The Opener AL Central Phillies Brewers Refsnyde

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    With le s than two weeks to go in the regular season, here are three things well be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today: 1. AL Central showdowns: The races for the American League Central and the American League Wild Card slots are heavily intertwined, and the first portion of this week will be pivotal in both. The Twins, whove been reeling of late and played at disappointing 7-13 pace over their past 20 games, will head to Cleveland for a four-game set against the division-leading Guardians. Cleveland is up four games on the Royals and 6.5 games on the Twins, so barring a sweep by Minnesota, the series isnt likely to wildly alter the complexion of the division race. That said, the Twins hold the third Wild Card spot in the AL at present. Minnesota is 2.5 games behind the Royals for the second Wild Card position, with the surging Tigers (13-7 in their past 20) suddenly just 2.5 games out of the final postseason spot. As fate would have it, the Tigers are in Kansas City for a three-game set that kicks off tonight. The top four teams in the AL Central are all either in po se sion of a playoff spot (Cleveland, K.C., Minnesota) or within 2.5 games of claiming one (Detroit). This pair of series should have ma sive playoff implications, both in terms of who qualifies and how the seeding plays out. The Twins are set to send , , and to the mound in Cleveland, where theyll be respectively countered by , , and . In Kansas City, the three games will feature matchups of a TBD Tigers starter versus ; versus ;and versus . 2. Series Jose Berrios Jersey Preview: Phillies @ Brewers A preview of a potential postseason series is set to begin today when the Phillies head to Milwaukee for a three-game set against the Brewers. The two clubs lead their respective divisions by all but insurmountable margins at this point, with the Phillies seeming poised to cruise into the playoffs with a bye through the Wild Card series and the Brewers currently sitting two games back of the Dodgers for the opportunity to do the same. The series begins at 6:40pm local time this evening with lefty (3.05 ERA) on the mound for Philly against Brewers hurler , who has pitched to a 4.57 ERA overall this year but boasts a tidy 3.84 figure in 11 starts since joining the club in July. Phillies ace (2.60 ERA) will be on the mound for Game 2 opposite fellow mid-season acquisition , who sports a 4.49 ERA over all this year but has posted a 3.40 ERA in eight starts with the Brewers. The series wraps up on Monday with righty (3.62 ERA) squaring off against Brewers staff ace (3.75 ERA). 3. Refsnyder nursing wrist injury: The Red Sox have been without outfielder since he was scratched from the lineup on Friday, and as noted by there remains a distinct po sibility that he could wind up requiring a trip to the injured list due to the i sue. Manager told reporters (including Cotillo) that while they hope that todays day off will help to alleviate the sorene s, the 33-year-old could go on the injured list if he isnt feeling up to playing during the series against the Rays that starts tomorrow. An injury to Refsnyder could be something of a final blow to a Red Sox club that, with a 75-75 record and playoff odds of just 2.6% need things to go just about perfectly in order to squeeze into the playoffs. Looking ahead to 2025, Boston holds a $2MM club option of Refsnyders services for next year. His injury wont impact what should be an easy decision to exercise that option, given the fact that the journeyman has slashed an excellent .284/.361/.472 with 11 homers in 306 trips to the plate this year. Genesis Cabrera Jersey