Series Preview: Cleveland Indians to host Twins with first place on the line

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The Cleveland Indians will welcome the Minnesota Twins to Progressive Field for a three-game set starting Monday with a chance to take over first place in the AL Central.

The Cleveland Indians enter the three-game series against the Twins with a record of 17 -11 and find themselves in second place in the AL Central just a game and a half behind Minnesota.

With a 60 game season, divisional games are even more critical, because the separation between division teams will be minimal all year. The Twins lead the Central, with seven games separating them from the last-place Royals.

This season the Indians are 1-3 against the Twins. In their earlier season matchup in Minnesota, the Indians pitching staff got the job done holding Minnesota to 10 runs over the four games, but the offense was ice cold, only scoring four runs over the entire series.

Since that first season showdown that left the Twins with a record of 7-2, they have leveled off. Minnesota is just 10-7 since the series with Cleveland putting them at 17-9 on the year.

In addition to cooling off, the injury bug has struck the team of late. They’ll head to Cleveland without outfielder Byron Buxton, catcher Mitch Garver, starting pitcherJake Odorizzi, and relief pitcher Zack Littell.

Meanwhile, the Indians will likely remain without Manager Terry Francona, who missed the entire weekend series against Detroit after undergoing am medical procedure. Starting pitchers Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger also remain away from the club at the team’s alternate site as punishment for breaking curfew while in Chicago despite COVID-19 protocols.

Here’s a closer look at the Indians’ crucial upcoming series with the Twins.

DETROIT, MI – AUGUST 14: Aaron Civale #43 of the Cleveland Indians pitches during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on August 14, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. The Indians defeated the Tigers 10-5. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

Monday Aug. 24, 7:10 p.m. EST

Probable Starters: Kenta Maeda (3-0, 2.27 ERA) vs. Aaron Civale (3-2, 2.91 ERA)

Aaron Civale is off to a terrific start to 2020 and is coming off his first career complete game in which he allowed just one earned run in a victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. In each of his five starts this season, Civale has been able to go at least six innings.

Civale faced Minnesota during their first encounter and tossed six innings, allowed three earned runs and struck out nine.

For the Twins, they’ll look to get Civale out of his rhythm and do so by taking aim for home runs. The Twins rank eighth in baseball with 39 HRs in 2020.

Offensively, the Indians must improve in their second time seeing Kenta Maeda this season.

Maeda, who is in his first year with the Twins, Maeda, dominated Cleveland in his first matchup, pitching six innings in which he allowed just one hit and struck out six Indians.

Maeda will enter the series opener coming off a dominant start against the Brewers in which he tossed eight innings, allowed one run, on one hit and struck out 12 as he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning.

Both pitchers are off to a scorching start to 2020, outpacing just about every analytical measurement from their career performances. Therefore, to say this has all the makings of a pitchers duel is an understatement. Both pitchers can be susceptible to the long ball, however, so the game may come down to which team can leave the yard first.

CHICAGO – AUGUST 09: Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Indians pitches against the Chicago White Sox on August 9, 2020 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Ron Vesely/Getty Images) /

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 7:10 p.m. EST

Projected Starters: Rich Hill (1-1, 4.70 ERA) vs. Shane Bieber (5-0, 1.11 ERA)

There may not be a pitcher in baseball history who had a better first six starts to a season than Shane Bieber.

Bieber is off and running with a 2.1 WAR, leads baseball in strikeouts, innings pitched, and wins. His first start against Minnesota was the Indians sole win in that series, he went eight innings, had 13 strikeouts, and did not allow a run.

While Bieber has been dominant in 2020, he has had some struggles against Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario in the past.

If there is a player to watch while Bieber is on the mound, it’s Rosario who has three career homers off the Indians ace and a .353 batting average. Career stats may be irrelevant, though, as Bieber has been otherworldly so far this season.

The Twins will counter by sending veteran Rich Hill on the mound. The 40-year-old Hill has struggled with shoulder fatigue this season and has only logged 7.2 innings in two starts.

In his last start against Milwaukee, Hill lasted only 2.2 innings, allowing four runs and three walks. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli hasn’t stated if Hill is on any pitch limitations or still injured, but in his two starts, he hasn’t made it to 70 pitches.

No Indians hitter has more than six career at-bats against Hill, but many have at least one hit. This matchup appears on the surface to be one of the games in this series where the Indians offense and pitching have a clear advantage.

CLEVELAND, OHIO – AUGUST 21: Starting pitcher Adam Plutko #45 of the Cleveland Indians pitches during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field on August 21, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Wednesday Aug. 26, 7:10 p.m. EST

Projected Starters: Jose Berrios (2-3, 4.75 ERA) vs. Adam Plutko (1-2, 6.88 ERA)

To close out the series against Minnesota, the Indians will send the struggling Adam Plutko to the mound.

Plutko’s most recent and featured a sudden and quick collapse. After a strong first three innings against the Tigers in which he didn’t allow a run he was ambushed in the fourth inning as he allowed seven runs and suffered the loss.

This has been a theme for Plutko all season, which is why there is hesitation in having him start again. When facing the opposing order the first time, Plutko is only allowing hitters to hit .229, but the second time through the average spikes to .423.

This issue is something many starting pitchers have had to deal with, but there isn’t a lot of time to work through it in a shortened season.

As for the Twins, they’ll send their ace Jose Berrios to the mound. Berrios will look to turn around his fortunes against the Indians, who handed him a loss earlier when Bieber out-dueled him.

To defeat the Indians, Berrios needs to improve his road performances. Away from Target Field this season, Berrios has two starts going 0-1, with an 8.68 ERA.

The two Indians have two hitters with the most success off the Twins right-hander are Carlos Santana and Greg Allen who both hold averages north of .350 in their matchups with the Minnesota ace.

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