Indians at Twins
The Cleveland Indians look to continue their charge toward a second postseason berth in four years on Friday when they begin a nine-game road trip with the opener of a three-game series versus the Minnesota Twins. Although Cleveland holds a comfortable 6 1/2-game lead atop the American League Central, it has lost four of six to cellar-dwelling Minnesota this season.
A winless nine-game stretch to open the season put the tumbling Twins behind the 8-ball, although the club has found its offense by scoring 140 runs with a .287 batting average during a 12-9 spurt heading into the All-Star break. Veteran Joe Mauer is 10-for-23 with five runs scored in his last six games overall and 8-for-16 with two RBIs versus Friday starter Carlos Carrasco. Cleveland has some offense in its own right in the form of Francisco Lindor, who has seven runs scored during his six-game hitting streak. The All-Star shortstop is batting an impressive .361 in 19 career games versus Minnesota.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), FSN North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Carlos Carrasco (5-3, 2.47 ERA) vs. Twins RH Ervin Santana (3-7, 4.06)
Carrasco was let down by three errors in his last outings, as the 29-year-old Venezuelan was tagged for five runs in 3 2/3 innings in an 11-7 setback versus the New York Yankees on Sunday. Carrasco's run total eclipsed the sum of his previous four outings (29 2/3 innings), during which he is 3-0. His fortunes have taken a tumble when facing the Twins, however, as he is 1-5 with a 3.96 ERA in 12 career appearances (nine starts).
Minnesota's most reliable starter, Santana scattered two hits in a 4-0 shutout of Oakland on July 6 to improve to 2-0 with a 1.63 ERA in his last four starts. The 33-year-old is looking to drive up his trade value when he faces Cleveland, against which he allowed one run in six innings of a 6-3 victory on May 14. Traditionally, Santana has struggled versus the Indians to the tune of a 5-10 career mark with a 4.32 ERA in 20 appearances.
WALK-OFFS
1. Minnesota RF Max Kepler has fit in well as an everyday player, highlighted by his seven homers and 26 RBIs over his last 20 games.
2. Cleveland is 26-11 versus AL Central representatives while the Twins are just 6-21 versus their division rivals.
3. Minnesota SS Eduardo Nunez has 14 hits in his last eight games, but is batting just .218 in his career versus the Indians.