Cleveland Indians vs. Minnesota Twins — the rubber game

Minnesota Twins @ Cleveland Indians

Sunday August 9th 2015, 1:10 ET, Progressive Field

TV: STO, MLB.TV

Radio: WTAM

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Following Abraham Almonte's stunning 4-for-5 debut, the Jerry Sands pinch-hit grand slam and numerous other fine offensive contributions yesterday, it is one of the better days of this season to be a fan of the Tribe. The key question now is whether the Indians will be able to continue the momentum of the last few days, in which the team has shown great fighting spirit even in defeat.

Corey Kluber is back on the mound today. To say that he has been generally starved of run support this season would be an understatement, and given past history, no-one would be surprised if the offensive assault of the last couple of days suddenly ground to a halt today.

The opposing pitcher is Phil Hughes, who racked up an incredible 5.8 fWAR in 2014, but has since reverted to being his normal (more or less league average) self with just 0.7 fWAR so far this season. Hughes still rarely walks anyone, but his home run prevention has taken a major hit this year.

Hardly surprisingly, both of yesterday's heros, Almonte and Sands, are in the starting lineup today, with the latter taking over from Lonnie Chisenhall in RF. Carlos Santana is yet again relegated to the DH spot, as Chris Johnson makes his first start, at 1B.