MLB Game Preview - Cleveland at Minnesota

Fri Aug 9, 2019 8:10 PM EDT

All-Star Game MVP Shane Bieber takes the mound Friday night against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis with a chance to pitch the Cleveland Indians (-1.5) into a share of first place.

The Indians, who trailed Minnesota by 11 1/2 games on June 3, closed to within one game of the Twins when they held on to win the opener of their four-game series, 7-5, on Thursday night at Target Field.

Brad Hand needed 31 pitches to record his 29th save in 31 chances, getting Eddie Rosario on a soft fly to left field with the bases loaded to end the contest.

"For sure it felt like a playoff game," Hand told Cleveland.com after the game. "Everybody knows this is a big series. All four of these games are going to be important. It's going to be a fun series for sure."

Fun, that is, unless you're Cleveland manager Terry Francona.

"I'm trying to figure out right now whether I had fun or not, because I couldn't even breathe, but I wouldn't trade it for the world," Francona said after the white-knuckle finish. "I was almost nauseous."

The three-time defending American League Central Division champions improved to 40-16 in their last 56 games with the victory. Mike Clevinger (7-2) picked up the win by limiting Minnesota's high-powered offense to just three hits and two runs over seven innings while striking out nine.

But the Twins, who have lost three in a row, made things interesting at the end against an Indians' bullpen that had pitched 13 innings in a doubleheader sweep of Texas on Wednesday.

Clevinger threw a season-high 117 pitches, including 70 for strikes, and retired the last 10 batters he faced.

The right-handed Bieber (11-4, 3.31 ERA) has thrown complete games in two of his last three starts and is 2-0 with a 4.09 ERA in six career appearances and five starts against Minnesota. He is 1-0 with a 3.52 ERA in three games (two starts) against the Twins this season, including a 5-2 victory one June 4 in Cleveland when he held Minnesota to five hits and two runs over seven innings while striking out seven.

Left-hander Devin Smeltzer (1-1, 2.28) will make his fourth career start Friday night for the Twins. He was on the losing end of that June 4 game, allowing all five runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings. He gave up four home runs in that contest, including a pair to Francisco Lindor.

Smeltzer garnered his first major league win on Sunday against Kansas City, holding the Royals to two hits over six shutout innings in a 3-0 victory.

Minnesota will likely be without designated hitter Nelson Cruz for the contest.

Cruz, who missed 19 games in May and early June with a sore left wrist, left Thursday's game grimacing in pain in the fourth inning with a left wrist injury after swinging and missing at a Clevinger fastball. He ranks second in the American League with 32 home runs, including 16 since the All-Star break.

"I don't know yet," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters when asked to gauge his level of concern over Cruz's injury. "It's something I can't really comment on. We'll definitely have a lot more info tomorrow, especially after talking to him and getting it looked at."

--Field Level Media