First Pitch Preview: Indians vs. Padres 4/8/14

Apr 6, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians catcher an Gomes (right) celebrates his two-run home run with left fielder Michael Brantley (23) in the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Indians and Padres Prepare to Square Off in Game 1 of a Three Game Series

After being rained out on Monday night, the Indians and Padres are set to begin their three game series tonight with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05.

In tonight’s game, Corey Kluber will take the mound for the Indians against Tyson Ross of the Padres. In his lone start of the season, Kluber was roughed up by the Oakland A’s. In 3-plus innings of work, Kluber coughed up 5 earned runs and was wildly ineffective for the first time since the early part of last season. For now, it’s safe to assume that the rain out and extra day off had a negative effect on Kluber’s performance. Let’s just hope tonight is a different story and Kluber is able to bounce back in a big way.

For the Padres, Tyson Ross takes the mound for the second time in this young season. In his first start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ross lasted 5 full innings, but took the loss. He allowed three earned runs. Much like Kluber, he is looking to get his season back on track.

Here are the lineups for tonight’s game:

lineups

In other news, the Indians have called up right-handed pitcher Trevor Bauer from Columbus. Because the Indians have been forced to play a doubleheader tomorrow, they have called up Bauer to start one of the two games. As the veteran pitcher between the two, it will be up to Zach McAllister to decide who throws which game. At least that’s how these things are typically decided upon.

Feb 24, 2014; Goodyear, AZ, USA; Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer takes part in the annual photo day at Goodyear Ballpark . Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

This will be Bauer’s first start of the season between, Triple-A or Major League. However, Bauer probably wasn’t the first choice if the Indians could have had their way. Josh Tomlin, who lost out to Carlos Carrasco for the fifth spot in the rotation probably would have been preferred. Unfortunately, for Tomlin to have made an appearance would have resulted in him throwing on only four days rest. With Bauer on his regular schedule Wednesday, there was no reason to risk injury to Tomlin, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery.