CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
LATE GAME HEROICS FROM VETS LEAD TO WIN
After splitting the first 2 games of the series with Toronto, the Cleveland Guardians staged a late 2-out rally to defeat the Blue Jays by a 10-7 final across 11 innings on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre…marked the club’s first series win since taking 2 of 3, July 24-26 vs. Kansas City to end an 8-series drought with either a split (3) or loss (5)…Cleveland is 2-1 midway through this 6-game road trip through Toronto (2-1) and Minnesota (3 games)…club has gone 12-10-4 over last 26 series (.500/41-41 record since May 26). » The pivotal sequence for Cleveland – also the fifth lead-change of the game – came against reliever Jay Jackson in a 4-run 11th inning when JOSÉ RAMÍREZ drew a one-out intentional walk and advanced on a wild pitch to put a pair of runners in scoring position ahead of KOLE CALHOUN’s 2-out, 2-run double and RAMÓN LAUREANO’s 2-run homer (8) to make it 10-6…Cleveland staged a trio of 3-run rallies in the 3rd, 4th and 8th innings…a 2-run shot (21) by Ramírez off Yusei Kikuchi (6.0IP, 6H, 4R-ER, 2BB, 8SO, HR, 96 pitches) in the 3rd erased a 2-0 deficit…TYLER FREEMAN and MYLES STRAW delivered RBI-singles in the 4th to build a 4-2 advantage…after Calhoun (walk) and Laureano (double) both reached to start the 8th, ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ came through with a 2-run double to give the Guardians a 6-5 lead…Toronto connected for a trio of home runs off NOAH SYNDERGAARD (6.0IP, 4H, 5R-ER, 3BB, 3SO, 3HR, 94 pitches), as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (20, 1st inn., 2-run), George Springer (17, 4th inn., solo) and Davis Schneider (5, 6th inn., 2-run) all left the yard…Schneider’s one-out
double in the 8th set up Daulton Varsho’s game-tying RBI-single.
Cleveland (62-69) sits in 2nd place in AL Central standings, 6.0 games behind 2nd-place Minnesota (68-63) & 2.5 games ahead of 3rd-place Detroit (-8.5G, 59-71)…Guardians have dropped 7 of 11, 18 of 28, 41 of 82 and 63 of last 116 overall since starting year 9-6.
A TRIP TO TARGET
The Cleveland Guardians travel to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Twins for a 3-game series at Target Field…the Guardians enter the set trailing the Twins by 6 games for the AL Central lead, with 6 games remaining between the clubs…Cleveland has won 4 of its 7 matchups against Minnesota this season…the two clubs most recently met for a 4-games series at Target Field from June 1-4…the Twins took the first two contests 7-6 and 1-0…Cleveland won the third game, 4-2, behind a solid outing from LOGAN ALLEN (6.0IP, 2R/ER, 7H, 2BB, 4SO)…TRISTON MCKENZIE made one of his two starts this season in game 4, throwing 5.0-shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and one hit, en route to a 2-1 victory.
During the Terry Francona era, Cleveland is 101-87 against the Twins and 49-44 at Target Field…since the start of 2022, the Guardians have won 9 of 13 matchups at Target Field…overall, Cleveland is 1,187-1,042 all-time against Minnesota. » In 74 career games at Target Field, JOSÉ RAMÍREZ is hitting .297 (87-for-293) with 24 doubles, 10 home runs, 36 RBI and an .838 OPS…RAMÓN LAUREANO owns a .326 average (14-for-43) with 4 doubles, 3 home runs and 5 RBI at Target FIeld…in 13 career games at the park, STEVEN KWAN is hitting .302 (16-for-53) with a double, a triple 2 home runs and 3 RBI…WILL BRENNAN went 6-for-13 (.462) with one home run and 4 RBI in the 4-game series at Target Field from June 1-4 earlier this season.
START ME UP! I’ll NEVER STOP.
Cleveland’s starting rotation currently possesses a 4.04 ERA (318ER/708.1IP) this season, ranking 6th in the AL/7th in MLB…the pitching staff’s 13 shutouts this season are 1st in the AL and 2nd in MLB, trailing Atlanta (15)…in the second half, the Guardians starting rotation has held opponents to 3-or-fewer earned runs in 33 of their 41 starts since July 14 and have lasted 5.0-or-more innings in 32 of their 41 starts since the All-Star break, with 4 of those 9 outings being XZAVION CURRY’s spot starts before cementing himself in the rotation…the 3.50 ERA from the rotation (85ER/218.2IP) in the second half is the 2nd-lowest in MLB, trailing Toronto (3.49).
