MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: Have gone 2-3 through five games on their current six-game roadtrip, going 1-2 at Chicago-AL, followed by a split of the first two games in Cleveland Friday and Saturday… today, Minnesota will complete the trip with the three-game series finale at Progressive Field against the Guardians…after today’s game, the Twins will travel to Minneapolis to enjoy an Off-day tomorrow, then begin a six-game Interleague homestand with three against the San Diego Padres (May 9-11) and three against the Chicago Cubs (May 12-14)…the Twins have gone 10-6 at Target Field and 9-9 on the road.
A victory today would secure the sixth series win of the season for the Twins…the Twins have gone 5-4-1 through their first 10 series this season (series results lower right).
GUARDS GET TO GRAY: The Twins lost to the Guardians last night at Progressive Field by a score of 4-3, evening the series at 1-1…Sonny Gray was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing three runs on four hits in 5.0 innings pitched, with three walks and six strikeouts…the offense recorded eight hits, including two from Jose Miranda…Max Kepler and Carlos Correa each hit their fifth home runs of the season, as Kepler drove in two of the club’s three runs on the night…Minnesota also went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
TWINS-GUARDS: The Twins are playing the Guardians for the third of 13 times in 2023…since the start of 2022, 16 of the 21 games have been decided by three runs-or-less and 10 by one run. AThe next meeting between these two will come at Target Field for four games from June 1-4…
the next time the Twins will visit Cleveland will come in three games from September 4-6.
A win today would give the Twins their first series victory vs. the Guardians since taking two of three games from May 13-15, 2022 at Target Field…Twins have gone 0-4-0 in head-to-head series play against them since…their last series win at Progressive Field came September 6-9, 2021, taking three of four.
The Twins have hit 35 home runs at Cleveland since the start of 2021, their most outside of Target Field in that span.
Since 2019, Carlos Correa is hitting .322 (38-for-118) with four doubles, nine home runs, 17 RBI, 21 runs scored, 14 walks, a .398 on-base percentage and a .983 OPS in 31 games vs. Cleveland.
DANKE SCHOEN, CLEVELAND!: For his career, Max Kepler has 45 hits, 16 home runs, 32 runs scored and 36 RBI at Progressive Field (49 games), all his most in any opposing ballpark… below are Progressive Field’s all-time home run leaders for opponents (left) and Kepler’s top home run totals by opposing ballpark (right):
LAND OF 10,000 RAKES: The Twins have homered in a franchise record 18-straight games, since April 18…since that date, they have hit 29 home runs, the third most in baseball in that span, trailing Atlanta (33) and Tampa Bay (32)…the current streak is the second longest of 2023, trailing the Rays’ stretch of 22 straight to begin the season (March 30-April 23). APrior to the streak, the Twins ranked tied for 21st in baseball in home runs (16) on the morning of April 18…today they rank tied for sixth.
Twins have scored 49.3% of their runs via home run, the highest percentage in the AL.
Twins have hit 24 solo home runs this season, 12 two-run homers and nine three-run jimmy jacks — second most in baseball, trailing Texas (10).
