Minnesota @ Cleveland preview
Progressive Field
Last Meeting ( Apr 28, 2025 ) Minnesota 11, Cleveland 1
The Cleveland Guardians have been unbeatable against the Minnesota Twins of late with Tanner Bibee on the mound.
The right-hander will try to end the Guardians' three-game overall losing streak when he faces the visiting Twins on Tuesday. Minnesota has won four in a row and six of its past seven.
In 2024, the Guardians went 4-0 against the Twins in starts made by Bibee, who was 2-0 with a 1.82 ERA in those contests. Now, Cleveland needs that trend to continue after taking an 11-1 loss on Monday in the opener of a four-game series.
"He's our ace. He's our horse for a reason," teammate Steven Kwan said recently of Bibee's value.
Bibee (2-2, 5.19 ERA) has alternated solid and rough starts through his first five of 2025, but is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his first two home outings. Most recently, on April 22 against the New York Yankees, Bibee yielded five hits and three walks but just a leadoff homer to Ben Rice and one other run over six innings for his first quality start of the season in Cleveland's 3-2 victory.
"That definitely felt more like me than the past other starts," Bibee told CLEGuardians.tv. "I'm definitely gonna take that."
The Guardians could use a solid, and lengthy, effort from Bibee after being outscored 31-7 in the past three games. Cleveland's Monday starter, Gavin Williams, lasted two innings, and the Guardians allowed 17 hits to the Twins, which who are batting .304 and own a .394 on-base percentage with 16 doubles and seven homers during their 6-1 stretch.
"As a whole, we're playing a little bit looser. It's a lot of fun right now," Minnesota's Bailey Ober, who allowed a run over 7 2/3 innings on Monday, told Twins.tv.
Minnesota's Byron Buxton is batting .315 with 11 RBIs in his past 13 games, while teammate Ryan Jeffers is 7-for-20 (.350) in his past five, collecting a total of five RBIs in the past two contests. Jonah Bride, who had three hits on Monday, is 7-for-14 in six games since he was acquired from the Miami Marlins.
While Buxton is just 1-for-7 with three strikeouts vs. Bibee, Minnesota's Carlos Correa, 8-for-15 in the past four games, is 6-for-17 against him.
Minnesota is 0-5 this season when scheduled starter Chris Paddack (0-3, 6.45 ERA) takes the ball. However, the right-hander has a 2.40 ERA in his past three starts, but he hasn't completed more than five innings than any of his 2025 outings.
Paddack allowed five hits and four walks but only two runs over five innings of a 3-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
His longest career outing came at Cleveland last May 19, when he also opposed Bibee. Paddack allowed only a first-inning two-run homer, two other hits and no walks while striking out six over eight innings in a no-decision.
Kwan, who has never faced Paddack, is riding an 11-game hitting streak and is batting .371 (26-for-70) in his past 17. Teammate Jose Ramirez is 2-for-11 in the past three contests, and he is hitless in three at-bats against Paddack.
--Field Level Media