Twins and Guardians Preview

Can the Twins establish themselves as the team to beat in the AL Central?

Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski USA Today

For the first time this season, the Twins and the Guardians will face off in a match that can determine early bragging rights for the AL Central.. The Twins are out-pitching (3.42 ERA vs 3.99 ERA) and out-hitting (4.53 R/G vs 3.77 R/G) the Guardians, but that doesn't mean that the Guardians can't contend for that first-place spot. This series could potentially set the tone for the further match ups this season between the two clubs. 

Weather Factor:  The weather in Cleveland doesn’t look overly friendly, but the temperature will be in the high 50’s / low 60’s making it at least tolerable during the day, but chilly in the evenings. 

Pitching Probables
Game 1 – Friday, May 5th, 2023 – 6:10pm CDT –  To start the series, the Twins bring right-hander Bailey Ober (1-0, 1.59ERA) to the mound. Ober’s first outing, against the Nationals, resulted in his first win of the season before being optioned back down to St. Paul Triple-A. Just as quickly, he was brought back up when Kenta Maeda was sent back to the IL for a right triceps strain. In his second game against the Royals, Ober allowed only one run in his 5.2 innings pitched, but the Twins bullpen blew a late lead. Ober has shown excellent command throughout his career, but less so in his first two starts. As long as his walks are under control and the offense gives him support, Ober has the potential to provide a solid foundation for a win.

The Guardians will send 25-year-old rookie Peyton Battenfield (10-2, 4.67 ERA) to the hill. The same trade deadline in which the Rays traded Joe Ryan to the Twins, they traded Battenfield to Cleveland, but he hasn't had the early success that Ryan had. He spent last year in AAA (3.92 ERA, 153.2 IP, 109K) and he has filled into the rotation while Aaron Civale recovers from an oblique injury. In his three starts, he's lasted five innings only once, versus Detroit.

Game 2 – Saturday, May 6th, 2023 – 5:10 pm CDT -  Veteran and AL ERA leader Sonny Gray (4-0, 0.77ERA) will start game two for the Twins. Gray continues to dominate, closing out the month of April with a record against the Royals, being the first pitcher ever to go 9-0 in nine consecutive starts against them. He also tied Ervin Santana for the lowest opening-month ERA for Twins starting pitchers. Gray has been perfecting his pitching arsenal, carrying six pitches and specifically improving his cutter, making him exceptionally effective this season.

Rookie Logan Allen (1-1, 2.45ERA) is a left-handed pitcher drafted in 2020 by the Guardians in round two as the 56th pick overall and has moved quickly through the system, making his MLB debut this season with the Guardians. Allen's advantage in this match is that none of the Twins have seen him on the mound. He’s also posted impressive numbers so far with 16K and only three walks in 11 innings.. So far, against righties and lefties, Allen is evenly split, but expect the Twins to beef up their lineup with plenty of right-handed bats.

Game 3 - Sunday, May 7th, 2023 – 12:40pm CDT - Joe Ryan (5-0, 2.37ERA) returns to the mound after a scoreless six innings against the White Sox. Ryan's second month of the season is starting as well as the first. Ryan has excellent command with low walks (4.2%) and high strikes (30.1%), and his swinging strike rate is 15.5%, one of the best in the league. In each of Ryan’s first four games this season, he gave up a home run.

Cal Quantrill (1-2, 4.73ERA) faces off against the Twins lineup. Quantrill has a better record on the road (3.38 ERA, 1-0) than at home (8.64 ERA, 0-2), which is typical for the entire Guardians team. In his last start, Quantrill had a solid game against the Yankees (2 R over 7.1 IP) but did not factor into the decision. Quantrill has been inconsistent thus far this season, having two bad starts: at Seattle and at home versus Colorado. Quantrill struggles to strike out batters, with 17 strikeouts over 32.1 innings. If the Twins lineup can get to Quantrill early, they have the potential to control the game and give Ryan excellent run support. 

Prediction Time!
What's your prediction for this series? Can the Twins dominate and establish themselves as the team to beat in the AL Central?? Let's go, Twins Territory!

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To be clear, the games are Friday, Saturday, Sunday, not Thursday-Saturday. 

Also, Battenfield is 0-2, not 10-2.

Let's get the sweep.