SHINING STARTS: Twins starters have combined to go 14-8, 3.19 ERA (191.2 IP, 68 ER) with 48 walks, 216 strikeouts and a .220 opponent batting average…below are Twins starting pitching ranks in all of baseball:
INNINGS ERA BAA BB FIP WHIP K’s OPS
MIN – 191.2 TB – 2.94 TB – .215 SF – 36 TB – 3.16 MIN – 1.07 MIN – 216 TB – .611
TOR – 190.0 MIN – 3.19 MIN – .220 SEA – 46 MIN – 3.30 TB – 1.11 CWS – 201 MIN – .629
SD – 185.2 CHC – 3.25 NYY – .231 CLE – 46 SEA – 3.58 SEA – 1.15 TOR – 193 SEA – .651
PIT – 183.2 SF – 3.32 CHC – .232 MIN – 48 ATL – 3.60 CHC – 1.16 ATL – 188 CHC – .653
CWS – 183.1 HOU – 3.35 MIL – .235 TEX – 49 HOU – 3.70 TEX – 1.17 NYY – 186 ATL – .683
CENTRAL OF ATTENTION: The Twins are playing a series against an AL Central opponent for the fifth time this season, going 10-5 against their division in 2023…in their previous four AL Central series, they swept the Royals in three games (March 30-April 2), took two of three from Chicago (April 10-12), took three of four from KC (April 27-30), then went 1-2 vs. Chi- cago (May 2-4)…after today’s game, they will not play another team within the division until hosting the Guardians for four games from June 1-4…below are the Twins pitching numbers compared to other AL divisions/National League
W-L ERA BAA K/BB K/9.0 WHIP OPS
CENTRAL 10-5 2.55 .189 2.63 9.3 1.07 .576
EAST 5-5 4.41 .250 3.84 9.9 1.27 .708
WEST 2-1 3.54 .221 6.67 12.9 1.04 .619
NATIONAL 2-4 3.63 .240 4.75 9.9 1.12 .654
STARTING PITCHER –
2023: 5-0, 2.37 ERA CAREER: 20-9, 3.40 ERA
Making his seventh start and appearance of 2023 and his fifth road start of the year…also his 39th career start and appearance.
Has won a career-best eight consecutive decisions, since September 13, 2022; is 8-0, 1.87 ERA (62.2 IP, 13 ER) with 14 walks, 70 strikeouts and a .160 opponent batting average in that 10-start span.
Facing Cleveland for the first time this year and the sixth time in his career…is 3-0, 1.42 ERA (31.2 IP, 5 ER) with four walks and 26 strikeouts in five previous starts vs. the Guardians.
LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor into the decision in the Twins 3-2 defeat in 10 innings at the Chicago White Sox on May 2, opposite right-hander Michael Kopech…pitched 6.0 scoreless innings, allowed just one hit, issued two walks and struck out seven…his only hit allowed was a second-inning single to Gavin Sheets…Sheets reached second on a wild pitch and was the only runner to reach scoring position against Ryan…retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced, inducing an inning-ending double play from outfielder Andrew Benintendi in the bottom of the sixth inning to complete his outing… left with Minnesota leading 1-0, but the Twins bullpen allowed three runs (2 earned) in 3.2 innings
to drop the series opener.
Marked his fourth career start allowing one-or-fewer hits, also doing so on September 13, 2022 vs. Kansas City (7.0 IP, 0 H), April 27, 2022 vs. Detroit (7.0 IP, 1 H) and September 8, 2021 at Cleveland (7.0 IP, 1 H).
TWO STARTS AGO: Won his fifth-straight start of the 2023 season and his eighth-consecutive decision in the Twins 6-2 victory vs. the New York Yankees at Target Field on April 25…went 7.0 innings for the second time this year, allowing a season-high seven hits but only two runs (1 earned) with no walks and seven strikeouts…opposed left-hander Nestor Cortes, who took his first loss of the season…Ryan yielded a RBI single to infielder DJ LeMahieu in the top of the first inning, his first run allowed in the first inning in 2023 and marking the first time he pitched with the Twins trailing this year…allowed an unearned run in the fifth inning when first baseman Donovan Solano committed an error on a potential inning-ending double play…recorded seven strikeouts without issuing a walk in a start of at least 7.0 innings for the second time in his career…received six runs of support and led baseball with 38 runs of support through his first five starts…became the first five-game winner in baseball this year.
WIN STREAK BY THE NUMBERS: In his last ten starts dating back to September 13, 2022, Ryan is 8-0, 1.87 ERA (62.2 IP, 13 ER) with 14 walks and 70 strikeouts…opponents are slashing .160/.217/.237 (35-for-219) against Ryan during the win streak, and his .454 opponent OPS is the second lowest in baseball in that stretch among pitchers with at least 50.0 innings pitched (Shohei Ohtani – .453)…the span marks the longest win streak of Ryan’s career and is the longest win streak by a Twins starter since Michael Pineda went 8-0 in a 16-start stretch from July 21, 2019-April 15, 2021.
