Indians at Twins
The Minnesota Twins look to give themselves a comfortable cushion in the American League Central when they host the second-place Cleveland Indians for the rubber match of a three-game set Sunday afternoon. Mitch Garver launched a three-run homer to snap a tie in the seventh inning Saturday and the Twins earned a 5-3 victory to push their lead to 6 1/2 games in the division.
Garver’s two homers, which gave him the single-season franchise record 28 for a catcher, eased the pain of the news earlier in the day that starting pitcher Michael Pineda was suspended 60 games for a violation of major league baseball’s drug policy. The Twins will either use a host of relievers in the series finale or turn to rookie left-hander Devin Smeltzer for the start while the Indians send red-hot right-hander Mike Clevinger to the mound as they try to make up ground in the wild-card race. Cleveland took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning Saturday on the first of two doubles by Yasiel Puig and a wild pitch, but lost for just the third time in 34 tries with a lead after six innings on the road. Jason Kipnis had a pair of singles and an RBI in Saturday’s loss after going hitless in 19 at-bats with six strikeouts over his previous five games.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, STO (Cleveland), FS North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Mike Clevinger (10-2, 2.71 ERA) vs. Twins TBD
Clevinger allowed two runs on two hits and four walks with nine strikeouts over seven innings against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday before the bullpen denied him of a 10th straight win. The 28-year-old Florida native, who boasts 132 strikeouts across 93 innings in 2019, is 9-0 with a 1.93 ERA since July 1 and has not suffered a defeat since June 28. Miguel Sano has three doubles and a homer versus Clevinger, who is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two starts against Minnesota this year.
The last time this spot came up in the rotation, right-hander Randy Dobnak struck out two in a scoreless first inning and five relievers followed before the Twins beat Boston 6-5. Minnesota could use the same formula or hand the ball to Smeltzer (1-2, 4.00 ERA), who has not pitched in the majors since earning a four-inning save against Texas on Aug. 15. The 24-year-old has pitched against the Indians twice this season, allowing 11 runs on 12 hits (four homers) over 10 2/3 innings in a pair of losses.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cleveland SS Francisco Lindor, who has homered twice against Smeltzer, owns multiple hits in four of his last seven games.
2. Minnesota INF/OF Luis Arraez is 10-for-23 with four doubles during his current six-game hitting streak.
3. Twins DH Nelson Cruz (wrist) sat out Saturday, but could be back in the lineup for the series finale.