June 2, 2023
Andy Billman
Game 2 of 4 Against the Twins
3 Things Preview Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins:
1 – Civale is back
Aaron Civale (1-1) is making his third start of the season after being on the IL for almost two months. His last start was a 5-3 loss on April 7th against Seattle.
2 – Bailey Ober
Civale will be up against RHP Bailey Ober for Minnesota who dominated Cleveland back on May 5th. Ober went seven strong on giving up three hits in the 2-0 victory for the Twins.
3 – Josh Naylor’s wrist
Josh Naylor was not in the lineup on Thursday because of a sore wrist that he suffered on Wednesday sliding into third base. Naylor is day-to-day and is hopeful to play at some point in the series
Guardians Notes
Civale will be making his first start since a 5-3 loss to Seattle on April 7, when he sustained a left oblique strain. He produced a 4.91 ERA in three rehab starts for Triple-A Columbus.
Civale is 1-4 with a 4.20 ERA in eight career starts against the Twins, including 0-2 with a 4.39 ERA in five starts at Minneapolis.
Guards Stats and Insights
GUARDIANS PROBABLE PITCHER – Aaron Civale
- The Guardians will send Civale (1-1) to the mound to make his third start of the season.
- His last appearance came on Friday, April 7 against the Seattle Mariners, when the righty threw 5 2/3 innings, surrendering four earned runs while allowing nine hits.
- Civale heads into this game with two outings of five or more innings pitched this season.
- The Guardians were the money line underdog for one Civale start this season — they won.
- His team split the two matchups he’s appeared in this season.
- Civale’s two starts with a total this season finished 1-1-0 against the total.
GUARDIANS HITTING TRENDS
- They have won five of the seven games this season in which they hit two or more home runs.
- Cleveland has gone 4-4 this season when collecting five or more extra-base hits as a team.
- They have won 14 of the 29 games in which they’ve collected eight or more hits this season.
- Cleveland has an 11-5 record this season when scoring five or more runs in a game.
- They have a 9-8 record this season when drawing five or more walks in a game.
Twins Notes
The big question for the Twins will be how long they will be without Buxton, who was hit in the ribs with a 97 mph fastball by Tanner Bibee, as well as Correa and Kepler.
Baldelli said Buxton would get imaging done on the ribs on Friday morning but was hopeful for a positive result because the injury didn’t seem to get worse after he left the game.
Correa said he took a wrong step while throwing to first baseman Alex Kirilloff between innings and the pain got worse during the inning.
Twins Stats and Insights
TWINS PROBABLE PITCHER – Bailey Ober
- Ober and his team are 4-3-0 ATS this season when he starts.
- The right-hander gave up two earned runs and allowed five hits in five innings pitched against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.
- Ober has pitched five or more innings in seven straight games and will look to extend that streak.
- Ober’s team is 2-2 this season when he starts and they are the money line favorite.
- In games Ober has started, his team is 4-3.
- The teams have not yet hit the over in any of the seven games Ober has started this season.
TWINS HITTING TRENDS
- The Twins have hit two or more round-trippers in 33 games this season, and are 28-5 in those contests.
- Minnesota has collected five or more extra-base hits in 20 games this season and won every time.
- The team is 33-7 in the games this season it has totaled at least eight hits.
- Minnesota is 34-3 in games this season when it put up five or more runs.
- The Twins are 15-9 in games this season when they have drawn at least five walks.
Final Thoughts/Pick
Rough loss last night! Will be interesting if Civale is back to his old form and truly healthy. If so should be low scoring game and Guards should even this 4 game series.
Our Pick: Guardians Win 4-2
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