Series Preview: Indians vs. Giants

The Tribe finished up their interleague homestand with a 4-2 record which placed them back atop the standings in the American League Central. Now it’s off for nine tough games away from home in National League ballparks where they will be without the bat of Travis Hafner, aside from in pinch hitting situation.

June 24-26, 2011

AT&T Park

Scouting Report

• Cleveland – The Indians head out to the left coast after a successful homestand and a day off. The struggling offense seemed to fare better against a dose of National League pitching over the past six games as the Indians averaged 4.8 runs per game against the Rockies and Pirates. Prior to the Pirates series the offense was putting up a meager 2.9 runs per game. Carlos Santana has been swinging the bat much better as of late. Over the course of the Indians homestand, Santana went 8-for-21 for a .381 average. Shin-Soo Choo has also begun to heat up for the Indians as he hit .350 (7-for-20) against NL Pitching. The Indians starting rotation has also been solid aside from Fausto Carmona’s meltdown on Monday night.

• San Francisco –  The Giants offense has been struggling as of late and they have relied heavily on their pitching.  Wednesday was the 31st time the Giants have scored two runs or fewer — including six of their last seven games — but manager Bruce Bochy says it’s not for a lack of effort.  They have played well at home in interleague play and have won two straight and will look to make it three straight when the Indians come to down Friday night.

Pitching Match-up(s)

Game 1 – Carlos Carrasco vs. Jonathan Sanchez

• Carlos Carrasco  7-3,  3.87 ERA

Carrasco took a no-hit bid into the sixth against the Pirates last Saturday. He’s pitching very well and getting solid movement on just about every pitch.  You need a microscope to see Carrasco’s minuscule 0.41 ERA over his past three starts, in which he has allowed one earned run in 21 1/3 innings. The right-hander has won six of his past seven starts, lowering his ERA from 5.29 to 3.87.

• Jonathan Sanchez  4-5, 3.71 ERA

Sanchez battled through four shutout innings before giving up four runs, suffering the loss Saturday against Oakland. The lefty scattered six hits, walked three, threw two wild pitches and fanned three. He has allowed 19 walks in the past 21 innings.

Game 2 – Justin Masterson vs. Matt Cain

• Justin Masterson  5-5, 3.18 ERA

Masterson hasn’t earned a victory since April 26 — a span of 10 starts — after winning his first five decisions. But that hasn’t been entirely by his own doing: the righty has posted a 3.68 ERA since then.

• Matt Cain  6-4, 3.44 ERA

Cain pitched well Sunday, giving up one run on three hits and no walks in seven innings, but did not factor into the decision as he received only one run of support — a recurring theme for him. Cain is 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA over his last four starts.

Game 3 – Fausto Carmona vs. Madison Bumgarner

• Fausto Carmona 4-9, 5.98 ERA

To say that Fausto has been struggling might be an understament. He looked good Monday night until the sixth inning rolled around and he gave up seven consecutive hits and six runs including a three-run bomb from Jason Giambi. Carmona has allowed at least four runs in eight consecutive starts.  Manager Manny Acta said Tuesday he has no plans to replace Carmona in the rotation.

• Madison Bumgarner  3-9, 4.06 ERA

Bumgarner’s last start couldn’t have gone much worse, as he gave up eight straight hits, nine total, and eight runs in 1/3 of an inning Tuesday. The lefty was the first pitcher since 1900 to give up at least nine hits while recording one out or less.

Probable Lineups

Cleveland

CF Grady Sizemore

2B Orlando Cabrera

SS Asdrubal Cabrera

1B Carlos Santana

RF Shin-Soo Choo

LF Austin Kearns

C Lou Marson

3B Jack Hannahan

P Carlos Carrasco



San Francisco

1. CF Andres Torres
2. 2B Emmanuel Burriss
3. 3B Pablo Sandoval
4. 1B Aubrey Huff
5. LF Pat Burrell
6. RF Aaron Rowand
7. SS Brandon Crawford
8.    C Chris Stewart
9.     p Jonathan Sanchez