Indians at Twins
If the Minnesota Twins have any aspirations of extending the American League Central's three-year streak of sending its division winner to the World Series, they should have better idea where they stand in that regard by the end of the month. The Twins begin a stretch of seven of 10 games against their closest division competitor Friday when they host the opener of a four-game set with the Cleveland Indians.
After finishing last season with the worst record in the majors, Minnesota has spent more than half of the 2017 campaign atop the Central, which sent Kansas City to the World Series in 2014 and 2015 and Cleveland last year. The Twins have owned at least a share of the division lead since May 11 and enter this series with a two-game edge on the Indians after winning Thursday to split a four-game set versus Seattle to wrap up a 14-game run against west coast teams. The Indians outscored Minnesota 20-7 en route to a three-game sweep at Target Field in mid-April, but the Twins took two of three when the teams last met at Progressive Field from May 12-14. Edwin Encarnacion reached base five times and Lonnie Chisenhall became only the third Indian since 1913 to drive in at least five runs as an in-game substitute as Cleveland avoided a three-game sweep at home Thursday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, STO (Cleveland), FSN North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Carlos Carrasco (6-3, 3.36 ERA) vs. Twins LH Nik Turley (0-0, 9.00)
Carrasco bounced back from his first loss since April 28 with his fourth victory in five decisions Sunday against the Chicago White Sox, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk across 5 1/3 innings. The 30-year-old Venezuelan has surrendered only one of his eight homers this season on the road and is yielding only a .195 batting average to right-handed hitters. Joe Mauer is 11-for-22 and Miguel Sano is 4-for-10 against Carrasco, who is 2-6 with a 4.74 ERA in 14 games (11 starts) versus the Twins.
Turley made his big-league debut against San Francisco on Sunday after toiling for nearly 10 years in the minors, settling for a no-decision after giving up four runs and eight hits in four frames. The former 50th-round draft pick of the New York Yankees earned his long-awaited promotion after posting a 2.05 ERA and fanning 84 over 52 2/3 innings at two minor-league stops this season. Prior to his recall, Turley went 48-45 with a 3.50 ERA in 165 appearances (134 starts) in the minors.
WALK-OFFS
1. In 38 career games against Minnesota, Indians SS Francisco Lindor is batting .309 with seven doubles, three homers, three triples and 21 RBIs.
2. Sano is 4-for-20 with 12 strikeouts against Cleveland this season, although two of his hits are home runs.
3. Minnesota INF Eduardo Escobar is 18-for-31 with three homers and eight RBIs in his last eight games. Over that span, he is 12-for-21 against right-handed pitchers.