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The Twins and Indians entered this weekend's series in Cleveland with virtually identical results over the past 30 seasons, to an amazing degree. According to STATS Inc., the cumulative stats for each team since 1983, through Thursday:
TwinsClev.
Head-to-head wins222222
Overall wins2,3922,393
Overall losses2,4692,469
Batting average.269.269
ERA4.454.44
Postseason appearances87
AL pennants 22
World Series titles2 0
Five toughest relievers vs. Twins
The Twins didn't mind seeing Jose Valverde designated for assignment by Detroit. Of the 38 pitchers who have recorded 10 or more saves against the Twins, Valverde was one of the five most dominant, as gauged by ERA. The all-time leader in saves vs. the Twins, by the way, is Mariano Rivera, whose 33 regular-season saves (four blown) combined with a 1.30 ERA would rank sixth on this list.
ERASavesBlown
Troy Percival0.38234
Bryan Harvey0.40120
Jose Valverde0.54161
Francisco Rodriguez1.10142
Dan Quisenberry1.17194
