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Series Preview: Twins vs. Indians

By Jon Marthaler
JULY 25, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer (7) catches a foul ball against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. The Chicago White Sox defeated the Minnesota Twins 8-2. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-US PRESSWIRE
JULY 25, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer (7) catches a foul ball against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. The Chicago White Sox defeated the Minnesota Twins 8-2. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-US PRESSWIRE

Schedule (all games on FSN)

  • Friday: 7:10pm, Scott Diamond vs. Josh Tomlin
  • Saturday: 6:10pm, Samuel Deduno vs. Justin Masterson
  • Sunday: 1:10pm, Francisco Liriano vs. Ubaldo Jimenez

Twins Notes

  • 24% of the strikes thrown by Francisco Liriano are swinging strikes, tops in the league by some distance. He is, however, pretty much the only Minnesota pitcher missing bats; as a team, the Twins are at 14%, a fraction above Oakland for last place.
  • The team placed Anthony Swarzak on the disabled list with a mild rotator cuff strain, replacing him with Luis Perdomo, a journeyman righty who'd done well at both AA and AAA this year in the organization.
  • Scott Diamond has thrown nine quality starts in 14 chances this year, the best ratio on the team. The Twins are 7-2 in those outings.
  • In games decided by five or more runs, the Twins are 6-20 this year.
  • Coming back to Target Field doesn't help the team, either; Minnesota is 19-30 at home and 21-28 on the road. It reminds me of a Pat Williams (Orlando Magic GM) quote that I've used before: "We can't win at home. We can't win on the road. As general manager, I just can't figure out where else to play."

Indians Notes

  • The Indians sit three and a half games back in the wild card chase, having just taken a series from Detroit to knock the Tigers out of first place in the AL Central.
  • On Tuesday, Cleveland acquired Brent Lillibridge from Boston for a throw-in minor-league pitcher, and designated outfielder Aaron Cunningham for assignment to make room on the roster. Cunningham was mostly being used as a late-innings defensive replacement for the 82-year-old Johnny Damon, while I thought Lillibridge was still with the White Sox. (Turns out he was a throw-in in the Kevin Youkilis deal.)
  • The Indians have scored barely three runs per game since the All-Star Break. In that span, they've been shut out twice and have scored more than three in a game just thrice in fourteen games.
  • The guys at Let's Go Tribe seem to think that Cleveland's going to have some trouble making a move at the trade deadline. (Read that. It's funny.)
  • The Twins miss Derek Lowe this series, which is a shame. On June 1, Lowe beat the Twins to improve to 7-3 with a 3.06 ERA; since then, he's 1-6 with a 7.90 ERA.

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