TONIGHT’S STARTER – #44 XZAVION CURRY RHP
CURRY ON THE ROAD
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-1 4.11 15 3 35.0 36 17 16 9 22
Career 1-1 4.11 15 3 35.0 36 17 16 9 22
CURRY’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 3-2 3.51 32 7 77.0 73 32 30 21 53
Career 3-3 3.75 34 9 86.1 86 39 36 27 56
TONIGHT’S START
The 25-year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his eighth start of the season, tenth of his career, in the opener of this 3-game set with the Minnesota Twins…in 7 starts this year, he owns a 4.33 ERA (13ER/27.0IP)…his last relief appearance came on August 1 at Houston (1.0IP, 2H, 0R/ER, 3SO)…is pitching on 4 days’ rest;
has 3 career starts on 4 days’ rest with a 7.50 ERA (10ER/12.0IP).
Curry has served mainly as a reliever this season, owning a 3-0 record with a 3.06 ERA (17ER/50.0IP) in 25 relief appearances…16 of his relief appearances have been 1.1-or-more inning…was selected in the 7th round (220th) of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Georgia Tech.
LAST TIME OUT
Curry’s most recent start was August 23 in a 6-1 defeat vs. Los Angeles-NL…he suffered his second loss of the season after 2.0 innings of work where he allowed 5 hits and 3 runs (earned) with a strikeout…following leadoff singles from Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, Will Smith hit a sacrifice fly to put the Dodgers in front 1-0…following a Max Muncy double, Kiké Hernández hit a 2-RBI double to give Los Angeles-NL a 3-0 advantage…after retiring 3 of 4 in the 2nd, Curry’s outing came to an abrupt end following a rain delay that ultimately suspended the game until the next day.
Curry’s last full start came on August 18 in a 4-1 victory vs. Detroit in the second game of a doubleheader…he did not factor into the decision despite a career-high 6.0 innings of work where he allowed on one run (earned) on 5 hits with 2 walks and a career-high 6 strikeouts on a season-high 81 pitches, marking the fifth time that Curry lasted 5.0-or-more innings in an outing in his career.
THE X-FACTOR
Curry has faced the AL Central 10 times (3 starts) this season, owning an 0-1 record with a 2.59 ERA (7ER/24.1IP), 21 strikeouts and 7 walks…has appeared against the Twins once this season on May 5, throwing 1.0 inning of scoreless relief while allowing a hit and a walk…in each of his outings against the division this season, he has allowed 2-or-fewer earned runs and allowed 5-orfewer hits.
He has limited hitters to a .111 batting average, .158 OBP and .167 OPS in situations with RISP and 2 outs this season…he ranks among MLB pitchers in such situations this season (min. 35 BF) in OBP (.158, 1st), OPS (.325, 2nd), SLG (.167, T6th), batting average (.111, T8th) and BABIP (.138, 10th)…is also holding hitters to a .188 average (13-for-69) with RISP this season.
LIMITING LEFTIES
Over his last 13 outings since June 23, Curry has handcuffed left-handed hitters, holding them to just 11 hits in 61 at-bats (.180) and a .554 OPS…conversely, right-handed hitters own a .287 average (25-for-87) with a .891 OPS during that stretch…overall, lefties are hitting .220 (29-for-132) with a .575 OPS against Curry
this season while righties are batting .273 (44-for-161) with a .817 OPS, recording 7 of the 8 home runs he’s allowed.
MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: Completed their four-game series with Texas by going 3-1, winning on Thursday and Friday, losing on Saturday then winning the finale yesterday afternoon…tonight, Minnesota will continue the homestand with the first of three vs. Cleveland through Wednesday afternoon…the Twins have gone 39-27 at home and 29-36 on the road.
The Twins have gone 18-8 in their last 26 home games, dating back to June 21.
The Twins have gone 13-5 in 18 home games since the All-Star break for a .722 winning percentage, the third best in baseball, trailing Washington (.778 — 14-4) and Los Ange- les-NL (.737 — 14-5).
