In the first of a three-game series between the Minnesota Twins (52-88) and the Cleveland Indians (81-58) at Target Field, Tyler Duffey (8-10, 6.24 ERA) and Danny Salazar (11-6, 3.78 ERA) get the ball. The game starts at 8:10 p.m. ET on Friday, Sep. 9 and will air on STOh and FSN.
In his most recent outing, Duffey pitched 3.0 innings, giving up six runs, striking out two and walking one in a 9-4 loss to the Tigers. Brian Dozier (.278, 94 Rs, 39 HRs, 92 RBIs, 14 SBs) went 1 for 5 Wednesday with one run and one stolen base. The Indians were victorious over the Marlins 6-5 the last time Salazar pitched. He went 5.2 innings, allowing one run, striking out 11 and walking two. Carlos Santana (.244, 75 Rs, 30 HRs, 71 RBIs, 5 SBs) has been hitting the ball well, going 2 for 4 yesterday with two runs, one home run, and two RBIs.
Notes
Minnesota has won 44% (28-36) of its games when leading after seven innings. However, Cleveland has won 54% (30-26) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Indians are coming into this meeting after a high-scoring game where they scored an impressive 10 runs. The Twins have a 1-18 record when opponents score that many runs or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Twins are 38-12. The Indians have a 61-7 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 11th in runs, Minnesota has earned 651 this season. Cleveland ranks fourth with 687 runs.
Ranking 12th, Minnesota is in the top half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.755). Cleveland ranks in the top 10 at sixth with an OPS of .771.
The Indians are 51-50 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Twins are 38-73 when they allow at least one homer.
