Cleveland lurks as injuries hit Twins

The Twins' performance against the Tampa Bay Rays this week, winning two out of three games against one of the best teams in baseball, was even more impressive because of the way they dealt with so many injuries throughout the course of the series.

Eddie Rosario went down because of a right ankle sprain. Max Kepler missed a game after being hit in the elbow by a pitch. Willians Astudillo was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday after he had a tremendous first two games of the series. And Byron Buxton (bruised wrist), Ehire Adrianza (gastrointestinal issues) and Marwin Gonzalez (calf strain) remained on the injured list.

But here's the truth for this ballclub: They need to get healthy if they're going to maintain their comfortable eight-game lead over the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central after Thursday's 5-2, 18-inning loss to the Rays.

But Cleveland has won 10 of their past 13 games and trimmed three games off the 11-game lead the Twins held two weeks ago.

And there are some cracks starting to show in this Twins offense, which has been historically good all season.

Through their first 69 games, the Twins averaged 6.0 runs, 2.0 home runs and 7.7 strikeouts. But as the team has gone 5-6 over their past 11 games, they have averaged 4.2 runs, 1.3 home runs and 10.3 strikeouts.

They struck out 22 times against Tampa Bay on Thursday, mounting few serious threats and looking tired offensively.

They've gotten great production from so many members of the offense, and even the call-ups have been mostly great.

Luis Arraez gave the team a big boost in the Tampa Bay series, going 5-for-10 with an RBI and two runs scored in two games and raising his batting average to .449, while also playing in the infield and outfield.

But with all of the Twins' injuries, it feels like the All-Star break can't come soon enough.

The Indians, meanwhile, are starting to get healthy and their offense is starting to match their pitching.

In the past 13 games, Cleveland has averaged 6.2 runs, hit .300 as a team and hit 24 homers. In their first 67 games, the Indians hit only .226 and averaged 4.1 runs.

Francisco Lindor is playing like an All-Star after missing the first 18 games of the season because of calf and ankle injuries, hitting .298 with 12 homers and 12 stolen bases.

And maybe more importantly for Cleveland is that Jose Ramirez is playing like the MVP candidate everyone expected him to be coming into this season. Ramirez was miserable for the first two months, hitting .191 through March and April, but over the past 13 games, he has hit .306 with a homer, two triples, three doubles, nine RBI and nine runs scored.

The Indians' pitching staff has the second-best ERA in the American League at 3.84, while the Twins rank fourth at 3.97. And their relief pitching has been much better than the Twins' bullpen.

Cleveland's bullpen has gone 17-8 with a 3.39 ERA over 249⅔ innings. They've struck out 261 in that stretch. The Twins bullpen is 15-9 with a 4.29 ERA over 262⅓ innings with 267 strikeouts — and that includes 10 innings of scoreless relief Thursday before Ryne Harper, who had pitched well in back-to-back contests, allowed three runs in the 18th.

The Twins still sit 24 games above .500 (52-28) and on Thursday, shortstop Jorge Polanco became their first All-Star starter since Joe Mauer in 2013. On top of that, they drew 94,930 fans to a three-game series in the middle of the week against an opponent with little name recognition.

But there is no question this team needs some players to get healthy if they're going to keep up their tremendous season.

And with 13 games against the Indians in the second half, starting with a three-game series in Cleveland out of the All-Star break, the Twins' division lead is still at risk.

The Gophers hockey team continues to be the best program in the state when it comes to producing professional players. That continued last weekend as current or future Gophers Ryan Johnson (Buffalo), Jackson LaCombe (Anaheim), Mike Koster (Toronto), Ben Brinkman (Dallas) and Bryce Brodzinski (Philadelphia) were selected. All but Brodzinski, a forward, are defensemen.

Johnson, an incoming freshman, was selected 31st overall and became the 21st Gopher selected in the first round. The defenseman helped the Sioux Falls Stampede win the 2019 USHL Clark Cup. The Sabres made six of those 21 first-round Gophers picks, including Casey Mittelstadt (2017), Thomas Vanek (2003), Keith Ballard (2002), Erik Rasmussen (1996) and Mike Ramsey (1979).

Johnson was selected two spots higher than his father, former Gopher and NHL standout Craig Johnson, who was picked 33rd overall by St. Louis in 1990. Both father and son were selected in NHL entry drafts held in Vancouver.

• If the Timberwolves are going to make any moves in free agency, it's going to have to come via trade. With the new NBA salary cap set at $109 million for the 2019-2010 season, the Wolves have around $2.4 million to spend before they hit the salary cap. The luxury tax threshold is $132 million so, if owner Glen Taylor (who also owns the Star Tribune) is willing to spend the money, they could work some deals and spend an additional $26 million in salaries before they hit that mark.

• The Wolves' decision to hire former Gophers standout Kevin Burleson as a player development coach is a great story. Burleson worked his way through every level of coaching to get this chance. He held a similar role with the Rockets from 2014-2017 when new Wolves President Gersson Rosas was there.

• One player who could be a trade chip for the Twins is Jaylin Davis. The 24-year-old outfielder, who was drafted in the 24th round out of Appalachian State in 2015, hit .274 with a .382 on-base percentage with 10 homers, 25 RBI and 34 runs scored in 58 games at Class AA Pensacola. He just got called up to Class AAA Rochester, where he's gone 10-for-32 in nine games and has 12 RBI in his past three games with three home runs.

Sid Hartman can be heard on WCCO AM-830 at 8:40 a.m. Monday and Friday, 2 p.m. Friday and 10:30 a.m. Sunday. • shartman@startribune.com