ROCKIN’ IN CLEVELAND: Today is Ryan’s sixth career start vs. Cleveland and third at Progressive Field…he is 3-0, 1.42 ERA (31.2 IP, 5 ER) with four walks and 26 strikeouts in five previous starts vs. the Guardians…earned the win in both of his previous starts at Cleveland, combining to pitch 14.2 scoreless innings with four hits allowed, two walks and nine strikeouts…last faced the Guardians in Cleveland on September 18, 2022, earning the win in the Twins 3-0 victory…pitched 7.2 shutout innings, allowing three hits and issuing two walks while striking out five batters.
Ryan’s other outing in Cleveland came on September 8, 2021, his second career start and a 3-0 Twins win…yielded one hit over 7.0 shutout innings, with four strikeouts…retired the first 19 batters he faced, becoming the first Twins pitcher to retire 19 in a row to start a game Since Francisco Liriano on June 12, 2011 (Elias)…also became the first pitcher in American League history to toss 7.0-plus shutout innings while allowing no more than one baserunner in either his first or second career start (STATS LLC).
ROLLING ON THE ROAD: This season, Ryan is 3-0 away from Target Field with a 1.80 ERA (25.0 IP, 5 ER), five walks, 26 strikeouts and a .151 (13-for-86) opponent batting average…his .207 opponent on-base percentage in road starts ranks third best in baseball among qualifiers (Anthony DeSclafani – .164, Tyler Wells – .206)…in 18 career road starts, Ryan is 11-4 with a 3.30 ERA (101.0 IP, 37 ER), 24 walks and 102 strikeouts…has similar numbers in 20 home starts, going 9-5, 3.50 ERA (110.2 IP, 43 ER) with 34 walks and 122 strikeouts.
Since his debut in 2021, Ryan has held opposing batters to a .208 (77-for-371) batting average in road starts, the seventh-lowest opponent batting average on the road in the American League during that span (min. 75.0 IP).
LEFT (AND RIGHT) OUT IN THE COLD: Left-handed hitters are batting only .156 (10-for-64) with a .487 OPS against Ryan this year…right-handed hitters are hitting .181 (13-for-72) with 29 strikeouts…all seven of his strikeouts in his last start on May 2 at Chicago-AL were against right-handed hitters…his .169 opponent batting average ranks fourth among all qualified pitchers this season, trailing LAA’s Shohei Ohtani (.125), ATL’s Spencer Strider (.162) and LAD’s Dustin May (.164)…over his career, Ryan has slightly better splits against left-handed hitters than righties, with lefties batting just .188 with a .607 OPS since his debut in 2021…right-handed hitters are hitting .208 with a .635 OPS off Ryan.
THE ARSENAL: Ryan has utilized a four-pitch mix in his first six starts of the 2023 season…has leaned on his four-seam fastball and split finger, combining to throw the two pitches 85.3 percent of the time… opponents are batting just .165 (20-for-121) with 38 strikeouts against Ryan’s four-seamer and split finger…here’s a look at Ryan’s repertoire, per Baseball Savant:
PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (# OF PITCHES, VS. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (92.7)………….57.8% (307 pitches, 165/142)… .192 (15-for-78), 3 2B, 3 HR, 28 K
Split Finger (83.4)…………………..27.5% (146 pitches, 54/92)…………………….. .116 (5-for-43), 10 K
Sweeper (79.2)………………………….9.2% (49 pitches, 45/4)…………………………… .167 (1-for-6), 1 K
Slider (82.9)…………………………….5.5 % (29 pitches, 23/6) …………………. .250 (2-for-8), 1 HR, 3 K
Ryan’s four-seam fastball has accumulated a run value of -6, which ranks tied for third in baseball (min. 50 PA) with Seattle’s George Kirby, behind New York-AL’s Gerrit Cole (-11) and Chicago-NL’s Justin Steele (-7).
