Indians take on the Twins after Clevinger's strong showing
Cleveland Indians (69-46, second in the AL Central) vs. Minnesota Twins (70-45, first in the AL Central)
; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Indians: Shane Bieber (11-4, 3.32 ERA) Twins: Devin Smeltzer (1-1, 2.28 ERA)
Cleveland heads into the matchup after a strong showing by Mike Clevinger. Clevinger went seven innings, surrendering The Twins are 27-14 against AL Central teams. Minnesota has slugged .499, good for the best mark in the American League. Nelson Cruz leads the club with a .650 slugging percentage, including 51 extra-base hits and 32 home runs.
The Indians are 32-19 against the rest of their division. The Cleveland pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 3.71. Shane Bieber leads the team with a 3.32 earned run average. The Indians won the last meeting 7-5. Mike Clevinger recorded his seventh victory and Jose Ramirez went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs for Cleveland. Kyle Gibson registered his fifth loss for Minnesota.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jorge Polanco leads the Twins with 134 hits and has 56 RBIs. Cruz is 11-for-27 with two doubles, six home runs and 14 RBIs over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
Franmil Reyes leads the Indians with 27 home runs home runs and is slugging .503. Jason Kipnis is 13-for-34 with six doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs over the last 10 games for Cleveland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 6-4, .256 batting average, 4.99 ERA, outscored opponents by seven runs
Indians: 7-3, .241 batting average, 2.60 ERA, outscored opponents by 18 runs
Twins Injuries: Michael Pineda: (triceps), Sam Dyson: (bicep tendinitis), LaMonte Wade Jr: (thumb), Byron Buxton: (shoulder), Nelson Cruz: (wrist), Willians Astudillo: (oblique).
Indians Injuries: Danny Salazar: (groin), Jefry Rodriguez: (shoulder), Dan Otero: (shoulder), Tyler Olson: (undisclosed), Corey Kluber: (arm), Carlos Carrasco: (leukemia), Cody Anderson: (elbow), Bradley Zimmer: (shoulder), Jordan Luplow: (hamstring), Christian Arroyo: (forearm).
