Cleveland @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 10, 2016 ) Cleveland 1, Minnesota 2

The Cleveland Indians did not lose any ground in the American League Central with a tight loss on Saturday and hope to get back to breezing toward a playoff spot when they visit the Minnesota Twins for the finale of a three-game series on Sunday. The Indians sit six games clear of the Detroit Tigers in the Central with 21 left in the regular season.

Cleveland squeezed out a 5-4 win in Friday's series opener and the Twins returned the favor on Saturday, holding the Indians off the board for the final 11 innings of a 2-1, 12-inning triumph. The setback was just the third in the last 12 games for Cleveland, which continues its road trip with four games at the Chicago White Sox before returning home to host the Tigers on Friday. Last-place Minnesota is getting some encouraging signs for the future from youngsters Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton of late, and Sano homered in Saturday's triumph. Lineup mainstays Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier are still around to help the emerging offense, and it was Mauer who drove in the game-winning run on Saturday.

TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, STO (Cleveland), FSN North (Minnesota)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Corey Kluber (15-9, 3.16 ERA) vs. Twins RH Jose Berrios (2-5, 9.21)

Kluber had a string of 10 consecutive starts without a loss come to an end on Tuesday, when he was charged with four runs on as many hits and three walks in seven innings against Houston. The former Cy Young Award winner struck out nine but also had a string of 10 straight outings yielding three earned runs or fewer come to a close. Kluber's last win in that span came against Minnesota on Aug. 31, when he struck out 11 over eight innings and scattered three runs.

Berrios has suffered the loss in his last four decisions as he struggles to the end of his rookie campaign. The 22-year-old Puerto Rican owns a 9.86 ERA in that five-start span and surrendered five runs on nine hits and a walk in five innings against Kansas City on Monday. Berrios' last win came at Cleveland on Aug. 1, when he allowed three runs and five hits without issuing a walk in six innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Twins placed 3B Trevor Plouffe (oblique strain) on the 15-day disabled list.

2. Cleveland SS Francisco Lindor recorded multiple hits in nine of his last 13 games.

3. Dozier has hit safely in 14 straight games with nine homers and 17 RBIs in that span.

PREDICTION: Indians 8, Twins 2