EXACTLY HOW YOU DRAW UP A WIN…NOTHING WEIRD ABOUT THAT GAME: The Twins beat the Rangers yesterday afternoon at Target Field by a score of 7-6 in 13 innings, improving to 11-6 in extras this season…Minnesota used six pitchers as the bullpen pitched 9.0 innings without allowing an earned run…Dallas Keuchel was the longman, pitching 5.0 shutout innings with five hits allowed, two walks and three strikeouts…Minnesota scored their first four runs on a sixth-inning grand slam from Royce Lewis (2nd of career)…Donovan Solano tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth…Michael A. Taylor walked in the winning run in the bottom of the 13th, marking the Twins 10th walk-off victory this season…13 innings and the 4:10 time of game both marked season-highs.
Royce’s slam was the second for a Twins rookie this season, joining Matt Wallner as the first Twins rookies with grand slams in one season since Byron Buxton and Max Kepler did it in 2016.
DIVISION SIGNS: The Twins have gone 23-19 against the AL Central this season, going 3-4 vs. the Guardians, 9-4 vs. the Royals, 6-3 vs. the White Sox and 5-8 vs. the Tigers…the Twins 6.0 game lead on the Guardians is the largest division lead among the AL divisions and third best in baseball (Atlanta – 12.5+ in NL East and Los Angeles-NL – 12.0+ in NL West)…below are the Twins pitching numbers compared to other AL divisions/NL:
ALSO: After this series, the Twins will have just seven more games against AL Central opponents…they will travel to Cleveland for three September 4-6 and four at Chicago September 14-17.
THE SHOW-RREA: Carlos Correa has reached base safely in a season high 18-straight games, since August 5…since that date, he is hitting .258 (16-for-62) with three doubles, four home runs, 12 RBI, 12 walks, a .382 on-base percentage, a .500 slugging percentage and an .882 OPS.
Correa’s 18-game on-base streak is tied for the third longest of his career…his career long is 27, done from June 10-July 15, 2017 with Houston.
The streak is the third-longest active streak in baseball, trailing Kerry Carpenter and Ozzie lbies, both with 23.
LAND OF 10,000 RAKES: The Twins have hit 67 home runs since the All-Star break, third most in baseball, trailing Atlanta (75) and Seattle (68)…on the season, they have homered 182 times, tied for third most in the AL and tied for fifth most in baseball…97 homers have been hit at home…Twins have 25 homers in their last 14 games overall.
RED HOT ROYCE: After starting the season hitting .182 (6-for-33) with a .576 OPS in his first eight games, Royce Lewis has hit .352 (37-for-105) with a .942 OPS in his last 29 games, including seven three-plus-hit games…among all MLB rookies with a minimum of 125 plate appearances, Lewis ranks first in batting average (.312), second in runs created-per-27 (7.35), fourth in OPS+ (135.0), fifth in wOBA (.372) and sixth in OPS (.858).
MAX EFFORT: In his last 35 games, since July 17, Max Kepler is hitting .325 (40-for-123) with 12 doubles, nine home runs, 20 RBI, 24 runs scored, 11 walks, a .382 on-base percentage, a .642 slugging percentage and a 1.025 OPS.
Kepler has an expected slugging percentage of .508 which leads the team and ranks 14th in the AL.
Kepler has hit .444 (16-for-36) off fastballs since August 5, the sixth-best average in baseball since that date.
TWINS ON A STICK: The Minnesota Twins Experience is now at the Minnesota State Fair through Monday, September 4…interactive games, giveaways and special appearances are part of the team’s daily lineup…the Minnesota Twins Experience is located on the south end of Cooper Street at Judson Avenue, next to the International Bazaar, and is open from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm daily, rain or shine…below are some of the ways fans can engage with the Twins at the Great Minnesota Get-Together (subject to change).
Royce Lewis, Ryan Jeffers and Jose Miranda stopped by earlier today.
Hall of Famer Tony Oliva will be at the Experience on Thursday, August 31 and Friday, September 1 from 10:30 to 11:30 am.
STARTING PITCHER – #18 KENTA MAEDA
2023: 3-7, 4.22 ERA CAREER: 62-48, 3.90 ERA
Making his 16th start and appearance of 2023, and his seventh home start…also his 185th career appearance and 151st start.
