Game 47: Cleveland at Twins

First Pitch: 7:07 pm CDT

TV: FOX

Radio: WCCO 830, TIBN / The Wolf 102.9 FM

A few weeks ago, Cleveland and Minnesota squared up in the Twin Cities on national television. It was near the start of the season, a time when computer-generated crowds were still new and Shane Bieber’s complete dominance on the mound was just getting underway.

The Twins bested the Biebs last night, handing him his first loss of the 2020 season and putting a little more separation between the second- and third-place teams of the American League Central. Tonight, they get a primetime rematch, and a chance to prove that they’re ready to win big games on a broader stage.

Needing only a win this evening and a Detroit victory at Guaranteed Rate Field, the Minnesota Twins will try to pull back into a first-place tie with the White Sox. In their way is Zach Plesac, who was optioned alongside Mike Clevinger after their infamous breech of league-wide safety protocol earlier this year.

While Clevinger was shipped off to the upstart Padres, the younger Plesac - another arm in the long line of well-developed Cleveland pitching prospects - is sticking around. It’s been a ridiculous year for the young righty; on any other team his 1.32 ERA and staggering 17.0 K/BB ratio would be the talk of the town, but at Progressive Field, he’s just another in a series of predictably elite arms.

He’ll be facing a gentleman with a bit more major-league experience (and life experience, for that matter.) Rich Hill hasn’t yet had the chance to really show his stuff as a Twin, but at least we’ve seen him out there more than Homer Bailey. In Hill’s five starts, he’s worked down to a 3.86 ERA, but is averaging just over four innings per outing.

While Hill will give equal screen time to his four-seam and his curve, Plesac utilizes a slightly more even pitch mix — including a pinpoint slider — to record his outs.

Hopefully, he won’t record too many.

GO TWINS GO!