BACK IN THE DAY: After four-straight night starts, Ryan is making his first daytime start since April 8 vs. Houston at Target Field…has gone 2-0 in two daytime starts this season with a 3.75 ERA (12.0 IP, 5 ER), three walks and 16 strikeouts…in his career, Ryan is 8-3, 2.71 ERA (76.1 IP, 23 ER) with 23 walks, 72 strikeouts and a .178 (48-for-270) opponent batting average in 14 daytime starts…his .178 opponent batting average in day starts ranks fourth in baseball since the start of 2021 among pitchers with at least 75.0 inning pitched during the day…in 24 career nighttime starts, he is 12-6, 3.79 ERA (135.1 IP, 57 ER) with 35 walks and 152 strikeouts.
CENTRAL DOMINANCE: Ryan remains unbeaten is 17 career starts vs. the American League Central division…in those 17 starts, he is 12-0, 1.71 ERA (100.0 IP, 19 ER) with 106 strikeouts and a .168 opponent batting average, all of which are his best numbers against any division in his career… among active pitchers who have thrown at least 100.0 innings vs. the AL Central, Ryan’s 1.71 ERA and .168 opponent batting average are tops.
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
SOLO SHOT PUSHES GUARDS PAST TWINS
The Clevelanders edged Minnesota by a 4-3 margin on Saturday night at Progressive Field to stop a 3-game skid and even this weekend series at one game apiece…Cleveland has dropped 2 of 3 in five consecutive series, as club enters today’s finale seeking first series victory overall since April 14-16 at Washington.
STEVEN KWAN (1) delivered the game-winning tally with a two-out solo homer off Jorge Alcala in the bottom of the 7th to break a 3-3 tie…the contest remained scoreless until the Guardians staged a 3-run rally against Sonny Gray (5.0IP, 4H, 3R-ER, 3BB, 6SO, 90 pitches) in the bottom of the 4th…AMED ROSARIO (lead-off walk) and JOSÉ RAMÍREZ (single) both reached to start the inning, setting the table for RBI-singles by JOSH NAYLOR and JOSH BELL ahead of MYLES STRAW’s bases-loaded walk…making the third start of his young MLB career, LOGAN ALLEN fell one out shy of a quality start (5.2IP, 7H, 2R-ER, 2BB, 3SO, HR, 92 pitches)… the southpaw allowed both of his runs on Max Kepler’s (5) second homer in as many nights, a one-out, 2-run shot in the 6th…Carlos Correa (5) tied the game with a solo homer off TREVOR STEPHAN in the 7th.
The Guardians are 1-1 to begin this 9-game, 10-day homestand vs. Minnesota (1-1, one-to-play), Detroit (3 games) & Los Angeles AL (3 games)…Cleveland is just 5-9 at Progressive Field, while the club has dropped 12 of last 18 overall following a 9-6 start… Guardians (15-18) hold sole possession of 3rd place in AL Central, 3.5 games behind 1st-place Minnesota (19-15) and one half-game behind 2nd-place Detroit (15-17)…last season, club went 9-12 in April and 12-12 in May.
MINNESOTA MELEE
Cleveland looks to break a 5-game series losing streak today, the longest in the TERRY FRANCONA Era…their last 6-game series losing streak occurred from August 13-September 2, 2012, a 19- game span where the club went 3-16…the club’s last series loss to Minnesota was May 13-15, 2022 when the Twins took 2 of 3 games in Minneapolis…since then, the Guards have won four straight series…the last time Cleveland won five straight series against the Twins spanned from August 7, 2001-April 11, 2002, going 13-3 in that stretch…the Twins last won a series at Progressive Field from September 6-9, 2021, taking 3 of 4 games.
