Guardians lead Twins by 3½ games. The division rivals play four this weekend.

CHICAGO – Last September, the Twins won two of three games against the Cleveland Guardians to take a six-game lead in the division standings, essentially cementing their spot in the postseason.

A four-game series at Target Field this weekend doesn’t carry the same ramifications with nearly 50 games remaining in the season, but the Twins’ homestand against Cleveland and Kansas City could reshape the American League Central.

“No one is going to deny it’s an important week for the standings,” Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “I also don’t think anyone is going to put more than they need to on themselves to play better. We’ve been good about maintaining a pretty level head whoever we’re facing. We’ll go out there and if we handle our business, we’ll beat whoever.”

The Twins, who are 3½ games back from the first-place Guardians, are winless in five games against Cleveland this season. The last time the teams played, in May, the Twins dropped a one-run game after giving up a run in the eighth inning and dropped another game on a walk-off homer.

“I just like playing against them in general,” said Royce Lewis, who has five homers and 17 RBI in 13 career games against Cleveland. “It’s always a little bit more sweet to win any time you are playing a division foe, especially the Guardians. They are a great team. It’s going to be a dog fight and it’s going to be fun.”

Neither the Twins nor the Guardians are entering their upcoming series at their best. The Twins lost their last two road games against the Cubs, outscored 15-5; Carlos Correa is unlikely to rejoin the club this weekend, battling plantar fasciitis in his right foot; and Byron Buxton missed the last three games with lower back tightness.

The Guardians have lost five consecutive games, their longest losing streak of the season, after they were swept in three games by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“I’d be lying if I told you we’re all happy right now, but at the same time, every team goes through these stretches,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt told reporters Wednesday. “Here we are on Aug. 7 and we’re going through it for the first time. I think it’s not the way we’re playing, it’s the results.”

The Twins did not reconfigure their starting rotation for the Cleveland series by pushing back Joe Ryan, before he left Wednesday’s start with a triceps injury, or pushing Pablo López up by a day. Louie Varland will be called up from Class AAA to start one of Friday’s games, while rookies Simeon Woods Richardson and David Festa are scheduled to start the final two games of the series.

Notably, the Twins are scheduled to play 14 games over the next 13 days. The Royals, who arrive Monday, are only a half-game behind the Twins.

“I wouldn’t say there was really too much debate over what we were going to do,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We’re not going to rearrange everything we have going on right now because of a series that we have coming up. I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. This is not the last week of the season. We have a long way to go, and a ton of games to play against good teams coming up.”

At a minimum, the coming week is a measuring stick for the Twins. They’ve struggled against the top teams in the league this year, winless against the three American League teams with better records.

“We feel like we’re playing good ball right now,” Jeffers said. “The last two days clearly hasn’t been our best baseball all around. Offensively, we can do a lot more. But I think we feel very confident about our all-around game.”

As much as Twins players expect an intense atmosphere, perhaps with bigger crowds to match, they don’t view this weekend as make-or-break for their chances to win a division title.

“We know that it’s a close race right now and this series is going to be a big one, but we still have a month and a half left,” Twins starter Bailey Ober said. “A lot can change this week and throughout the rest of the season.”