Twins face off against the Indians in division play
Cleveland Indians (82-60, second in the AL Central) vs. Minnesota Twins (87-54, first in the AL Central)
Minneapolis; Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Indians: Aaron Civale (3-3, 1.94 ERA) Twins: Jake Odorizzi (14-6, 3.61 ERA)
LINE: Twins -156; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: AL Central opponents Minnesota and Cleveland will square off on Saturday.
The Twins are 37-21 against AL Central teams. The Minnesota offense has compiled a .272 batting average as a team this season, good for third in the American League. Nelson Cruz leads the team with a mark of .305.
The Indians are 42-23 against AL Central Division teams. The Cleveland pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 3.78. Shane Bieber leads the team with a 3.24 earned run average. The Indians won the last meeting 7-3. Brad Hand earned his fifth victory and Carlos Santana went 2-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs for Cleveland. Taylor Rogers took his third loss for Minnesota.
TOP PERFORMERS: Max Kepler leads the Twins with 36 home runs and is batting .252. C.J. Cron is 10-for-37 with two doubles, three home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
Francisco Lindor leads the Indians with 64 extra base hits and is slugging .532. Jason Kipnis is 3-for-23 with three home runs and four RBIs over the last 10 games for Cleveland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 8-2, .288 batting average, 3.89 ERA, outscored opponents by 22 runs
Indians: 5-5, .255 batting average, 4.35 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs
Twins Injuries: Sean Poppen: (elbow), Kyle Gibson: (ulcer), Sam Dyson: (biceps), Marwin Gonzalez: (abdominal), Jake Cave: (groin), Nelson Cruz: (wrist).
Indians Injuries: Danny Salazar: (groin), Jefry Rodriguez: (shoulder), Tyler Olson: (undisclosed), Corey Kluber: (arm), A.J. Cole: (shoulder), Cody Anderson: (elbow), Tyler Naquin: (knee), Jose Ramirez: (wrist), Christian Arroyo: (forearm).