Series Preview: Cleveland Comes to Town...Let's Play Four!

Most Twins fans had written off the Houston series as bust, only to see a less than prodigious lineup clobber Houston's young ace Hunter Brown around the diamond. Fresh off of a series and season series win against the reigning World Series champs, the Twins took a red eye flight back home to get ready for a pivotal mid-season series against the Cleveland Guardians.

Minnesota can't change the division that they are in, so there is no shame in celebrating being in first place in the AL Central. Reality lurks just around the corner, however, as Detroit and Cleveland are one bad weekend away from taking over the top spot.

Cleveland comes to town having split their last ten games, and only sporting a 25-30 record overall. Every statistic for the Guardians screams "average." The Twins average one more run per game than the Guardians, which speaks more to the struggles of the Cleveland offense than to the success of the Twins.

Interesting Fact: In September 2022, the Twins played a five game series against the Guardians. The Twins entered the series four games behind in the division, and ended up losing four of five, all but ending their season. That's more depressing than interesting for Twins fans, but as the Twins find themselves in the opposite position, can they flip the results as well early in the season?

Weather Factor: Sunny and high-80’s at Target Field this weekend, with Friday's game being the only chance for storms currently.

Pitching Probables
Game 1 - Thursday, June 1st, 2023 – 6:40pm CDT – It's Pablo day at Target Field yet again, as Lopez (3-3, 4.11 ERA) tries to set the tone for the series. The Guardians will send RHP Tanner Bibee (1-1, 2.88 ERA) out to make his seventh career start.

The most pressing question facing the Twins will be the health of Byron Buxton. Will he be back in the lineup Thursday night? What role will Royce Lewis take on in this series? With the St. Paul Saints in Buffalo this weekend, quick call-ups across the river aren't quite as simple to make if injuries begin to linger.

Game 2 – Friday, June 2nd, 2023 – 7:10pm CDT – Twins RHP Bailey Ober (3-2, 2.68 ERA) looks to bounce back from a rough first inning last week as he faces an annual Cleveland nemesis, RHP Aaron Civale (1-1, 2.84 ERA). Civale is only making his third start of the season, while Ober already has seven innings of no-run ball and a victory against Cleveland this season.

Game 3 - Saturday, June 3rd, 2023 – 6:15 pm CDT – In the third game of the series, the Twins call upon the only starter yet to lose this season, RHP Sonny Gray (4-0, 1.94 ERA). He will face Cleveland LHP Logan Allen (2-2, 2.72 ERA), who went 5.2 innings against the Twins on May 6th, surrendering two runs in the process.

Gray looks to stay in the game longer in June than he did in May, as he only averaged five innings per outing last month. The bullpen will most likely be taxed by this point in the series, and a short start won't get the job done.

Game 4 - Sunday, June 4th, 2023 - 1:10pm CDT - The Twins close out the series with RHP Joe Ryan (7-2, 2.77 ERA). Cleveland announced on Thursday that RHP Triston McKenzie will make his season debut, . Ryan looks to continue his home cooking, and deliver a knock out blow to the Guardians as the middle months of the season begin. McKenzie had a 1-2 record, with a 5.46 ERA against the Twins in five starts in 2022.

Prediction Time!
What's your prediction for this series?  Can the Twins maintain their lead in the AL Central throughout this series? Who do you see being the biggest impact player at home this weekend? Let us know in the comments! Go, Twins!

AL Central Standings (through May 31)