game they will move within half a game of the Twins for first place. The AL Central is dangerous, and it is the only division with three teams having a win% over .600.

 

-Tyler Clippard is progressing much faster than anticipated. After taking a line drive to his elbow it was expected he would be out for a long time, but he could be back very soon.

 

-Michael Pineda is set to return to the team on the 31st. It will be interesting to see how the rotation shakes out.

 

-Lucas Giolito three the first no-hitter of 2020 yesterday night! He was absolutely dominant and is set to face the Twins in their upcoming series.

 

AROUND THE AL CENTRAL

-Tigers 7, Cubs 1

-White Sox 4, Pirates 0

-Royals 5, Cardinals 4

 

1. MIN 20-11 (-)

2. CLE 18-12 (1.5 GB)

3. CWS 18-12 (1.5 GB

4. DET 12-16 (6.5 GB)

5. DET 12-18 (7.5 GB)

 

See Also:

 

Precious Child Thanks Rich Hill for New, Fun Words

Jeffers Shines in Big League Debut

The One PLayer Minnesota Shouldn’t Trade for

 

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