STARTING STRONG
Since April 30, the Cleveland starting rotation ranks among the top of all MLB pitching staffs in several categories…Guardians starting pitchers rank 1st in MLB with a .197 average against, .230 on-base percentage, .206 BABIP, 0.89 WHIP, and 1.41 walks-per9-innings…they also rank in the top 5 of MLB starting rotations with 4.83 strikeouts-per-walk (2nd in MLB/1st in the AL), 38.1 innings pitched (T2nd in MLB/2nd in the AL), 6.57 hits-per-9-innings (3rd in MLB/AL), and 14.8 pitches-per-inning (4th in MLB/2nd in the AL)… the rotation’s 2.82 ERA is 3rd in the AL (7th in MLB), while it’s .352 slugging pct. is 4th in the AL over that span (7th in MLB).
MLB TEAM SP LEADERS IN AVG SINCE APRIL 30
TEAM AVG OBP WHIP BABIP
CLE .197 .230 0.89 .206
HOU .198 .294 1.08 .258
MIN .200 .257 1.01 .273
TB .208 .280 1.08 .260
CWS .218 .291 1.21 .271
ALL YOU NEED IS 4
After last night’s 4-3 victory, the Guardians are now 11-2 when scoring 4-or-more runs in 2023…the Guardians were 87-13 (.857) when scoring 4+ runs in 2022, the 4th-best win percentage in MLB last season behind Houston (80-10, .889), Los Angeles-NL (97-12, .890) and New York-NL (87-8, .916).
Cleveland is 698-182 (.793) when scoring 4+ during the TERRY FRANCONA era (since 2013), the 2nd-best win percentage in MLB behind Los Angeles-NL, and 1st in the AL…conversely, Cleveland holds a .242 (162-507) win percentage when scoring 3-or-fewer runs since 2013, the 6th-highest percentage in MLB during that span.
WIN % WHEN SCORING 4+ RUNS, SINCE 2013
TEAM WIN% RECORD
Los Angeles-NL .831 756-154
Cleveland .793 698-182
New York-AL .783 722-200
St. Louis .780 694-196
Houston .776 690-199
A MASTER-CLASE IN THE NINTH
With another save in last night’s 4-3 victory, EMMANUEL CLASE now has 11 saves rank T1st in MLB with San Diego’s Josh Hader…since 2021, he ranks 1st among MLB relievers with a 1.41 ERA (25ER/159.2IP), ahead of Brock Burke (1.94 ERA), while his 77 saves rank 3rd.
Clase boasts a 2.08 ERA (4ER/17.1IP) with 11 saves, 14 hits allowed, 10 strikeouts and 4 walks…for comparison, through May 6th of last season he owned a 3.86 ERA (4ER/9.1IP) with 5 saves, 8 hits allowed, 10 strikeouts and 2 walks.
KWAN-TIFY THIS
Since debuting last year, STEVEN KWAN has ranked highly in numerous categories…he ranks top-15 among all MLB hitters with 159 singles (2nd), 8 triples (T3rd), 30 infield hits (5th), 18 3+ hit games (T6th), 291 times on base (11th), a .293 batting average (15th), and 203 hits (15th)…in his approach at the plate, he ranks top-5 with 49.4% of swings in play (1st), 9.4% swing-and-miss rate (2nd) and 10.39 plate appearances-per-strikeout (2nd).
With a 7th-inning home run to break the tie in last night’s game, Kwan hit his first home run of the 2023 season and 7th of his MLB career, traveling a career-long 402 feet…Kwan snapped a five-game homerless streak for the Guards, tallying his 8th career go-ahead RBI and 5th career game-winning RBI.
THE ONE-RUN WONDERS
Cleveland leads MLB with 17 games decided by one run, going 8-9 in those contests…the 8 one-run victories are T2nd in MLB with Detroit (8-4), trailing Miami (10-0)…the 17 one-run contests are Cleveland’s most through 33 games since 1967 (7-10 record)…the last MLB team to play in 17 one-run contests through the first 33 games of a season was the 2018 Tampa Bay Rays (5-12 record)… since TERRY FRANCONA became manager in 2013, Cleveland holds MLB’s 5th-best win percentage (2nd-best in AL) in one-run games and MLB’s 3rd-best win percentage (2nd-best in AL) in two-run games.
