CLEVELAND -- The Indians came out of the All-Star break trailing the first-place Twins by 5 1/2 games going into a three-game series against the American League Central leaders to start the second half. When the Tribe dropped the first two contests to Minnesota, falling to 7 1/2 games back, it seemed like a daunting task to once again claw its way back into contention.

Skip ahead just over three weeks and the Indians find themselves just two games out of the AL Central lead after a doubleheader sweep of the Rangers on Wednesday at Progressive Field -- capped with a 5-1 victory in Game 2 -- on the eve of a four-game set in Minnesota. Jose Ramirez homered in both games, and also scored on an eighth-inning double by Jason Kipnis to close out the scoring on the day.

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“It’s what we wanted,” Kipnis said. “We wanted to play some fun games down the stretch. We wanted to keep chipping away at that lead and grinding every day and trying to not let games slip by us -- and I think we’ve done that. And the fun part of putting your head to the ground like that is that you get to play some exciting games, some meaningful games, late in the year.

“Today was a big day. Everyone wanted to get these two. Everyone was kind of watching the scoreboard over in Minnesota, too, and we knew it had a chance to be a big day for us, and it worked out perfectly for us. Guys are in a good mood, feeling good and excited to get to Minnesota.”

Thursday will mark the first of 10 remaining meetings between the Indians and Twins. While there is still plenty of baseball left to play, the importance of the tone-setting series seems quite obvious. If the Indians win the series, they would move into a tie for first place in the division for the first time since also sharing the top spot on April 26. A sweep would give Cleveland sole possession of first.

“I mean, I wish we were up,” Indians manager Terry Francona said when asked about the team’s position heading into the weekend. “I think we’ve done a good job of controlling what we can control. That’s kind of the best way to go about it. We’ve played a lot of baseball lately and guys will be excited for tomorrow. It will be a fun series to play. They’re really good, we know that. But they’re also right in front of us, so it’ll be a good challenge.”

The Tribe will have much to prove, having lost 24 of 42 games this season against teams with a winning percentage of .500 or better. Fifty of their 68 victories have come against teams with losing records. However, the club has been cruising over the last two months, posting the best record in MLB (39-16) since June 4.

“We’re super excited. We’re pumped,” Indians reliever Tyler Clippard said. “We’re playing good baseball. We know we are. This is what it’s all about. I mean this is why we play the game. We’re headed in the right direction. We know the talent we have. We know this unit as far as a team standpoint, we think we have the best team. We might not have the best talent, but we have the best team in the game. We all believe that, and we’re pulling in the same direction. There’s no 'I' guys. It’s just trying to win baseball games every single day and we love it. I love it, I love being a part of it.”

A challenge for the Indians going into the much-anticipated matchup will be the state of their relief corps after deciding to make Wednesday's nightcap a bullpen game. Heading into the afternoon, Francona said not over-taxing his ‘pen was one of his biggest concerns from the minute he was informed Tuesday would be a washout. Luckily for him, Zach Plesac was able to give his skipper six strong frames in Game 1, leaving the final three frames to Nick Goody and Brad Hand (who should be available on Thursday after throwing 16 pitches).

The Tribe went through five relievers in Game 2 -- Clippard, Hunter Wood, A.J. Cole, Oliver Perez and Nick Wittgren -- leaving only Adam Cimber untouched. But the pitching staff combined to allow just one run over 18 innings, improving the bullpen ERA to a Major League-best 3.22 on the season.

“I’ve said it the whole time I’ve been here: I love this group,” Clippard said. “We came into the season -- I think a lot of the people in the media and the baseball world kind of underestimated the talent that we had in the organization and the guys we brought in. I just love the fact that these guys are doing what they’re doing. Everyone’s taking the ball without any complaints and doing whatever we need to do to win ballgames. There’s so much pitchability down there. Guys can just pitch, flat-out pitch, and I love being a part of it.”