Facing Cleveland for the first time this season and sixth time in his career; is 3-1, 2.51 ERA (28.2 IP, 8 ER) with five walks and 29 strikeouts in five previous starts vs. the Guardians. AIs in his fourth season with the Twins after being acquired in 2020, along with Jair Camargo, from Los Angeles-NL in exchange for Brusdar Graterol and Luke Raley.
LAST TIME OUT: Took a no-decision in the Twins’ 8-7, 10-inning loss on August 23 at Milwaukee in 97-degree heat at American Family Field…pitched 5.0 innings and allowed three runs on four hits (1 HR) with two walks and six strikeouts…allowed two runs on two singles, one walk and one hit-by-pitch in the first inning, yielding a two-run single to Andruw Monasterio…surrendered a solo homer to Wil- liam Contreras in the third inning, then retired eight of the final nine batters he faced…was relieved by Emilio Pagán to start the sixth inning with Minesota leading 6-3; Twins bullpen surrendered the lead, and the Brewers won on a walk-off infield single by Brice Turang to sweep the two-game series.
Has allowed three-or-fewer runs in each of his last 11 starts, the second-longest active streak among American League starters (CLE’s Tanner Bibee – 12)…Maeda’s current streak is his second longest as a Twin (14-start streak allowing 3-or-fewer runs from July 26, 2020 to April 14, 2021).
Has yielded at least one home run in seven-consecutive starts, the longest streak of his career… marks the second-longest such streak by a Twin this season (Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober – 8).
Marked the fourth-highest gametime temperature in any start in his career and warmest since he started for Los Angeles-NL on July 6, 2018 at Los Angeles-AL with a gametime temperature of 108 degrees.
BRAND NEW MAN: Since being returned from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the 15-day Injured List (right triceps strain) on June 23, Maeda is 3-3 with a 2.91 ERA (58.2 IP, 19 ER), 17 walks, 74 strikeouts and a .210 (44-for-210) opponent batting average in 11 starts…he owns the fourth-lowest opponent batting average and sixth-lowest ERA in the American League in that span (min. 10 GS)…here’s how his numbers since June 23 compare to his first four starts this year:
ROCKIN’ VS. CLEVELAND: Facing Cleveland for the sixth time in his career…is 3-1, 2.51 ERA (28.2 IP, 8 ER) with five walks, 29 strikeouts and a .192 (20-for-104) opponent batting average in five previous starts vs. the Guardians, all with Minnesota from 2020-21…his 2.51 ERA against Cleveland is his second lowest against any opponent in his career (min. 5 GS), trailing only his 2.20 ERA vs. Miami; his .192 opponent batting average vs. the Guardians is also his second lowest vs. any opponent in his career (Milwaukee – .190)…last faced Cleveland on May 22, 2021, taking a no-decision in the Twins’ 5-3 loss at Progressive Field; pitched 5.0 innings and allowed three runs on three hits (1 HR) with one walk and six strikeouts.
CENTRAL COMMANDER: Maeda is 2-3, 3.00 ERA (33.0 IP, 11 ER) with seven walks and 37 strikeouts in six starts vs. American League Central opponents this season…since becoming a Twin in 2020, he is 9-6 against the AL Central with a 3.38 ERA (127.2 IP, 48 ER), 28 walks, 148 strikeouts and a .212 (99-for-468) opponent batting average in 23 starts…his 10.43 strikeouts-per-9.0 inning ratio vs. the AL Central since 2020 is seventh best in baseball in that span (min. 15 GS).
LEFT/RIGHT: Right-handed hitters are slashing .239/.284/.484 with 48 strikeouts and a .768 OPS against Maeda this year…left-handed hitters are slashing .240/.304/.347 with 40 strikeouts and a .651 OPS…in his last start on August 23 at Milwaukee, righties went 3-for-9 one double, one home run (W. Contreras) and two strikeouts off him; lefties went 1-for-8 with four strikeouts.
Righties are batting just .207 (335-for-1618) with a .619 OPS and 547 strikeouts vs. Maeda in his career…owns the third-lowest opponent batting average vs. righties since 2016 (min 750.0 IP), trailing only Max Scherzer (.181) and Jacob deGrom (.203); also ranks sixth in opponent OPS in that span.
Lefties are hitting .249 (378-for-1517) with a .737 OPS and 375 strikeouts off Maeda in his career