TODAY’S STARTER – 47 CAL QUANTRILL LHP
QUANTRILL AT HOME
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 0-2 8.64 2 2 8.1 15 8 8 3 5
Career 20-5 3.39 64 48 284.1 259 113 107 72 215
QUANTRILL’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-2 4.73 6 6 32.1 39 18 17 9 17
Career 32-18 3.61 119 81 503.1 483 224 202 139 386
TODAY’S START
The 28-year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his seventh start, third at home, this afternoon in today’s rubber match with the Minnesota Twins…is looking to get his first home win of the season after dropping two straight home starts in a row for the second time in his career…is starting on extended 5 days rest; is 14-10 with a 4.19 ERA (85ER/182.2IP) in 33 career starts on 5 days rest…the Guardians are 4-2 in Quantrill starts this season.
LAST TIME OUT
His last start came on May 1 at New York-AL in a 3-2 Guards win…Quantrill did not factor in the decision despite allowing 2R/ ER on 6 hits with 2 strikeouts and one walk in 7.1 innings – his longest start of the season…he got through the first 2 innings without giving up a run before New York-AL plated 2 runs in the 3rd frame, highlighted by solo shot from Jose Trevino…he went on to retire the next 13 batters before being pulled with 1 out in the 8th inning after giving up a single to Anthony Volpe…the Guards won the game after scoring three runs in the 9th inning…he became the first Cleveland pitcher to throw 7.0-or-more innings and 2-or-fewer earned runs with 2-or-fewer strikeouts since ZACH PLESAC (8.0IP, 2R/ER, 2 SO) in a 4-2 win at Seattle on May, 13 2021…he has a 3.38 ERA (9ER/24.0IP) through his first 4 road starts.
TAKING ON THE TWINS
This will be his 8th career start against Minnesota, his most against any opponent…owns a 4-0 record with a 3.72 ERA (19ER/46.0IP) across 10 career appearances (7 starts) against the Twins…Quantrill earned the win in his last start against Minnesota in an 11-4 victory on September 19, 2022 (W, 5.1IP, 9H, 3R/ER, 1BB, 2SO)…he has held the Twins to 3-or-fewer earned runs in all but one of his 7 starts against Minnesota.
Boasts a 15-3 record with a 3.11 ERA (56ER/162.0IP) in 38 career games/25 starts against the AL Central…owns a 7-game win streak against divisional foes and the Guards are 15-2 in his last 17 starts versus the AL Central dating back to September 9, 2021.
HOME COOKIN’
Quantrill has lost his last two starts at home, marking his first ever home losing streak while with Cleveland and the second such streak of his career…he last lost two straight home starts from August 27-September 9, 2019 while he was with San Diego…his 14-game home win streak was snapped after suffering the loss to Seattle on April 8, 2023, marking the longest home win streak in Progressive Field history…he had not lost a start at home since September 9, 2019 when he was with San Diego, a span of 36 starts, and has never lost three straight home starts…overall, he boasts a 20-5 record with a 3.39 ERA (107ER/284.1IP) across 64G/48GS at home during his career.
His last start at Progressive Field came on April 24 in a 6-0 defeat to Colorado…he lasted 3.1 innings, his shortest start since June 30, 2021 vs. Detroit (3.1IP), surrendering 5R/ER on 8 hits with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks…it was his first home start allowing 5+ runs since September 9, 2019 (4.1IP, 10H, 8R/ER, 2BB, 5SO) while with San Diego.
CRAFTY CAL
Quantrill relies primarily on his sinker and cutter, accounting for 80.2% of his pitches this season…opposing hitters are hitting .333 (15-for-45) in at-bats ending with the cutter this season, compared to a .236 (55-for-253) mark in 2022…8 of his 17 strikeouts on the season have come by way of the sinker.
QUANTRILL’S PITCH ARSENAL, 2023
Pitch Type % MPH Opp BA
Sinker 52.2 93.3 .292
Cutter 28.0 88.2 .333
Changeup 9.3 86.2 .250
Curveball 7.7 83.3 .250
