Know Thine Enemy: Let's Go Tribe
I'm pretty sure that Liam Hendriks is destined to never win. After a frustrating loss last night in which the Twins and Indians had to battle a miniscule strike zone (at least from what I saw at the game), the Twins will look to rebound in Game 2 of this weekend series.
Cole De Vries takes the mound for Minnesota, and as is the usual storyline for him, his key to success tonight will be to limit the long ball. It should be interesting, as this is his first career start against the Tribe. Also another key: If you believe in this sort of thing, FanGraphs rates his slider as being a plus offering (0.95 runs above average per 100 pitches), but his fastball, curve, and change-up are all below average, with the curve and change being SIGNIFICANTLY below average. He'll have to get those pitches working to shut down the Indian offense.
On the Indians side, they have their own youngster taking the mound in Zach McAllister. He made one start against the Twins earlier this year and didn't last very long, as he failed to get out of the 2nd inning while allowing 9 runs (2 earned). He will generate quite a few strikeouts, so he'll have to keep missing bats to quiet Willingham, Morneau, and Co.
I'm working the game tonight so I won't be able to get lineups posted, but here's the bare minimum of extra data on the starting pitchers.
Twins
SP Cole De Vries (4-5, 4.41 ERA)
Indians
SP Zach McAllister (5-6, 4.26 ERA)