The AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins (10-4, 5-2 home) host the Cleveland Indians Wednesday night at 8:10 PM ET. Cleveland (6-7, 2-5 away) is in third place in the division and sits 3.5 games behind the Minnesota. It is the second game of a three-game series between the division rivals.
The MLB lines list the Twins at -180 and the Indians at +160 with an over/under of 8.5.
After beating Cleveland Tuesday night, the Minnesota Twins can clinch the series with a win. They have yet to lose a series this season and this would be their fifth straight.
The Twins will start left-handed Francisco Liriano. After a rough 2009, he is off to a good start this season. He is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA and has pitched in at least six innings in both of his starts. In his most recent effort, he struck out eight batters in seven innings in an 8-0 win over the Boston Red Sox. He is 2-3 with a 5.02 ERA in six career starts against Cleveland.
David Huff (1-1, 1.80 ERA) will take the mound for the Cleveland Indians. The left hander was outstanding in his last start. The 25-year-old threw his first career complete game and allowed just four hits. He has won his last two consecutive starts against Minnesota, and owns a career 2-2 record against them with a 5.82 ERA.
Huff will hope for an improved effort from the Indian’s offense. Cleveland sits near the bottom of the league in team batting average (.214) and runs per game (3.5). They are even more inept on the road (.198 batting average) where they have lost four straight.
Twins catcher Joe Mauer, the 2009 AL MVP, has been successful against Huff. He is 6-12 with a double and a home run off of him. He has played very well this season, batting .347 with a .951 OPS.
