Guardians welcome Twins for early division showdown

Looking to continue their home success Friday night, the Guardians face a Minnesota Twins club trying to avoid a fourth straight defeat overall while also attempting to stay hot on the road. Cleveland entered its Thursday off day having gone 8-8 during a stretch of 16 games without a day off. The Guardians remain atop the Central despite that break-even performance, which ended with a seven-game road trip. Cleveland dropped three of four to the suddenly competitive Chicago White Sox last weekend, then took two of three from the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers.