After huge homestand against bad teams, Twins face key test in Cleveland

The Twins did what they desperately needed to do at Target Field last week, going 5-1 against the lowly White Sox and Angels to breathe life back into their season. Now they face a massive test this week with a four-game series in Cleveland, followed by three games at Fenway Park in Boston.

Last week was critical to keep Minnesota afloat when its season seemed to already be on life support in mid-April. This week will tell us a lot about whether they've actually turned a corner of sorts or if they simply took advantage of a six-game stretch against bad teams.

The Twins took two of three from the White Sox earlier in the week, then swept the Angels in convincing fashion over the weekend (a feat that was understandably overshadowed by thrilling NBA and NHL playoff games in the Twin Cities). Rocco Baldelli's team out-scored the Angels 21 to 5 over the three-game set, as starting pitchers Pablo Lopez, Simeon Woods Richardson, and Joe Ryan combined to allow three earned runs and strike out 24 batters over 17.1 innings. Byron Buxton has been red hot for a couple weeks now, Trevor Larnach's bat is heating up, and Carlos Correa — after saying "my swing sucks right now" on Thursday — went 6 for 11 against the Angels.

Minnesota is now 12-16 on the season following a 4-11 start. But this week brings a significantly tougher challenge. First up is four games against one of the Twins' biggest rivals, the Guardians, who are off to a solid 15-12 start and sit in the second place in the AL Central behind the 18-10 Tigers. Here are the game times and projected pitching matchups:

Game 1: Monday, 5:10 p.m. CT — Gavin Williams (4.15 ERA) vs. Bailey Ober (5.04)
Game 2: Tuesday, 5:10 p.m. CT — Tanner Bibee (5.19) vs. Chris Paddack (6.45)
Game 3: Wednesday, 5:10 p.m. CT — Luis Ortiz (5.96) vs. Pablo Lopez (2.08)
Game 4: Thursday, 12:10 p.m. CT — Ben Lively (4.40) vs. Simeon Woods Richardson (4.07)

As you can see, Cleveland's starting rotation hasn't been great. Their offense — led by Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, and Kyle Manzardo — also ranks just 18th in OPS. The Guardians' run differential of -18 is actually worse than the Twins' -2 mark, but Cleveland does have home-field advantage in this series, as well as a dominant bullpen led by Emmanuel Clase, Cade Smith, and Hunter Gaddis.

Salvaging a 2-2 split would be an acceptable outcome for the Twins. Taking three of four would be a huge win, as that would get Minnesota to 15-17 and continue its positive momentum. Between the Cleveland series and three games this weekend against the 16-14 Red Sox, the Twins' goal has to be to win the road trip, even if that means going 4-3.

Unfortunately, the Twins lost promising rookie Luke Keaschall for a while after he was hit by a pitch and suffered a forearm fracture on Friday night. They're still without Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner due to hamstring injuries. Lewis began a rehab assignment this weekend, but the organization seems to be targeting a May 6 return date for him, after the completion of this week's road trip.

Still, the Twins have the talent — both in their lineup and in their pitching staff — to potentially carry over last week's success to games against stiffer competition away from Target Field.

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