After Mother Nature interfered with the series opener on Monday night, the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians will try to pack in two games Tuesday evening in Minneapolis.
It’s possible that rain could tarnish those plans yet again.
The teams are scheduled to resume the suspended Monday game in the top of the fourth inning at 5:10 p.m. CT on Tuesday. Approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of that game, the teams will meet again to play the regularly scheduled Tuesday game.
The forecast for Tuesday calls for persistent rain during the day, and it remains to be seen whether the field will be in good enough shape for a resumed game and a full game in the evening. If the teams cannot play Tuesday, their next scheduled game is Wednesday afternoon.
Both teams’ managers likely will have to juggle their pitching staffs in the coming days.
Twins right-hander Bailey Ober and Guardians left-hander Logan Allen tossed three innings apiece Monday before the game was suspended. Neither pitcher will come back Tuesday, which will lead both teams to rely heavily on their bullpens to fill the final five innings.
The Twins led 2-1 after three innings when play stopped. Ty France and Willi Castro had one RBI apiece for Minnesota, and Kyle Manzardo drove in the Guardians’ lone run.
In regularly scheduled Tuesday game, right-hander Gavin Williams (3-2, 4.29 ERA) is set to take the ball for Cleveland. He is coming off a no-decision against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, when he allowed two runs on four hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out six.
In five career starts against the Twins, Williams is 2-2 with a 3.79 ERA. He walked nine and struck out 16 in 19 innings during those outings.
Minnesota is set to counter with Chris Paddack (2-3, 4.05) in the regularly scheduled game. The right-hander has won back-to-back starts against the San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles, allowing a total of one run in 14 1/3 innings.
In two career starts against Cleveland, Paddack is 0-0 with a 2.08 ERA and eight strikeouts in 13 innings.
Twins outfielder Matt Wallner remains out of the lineup because of a strained left hamstring, but he is getting closer to returning. Wallner could begin an rehabilitation assignment as soon as Wednesday, and he is eager to rejoin a Minnesota team that has won 13 of its past 14 games.
“That was so much fun to watch,” Wallner said. “Obviously, (I’m) so excited going forward. I think we’re in a really good spot as a team. Everybody has really stepped up. I got to watch from a fan’s perspective last week, and it’s just so much fun to watch and see guys contribute in all aspects of the game.”
Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt is looking forward to the Guardians’ games against the Twins, whenever they take place.
“We know the Twins are playing really well right now,” Vogt said. “So are the (Detroit) Tigers. … This is going to be a tough trip. We knew that coming into it.”
–Field Level Media
