Mike Pelfrey (0-0, 7.20 ERA) and the Minnesota Twins (3-6) go up against Corey Kluber (0-1, 2.63 ERA) and the Cleveland Indians (3-5) in the first of a three-game division series at Target Field. The game starts at 8:10 p.m. ET on Friday, Apr. 17 and will air on STO and FSN-N.
In his most recent outing, Pelfrey pitched 5.0 innings, allowing four runs, striking out two and walking one in a 5-4 loss to the White Sox. Brian Dozier (.229 ) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run. In his career against the Twins, Kluber is 4-2 with a 4.01 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 62 strikeouts. Jerry Sands (.412 ) has been hitting the ball well to start the season for the Indians, going 2 for 4 Wednesday with one run.
Minnesota, a +125 underdog, will look to capitalize at home against Cleveland. Oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at seven runs. The Twins are 2-6 as the underdog and have an overall money line of -388.
Across the field, the Indians have a record of 2-3 when they are favored and are -253 overall with the money line. Against teams in their division, they are 1-4 SU and have played poorly as the favorite with a 1-3 record. When it comes to scoring runs, the Indians have performed much better than normal against teams from the AL Central. During those games, they averaged four runs per game, above their 3.4 season average. The Indians average just 7.3 strikeouts per road game, one of the lowest marks in the AL. Switching gears to Cleveland’s pitching staff, they have the lowest road ERA in the AL at 1.04. They also allow just 2.7 hits per road game, good for tops in the AL. They also have some of the most overpowering arms in baseball with an AL-high 10.2 strikeouts per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – CLE, O/U – Under
Notes
While the Indians have never recorded more than a single error in a game this season, the Twins just recorded their third instance of two or more errors following their latest outing.
The Minnesota batters brought in a solid 14 hits last game. Cleveland has a record of 0-2 when their opponents get that many hits or more.
Neither the Twins (2-0) nor the Indians (3-0) have lost a game when they outhit opponents.
Tied at 24th for total runs, Minnesota and Cleveland have each notched 27 runs this season.
Minnesota and Cleveland both rank near the bottom of the league in walks. Minnesota sits at 25th with 19 this season and Cleveland ranks 24th with 22.
When the Twins hit at least one home run, they are 3-1. When the Indians hit at least one homer, they have a 2-0 record.
