Cleveland Indians-Minnesota Twins Series Preview

Cleveland Indians-Minnesota Twins Series Preview 5/13-5/15

The Cleveland Indians (16-15) return home to take on the American league cellar dweller Minnesota Twins (8-25) in a three-game weekend series. The Indians are coming off a series loss to the Houston Astros while the Twins have won just once in their last 12 games. This is the second time the two clubs have met, the first being a three-game set in Minnesota in which the Twins won two of three.

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On the mound, the Indians will be going with Josh Tomlin (tonight), Corey Kluber (Saturday), and Trevor Bauer (Sunday).  The Twins will counter with right-handers Ricky Nolasco, Ervin Santana, Tyler Duffey. Cody Anderson was originally set to open the series for the Indians; however, manager Terry Francona was forced to use Anderson in relief during Wednesday’s marathon 16 inning game. Thanks to the off day, though, all three Tribe starters this series will still be on their normal four days of rest.

Tomlin will look to continue his unbeaten streak after the Tribe loses.  Since the start of the 2015 season, Tomlin is now 12-0 after the Indians lose. Bauer, who will pitch Sunday for the Tribe, is coming off his best start of the season in Houston, where he went seven shutout innings allowing just three hits and striking out seven. Offensively for the Tribe,  Jason Kipnis will look to stay hot after a five-hit performance in Houston on Wednesday. In his last five games, Kipnis is batting .381 with a .959 OPS, and overall he’s hitting .329 with a .880 OPS against right-handed pitching.

Keys to the Series

The biggest key for the Indians this series could be health. With the Tribe using a short bench due to their 8-man bullpen, the only healthy bench option Wednesday in Houston was backup catcher Chris Gimenez. Outfielder Michael Brantley has missed the last two games as his surgically repaired shoulder has been sore after playing. The Indians are hopeful that the three days off will give the shoulder time to heal but look for him to still get days off in the coming week.  Brantley has gotten off to a slow start at the plate as well, hitting just .231 with a .561 OPS in his 11 games since returning from the disabled list. The Tribe needs Brantley to be the hitter he’s shown the last two years so getting him healthy is a must for this club.

Next: Josh Tomlin just keeps on winning

In addition to Brantley, super utility man Jose Ramirez is nursing a hand injury that he sustained in Houston. Ramirez was held out of the starting lineup on Wednesday due to the injury; however, did play nine innings after replacing Uribe in the 8th inning (little did they know the game would go 16 innings).  With the off day yesterday hopefully Ramirez’s hand is good to go but definitely something to keep an eye on. Ramirez has been a pleasant surprise offensively to this point, batting .304 with a .776 OPS in 25 games.