MLB Series of the Week: Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins

In the first full week of August 2024, the two top teams in the AL Central will meet from Friday to Sunday at Target Field in Minneapolis with the division lead potentially on the line.

This series will be the third set of meetings between the Guardians and Twins in 2024, and Cleveland has won all five games between the two teams this season.

Cleveland Guardians (67-44, first in the AL Central)

Cleveland swept a two-game set against the Tigers in Detroit, split a four-game home series against the Baltimore Orioles this past week, and now has the best record in baseball.

The offense’s headliner, six-time All-Star third baseman José Ramírez, was arguably the best hitter in baseball last week, hitting. 391 with five home runs and 11 RBIs in 23 at-bats in his last five games.

Ramírez leads all MLB third basemen with 29 home runs and is second with a .870 OPS.

Elsewhere offensively, left fielder Steven Kwan ranks second in baseball with a .333 average, and first baseman Josh Naylor is second among all first basemen with 24 homers.

The starting rotation was a big point of emphasis for the Guardians at the trade deadline and it’ll be scrutinized more in the final two months of the regular season.

Tanner Bibee, who leads Cleveland in innings pitched and strikeouts is day-to-day with a sore right shoulder.

In his place, rookie Joey Cantillo struggled in his first two major league outings, giving up six earned runs in 7 ⅓ total innings.

Gavin Williams, once the No. 16 overall prospect in baseball in 2023, has struggled, reaching six innings pitched in only one of his seven starts this season.

Logan Allen was called up after about a month in Triple-A, but he has been beaten to a 5.67 ERA this season, though he pitched six scoreless innings against the Twins on May 18.

However, the Guardians will be getting reinforcements for their rotation in Alex Cobb, whom they traded for from the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, and Matthew Boyd, whom they signed to a contract on June 27.

Cobb and Boyd are nearing the end of their recoveries from hip surgery and Tommy John surgery, respectively, and could start in the series against the Twins.

The bullpen is still elite, as Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland’s closer who is second in all of baseball with 33 saves, have three of the five highest WARs among the Guardians’ staff.

The Guardians will host the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks for three games before heading to the Twin Cities.

Minnesota Twins (62-48, second in the AL Central)

Last week, Minnesota lost two of three in Queens against the New York Mets then swept a three-game home set against the lowly Chicago White Sox.

In the middle of the American League wild-card race, the Twins did next to nothing at the trade deadline, but they have a solid core of players.

The Twins have a great offense, as they are tied for fifth in baseball in runs scored but they have seen their best offensive players plagued with injury issues all season.

Amid his best season since 2019 with a .308 average and a .896 OPS in 2024, three-time All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa has not played since July 12 due to a heel injury.

Third baseman Royce Lewis has 13 home runs and a 1.057 OPS this season but has only played in 33 games due to quad and groin injuries.

Center fielder Byron Buxton, another dynamic player when healthy, has had a couple of scares this season but has not missed extended time.

The pitching staff is also dealing with injuries, as starter Chris Paddack has not pitched since July 14 due to a right forearm strain.

Bailey Ober is having a solid season with a 3.69 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP, but he allowed five earned runs in four innings against the Guardians on May 18.

Rookie Simeon Woods Richardson allowed one earned run in 5 ⅓ innings against Cleveland on May 17 as part of a promising start to his major league career.

David Festa, another rookie, has given up five earned runs or more in two of his four career games, and two runs or less in the other two.

The one area that Minnesota added to at the deadline is the bullpen, as they acquired Trevor Richards from the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Richards joins a bullpen with solid back-end pieces in Griffin Jax and Jorge Alcalá and the electric Jhoan Durán as the closer.

The Twins will play a three-game set against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field before returning home.

The only other time the Guardians and Twins will meet this season will be from September 16 to 19.

Projected Starters (per ESPN)

Game 1 (August 9, 2:10 p.m. EST): LHP Joey Cantillo (0-1, 7.36 ERA) vs. RHP Bailey Ober (11-5, 3.69 ERA).

Game 2 (August 9, 8:10 p.m., Apple TV+): TBD vs. TBD.

Game 3 (August 10, 7:10 p.m.): RHP Gavin Williams (1-4, 4.91) vs. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (3-2, 3.87).

Game 4 (August 11, 2:10 p.m.): TBD vs. RHP David Festa (1-2, 6.98).

All stats and records are as of before the games on August 5, 2024.

Owen Klein is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ojk5092@psu.edu.