Indians at Twins
The Minnesota Twins look to take a stranglehold of the American League Central race when they host the second-place Cleveland Indians on Friday night for the opener of a three-game showdown series. The Twins have won 10 of their last 12 contests after edging Boston 2-1 on Thursday to complete an 8-2 road trip and own a comfortable 6 1/2-game lead over the Indians.
Minnesota has scored just four times in the last two games but averaged 7.4 in the previous 10 contests with key performances from Eddie Rosario (team-high 94 RBIs) and Nelson Cruz (35 homers overall), while rookie Luis Arraez is currently riding a four-game hitting streak (8-for-16). Red-hot Michael Pineda will try to help the Twins extend their lead in the division when he takes the mound for the series opener, while the Indians will counter with fellow right-hander Adam Plutko, who looks to bounce back from a loss against another playoff contender. Cleveland failed to take advantage of a fading team when they managed only a split of a four-game series with the Chicago White Sox after recording just one hit in a 7-1 loss in Thursday’s finale. Backup catcher Kevin Plawecki had an RBI double in the latest defeat for the Indians and All-Star teammate Carlos Santana needs to turn things around, going 3-for-23 with six strikeouts this month after batting .350 with eight homers and 22 RBIs in August.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, STO (Cleveland), FS North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Adam Plutko (6-4, 4.53 ERA) vs. Twins RH Michael Pineda (11-5, 4.11)
Plutko gave up more than three runs for just the second time in eight starts on Sunday when he permitted four on six hits across 4 1/3 innings to suffer the loss at Tampa Bay. The 27-year-old UCLA product walked a season-high four in that setback while serving up his 20th homer and allowing his first two stolen bases of the season. Max Kepler has one of his team-high 36 homers versus Plutko, who yielded four runs on nine hits (two home runs) in a loss at Minnesota on Aug. 10.
Pineda won his fifth consecutive decision after earning the victory in his fourth straight start Sunday at Detroit with six innings of two-run ball and nine strikeouts. The 30-year-old Dominican boasts 35 strikeouts and just five walks over his last six trips to the mound after issuing five free passes on July 21 versus Oakland. Santana is 2-for-4 against Pineda, who pitched four scoreless innings in a no-decision versus Cleveland on March 31.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cleveland 2B Jason Kipnis, who missed the first two games of the series with wrist tendinitis, is 0-for-14 over his last four games.
2. Minnesota 3B Miguel Sano scored both runs Thursday and is three RBIs shy of 300 in his career.
3. The Indians lead the season series 7-6 after winning three of four at Minnesota from Aug. 8-11.