Twins-Cleveland series preview: Five games against AL Central challengers

The Twins visit the Guardians for the first time this season, and it's for a five-game series that includes a doubleheader on Tuesday.

June 26, 2022 at 10:39PM
Minnesota Twins first baseman Alex Kirilloff (19) hit an RBI single in the first inning, scoring Carlos Correa Sunday afternoon, June 26, 2022 at Target Field in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Twins faced the Colorado Rockies in an interleague MLB baseball game. ] JEFF WHEELER • Jeff.Wheeler@startribune.com
Alex Kirilloff has nine RBI in nine games for the Twins since being called up on June 17. (Jeff Wheeler, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

FIVE-GAME SERIES AT PROGRESSIVE FIELD

All games on BSN, 830-AM, 102.9-FM

Monday, 6:10 p.m.: RHP Sonny Gray (3-1, 2.53 ERA) vs. RHP Triston McKenzie (4-5, 3.51)

Tuesday, 12:10 p.m.: LHP Devin Smeltzer (4-1, 3.05) vs. RHP Zach Plesac (2-5, 4.17)

Tuesday, 6:10 p.m.: RHP Josh Winder (2-2, 3.68) vs. TBA

Wednesday, 6:10 p.m.: RHP Dylan Bundy (4-4, 4.80) vs. RHP Cal Quantrill (4-4, 3.76)

Thursday, 12:10 p.m.: RHP Chris Archer (2-3, 3.14) vs. RHP Shane Bieber (3-4, 3.07)

TWINS UPDATE

The Twins (41-33) and Guardians, who have played two series at Target Field, are meeting in Cleveland for the first time this season. The Twins are 3-3 vs. the Guardians this season after losing two of three at Target Field last week. ... Winder will be called up as the 27th player for Tuesday's doubleheader; he and Smeltzer will start Tuesday's games, although their order has not been determined. ... Sunday's 6-3 victory over Colorado gave the Twins consecutive victories for only the second time this month and put them at 11-12 in June. They also won consecutive games on June 10-11 against Tampa Bay. ... Alex Kirilloff has nine RBI in nine games since being recalled from Class AAA St. Paul on June 17. ... Luis Arraez has 26 multihit games on the season. ... 2B Jorge Polanco is expected to be activated from the injured list either Monday or Tuesday.

GUARDIANS UPDATE

The Guardians (36-32) fell to Boston 8-3 on Sunday at Progressive Field. The loss concluded a three-game sweep by Boston and gave the Guardians a four-game losing streak — their longest since a seven-game losing streak April 22-28. The current losing streak started with a 1-0 loss to the Twins on Thursday. The Guardians had won eight of nine and 17 of 21 before that loss. ... Rookie OF Steven Kwan is hitting .362 (25-for-69) this month. On the season, he is hitting .286. ... 2B Andres Gimenez, who was 2-for-3 with an RBI on Sunday, is hitting .357 this month (25-for-70) to raise his batting average to .318. ... 3B Jose Ramirez leads the AL with 63 RBI. Ramirez was 3-for-4 on Sunday and is hitting .303. ... In three one-inning appearances vs. the Twins this year, RHP Emmanuel Clase has given up one hit, walked none and struck out four, earning a save each time.

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about the writer

Joel Rippel

News Assistant

Joel Rippel writes about sports for the Star Tribune.

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