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Here we go - the last series of the season against the Twins and it should have playoff intensity. The Guardians are five games back with 25 to play so winning the series is the minimum requirement and a sweep may be necessary to make the playoffs given how easy the Twins’ remaining schedule is. Fortunately the Guardians are rising to the occasion with five wins in their last seven games and three straight series wins over Toronto, Minnesota, and Tampa.
The Guardians lead the season series 6-4, outscoring the Twins 33-30. Obviously the pitching has dominated on both sides. The Guardians are hitting .219/.591 while the Twins are hitting .201/.638. Both teams have their best starters going this series. However, Bailey Ober (6-6), who has pitched 13 scoreless innings against the Guardians in two starts, is not scheduled to pitch.
The Twins are 11 games over .500 at home and six games under on the road - advantage Guardians. The Guardians are also six games under on the road but are only one game over at home, so that is the difference between these teams - their ability to win at home.
The Twins hit much better at home (.251/.780) versus on the road (.229/.701). Michael Taylor Jr. is hitting .364/1.073 against the Guardians. Donovan Solano and Christian Vasquez have OPS’s of .878 and .840. It’s not the big names that are having the most success against the Guardians this year - it's been the bottom third of the order.
The pitching matchups are really intriguing. It will be Giolito, Bibee, and Williams against Pablo Lopez, Sonny Gray, and Joe Ryan. Runs will probably be hard to come by as they have been the entire series.
Lucas Giolito starts for the Guardians Monday against Pablo Lopez. Giolito (7-11, 4.45 ERA) will be making his first start in a Guardian uniform. Giolito has owned the Twins this year. In three starts he has pitched 18 innings allowing only two runs for a 1.00 ERA. Hopefully he'll pitch just as well against them as he did with the White Sox.
Pablo Lopez is the opposite of Giolito; he has an impressive overall record (9-7, 3.72) but has struggled against the Guardians (6.94 ERA, .314 BAA in two starts and 11.2 innings). Lefties are hitting .272/.752 off him, but he has been solid recently with a 2.25 ERA in August. Current Guardians are hitting .378/.973 against Lopez. On Aug. 29 he went six innings against Cleveland, allowing eight hits and three runs. He’s a good pitcher but for some reason the Guardians have hit him pretty well.
The Guardians are starting to hit better, scoring 35 runs in their last six games. Gabriel Arias is hitting .421 and Bo Naylor .353 in the last seven days. Josh Naylor is back so that is a big addition.
Against the Twins this year Arias is hitting .357, Brennan .346, and Kwan .302. I'm concerned about Jose Ramirez who has one hit in his last 16 AB's and is hitting .190 since Aug. 1. He had a couple of horrible at-bats Sunday. I think he struck out two or three times chasing pitches out of the zone.
The Guardians are at home and have momentum, but the Twins just took two of three from the fading Texans, who have lost 12 of 16. The Twins caught them at the right time. Giolito has dominated the Twins this year while the Guardians have hit Lopez very well, so let’s hope the trends hold Monday night.
The Guardians lead the season series 6-4, outscoring the Twins 33-30. Obviously the pitching has dominated on both sides. The Guardians are hitting .219/.591 while the Twins are hitting .201/.638. Both teams have their best starters going this series. However, Bailey Ober (6-6), who has pitched 13 scoreless innings against the Guardians in two starts, is not scheduled to pitch.
The Twins are 11 games over .500 at home and six games under on the road - advantage Guardians. The Guardians are also six games under on the road but are only one game over at home, so that is the difference between these teams - their ability to win at home.
The Twins hit much better at home (.251/.780) versus on the road (.229/.701). Michael Taylor Jr. is hitting .364/1.073 against the Guardians. Donovan Solano and Christian Vasquez have OPS’s of .878 and .840. It’s not the big names that are having the most success against the Guardians this year - it's been the bottom third of the order.
The pitching matchups are really intriguing. It will be Giolito, Bibee, and Williams against Pablo Lopez, Sonny Gray, and Joe Ryan. Runs will probably be hard to come by as they have been the entire series.
Lucas Giolito starts for the Guardians Monday against Pablo Lopez. Giolito (7-11, 4.45 ERA) will be making his first start in a Guardian uniform. Giolito has owned the Twins this year. In three starts he has pitched 18 innings allowing only two runs for a 1.00 ERA. Hopefully he'll pitch just as well against them as he did with the White Sox.
Pablo Lopez is the opposite of Giolito; he has an impressive overall record (9-7, 3.72) but has struggled against the Guardians (6.94 ERA, .314 BAA in two starts and 11.2 innings). Lefties are hitting .272/.752 off him, but he has been solid recently with a 2.25 ERA in August. Current Guardians are hitting .378/.973 against Lopez. On Aug. 29 he went six innings against Cleveland, allowing eight hits and three runs. He’s a good pitcher but for some reason the Guardians have hit him pretty well.
The Guardians are starting to hit better, scoring 35 runs in their last six games. Gabriel Arias is hitting .421 and Bo Naylor .353 in the last seven days. Josh Naylor is back so that is a big addition.
Against the Twins this year Arias is hitting .357, Brennan .346, and Kwan .302. I'm concerned about Jose Ramirez who has one hit in his last 16 AB's and is hitting .190 since Aug. 1. He had a couple of horrible at-bats Sunday. I think he struck out two or three times chasing pitches out of the zone.
The Guardians are at home and have momentum, but the Twins just took two of three from the fading Texans, who have lost 12 of 16. The Twins caught them at the right time. Giolito has dominated the Twins this year while the Guardians have hit Lopez very well, so let’s hope the trends hold Monday night.
