Guardians take on the Twins in first of 3-game series

Minnesota Twins (51-57, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Cleveland Guardians (54-54, second in the AL Central)

Cleveland; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Joe Ryan (10-5, 2.82 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 137 strikeouts); Guardians: Gavin Williams (6-4, 3.51 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 109 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Guardians -119, Twins -101; over/under is 7 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Guardians open a three-game series at home against the Minnesota Twins on Friday.

Cleveland is 54-54 overall and 27-26 in home games. The Guardians have a 19-11 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.

Minnesota has a 21-33 record in road games and a 51-57 record overall. The Twins have gone 38-17 in games when they record at least eight hits.

Friday's game is the seventh meeting between these teams this season. The Guardians are up 4-2 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Ramirez has 21 doubles, two triples and 21 home runs while hitting .298 for the Guardians. Kyle Manzardo is 13 for 33 with two doubles and three home runs over the last 10 games.

Trevor Larnach has 15 doubles, a triple and 13 home runs for the Twins. Byron Buxton is 15 for 41 with two doubles, a triple and three home runs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Guardians: 6-4, .271 batting average, 3.33 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs

Twins: 4-6, .245 batting average, 5.61 ERA, outscored by 19 runs

INJURIES: Guardians: Lane Thomas: 10-Day IL (foot), Will Brennan: 60-Day IL (forearm), Andrew Walters: 60-Day IL (lat), Ben Lively: 60-Day IL (forearm), John Means: 60-Day IL (elbow), Sam Hentges: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Twins: Byron Buxton: 10-Day IL (side soreness), Anthony Misiewicz: 15-Day IL (shoulder), David Festa: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Bailey Ober: 15-Day IL (hip), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Luke Keaschall: 60-Day IL (forearm)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.