Minnesota has the fewest wins in the American League, but they do have a winning record against the Indians this year. The Twins took two of three from the Tribe when the teams met near the end of last month and will look to string a few more together.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
It’s been a lost season for the Twins as they battle the Atlanta Braves for the worst record in the major leagues. While many expected the Braves to be in this situation as they continue their organizational overhaul, the Twins languishing at the bottom of the standings is quite surprising, considering the strides they made last season with a youthful group of prospects.
Minnesota has just eight wins on the year following Wednesday’s 9-2 loss to Baltimore, a defeat that guaranteed another series loss. The Twins have captured just two series this season, the first a three-game sweep of the Angels from Apr. 15-17 and the second in a home set with the Indians Apr. 25-27. Minnesota took the first two of that set but was denied the sweep when the Tribe captured the finale. All three were one-run games with the under cashing twice.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Ervin Santana (0-2, 3.86 ERA) struggled in his return from the disabled list, going 3.1 innings against the White Sox last Saturday, surrendering three runs on seven hits and three walks. He needed 83 pitches to get 10 outs, certainly not the way he envisioned his return after back spasms landed him on the DL.
Despite the rough outing, Santana has held opponents to three or fewer earned runs in four of his five starts. He’ll face the Indians for the 20th time looking to improve on his 4-10 lifetime mark and 4.47 ERA over 110.2 innings against the Tribe.
Cory Kluber (2-4, 4.14 ERA) was rocked for five runs Monday in a loss to Houston. He lasted just 2.2 innings and allowed five hits and three walks, halting a strong run for the former AL Cy Young winner. He had allowed just three earned runs in his past three starts, a span covering 24 innings before his last disaster.
While Kluber is still capable of gems, he has been far more vulnerable over the past season and change than he was in his Cy Young campaign of 2014. After allowing five earned runs or more just twice in 34 starts in his Cy season, he has been lit up for at least five runs seven times in 39 starts since. Two of those have come in his seven starts this year.
LIVE BETTING
Joe Mauer has done a lot of things in the major leagues, but he did something Tuesday that he has never done before. Playing in his 1,488th game in the bigs, Mauer, a six-time All-Star and three-time batting champion, was penciled into the leadoff spot by manager Paul Molitor.
For Mauer, who entered the week atop the American League with a .420 on-base percentage, it was a chance to get more at-bats. He has spent much of the season batting second and most of his career batting third. Given his lack of power and his ability to get on base at a high rate, the move seemed logical to Molitor. “I think there’s some logic to it, given the fact of where we are in the standings,” the manager said.
QUICK PICK
As bad as the Twins pitching has been this season, the offense has been equally inept. That pretty much sums up why the Twins are where they are. The Indians have their own issues at the dish, but at least their pitching is strong and Kluber had a string of solid outings before getting lit up by the Astros last time out. He tossed a five-hit shutout at the Tigers in his last home start and the Twins’ offense isn’t close to that of Detroit’s.
We can expect Santana to be sharper in his second outing since coming off the disabled list. He had 17 days off in between starts and the rust showed. But, even the lengthy hiatus won’t be enough for Santana to save the Twins from another loss.
MLB Odds: Cleveland 5, Minnesota 2
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