Cleveland Indians facing early test against the Minnesota Twins

The Cleveland Indians must win this weekend’s series against the Minnesota Twins to remain in first place in the American League Central.

It is only May 12, but the Cleveland Indians may be beginning to worry some fans. That is why the team must make quick work of the Minnesota Twins this weekend.

The Twins currently hold the edge in the American League Central division by .003 percentage points, as they have played two fewer games than the Indians, making them the surprise team in the division thus far.

The Indians were obviously the favorites to win the division, although it is far too early to assume they won’t. However, a series loss to the Twins would not be a good sign.

The good news is that the Indians swept the Twins earlier this year in Minnesota, thanks to some solid pitching performances from both Josh Tomlin and Trevor Bauer. Those two remain in the spotlight, as they will get starts this weekend along with Mike Clevinger.

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Tomlin did go seven innings and allow just one run in his last outing, but that 7.12 ERA is indicative of how the rest of the year has gone. As for Bauer, he may be one more bad start away from having his spot taken by Clevinger once Corey Kluber returns.

A main problem for Bauer, along with the rest of the pitching staff, has been run support. He has gotten just three total runs of support combined in his last two starts, although he did allow a combined 11 runs. Regardless, the offense cannot continue to be so inconsistent that the pitchers press and perhaps make mistakes by trying to be too perfect.

The Indians did outscore the Twins 20-7 in the first three games between the two teams, but Friday night’s game against Ervin Santana will be no easy task. His ERA was down to 0.66 before he allowed six runs in Boston earlier this week, marking his first loss of the season.

The Indians were able to win against him earlier this year once the Twins had to go to the bullpen, so that will once again be the goal tonight.

Next: 3 takeaways from series loss in Toronto

With Yan Gomes continuing to heat up and Edwin Encarnacion bound to break out soon (I hope), this series could serve as a turning point for the Indians, whether that be a positive turn or a negative one.