Cleveland Indians Head to Detroit on Cusp of Clinching Divisional Title

Numbers to Know

13

Cleveland has absolutely manhandled Detroit this year to the tune of a 13-2 record, a change of pace for the Indians, who have struggled mightily against the jungle cats in recent years. One of the big reasons that the Indians have been able to dominate the Tigers is because they have been able to contain Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera – who has a career .344 batting average against the Tribe – has batted just .255 this year against them.

Cabrera came into this year with 40 home runs and 129 RBIs against Cleveland, and in 2015 hit .418 with five home runs and 18 RBI. In 15 games in 2016, Miggy has only been able to muster one double and just three RBIs.

1.5

The Indians should all but lock up the AL Central during their series at Comerica, but that does not mean that their job is all the way done in relation to the playoff chase. The Tribe (90-65) currently trails both the Boston Red Sox (92-64) and Texas Rangers (92-64) by a game and a half in the race for the best record in the American League.

Boston opens a three-game series against the New York Yankees in the Bronx on Tuesday, while Texas welcomes the Milwaukee Brewers to Arlington for a three-gamer of their own on Monday night.

Having home-field advantage in the playoffs is crucial for Cleveland, as they currently have the best home record in the American League (53-28). To do so, the club will need to continue to dominate the Tigers as it has all season long.

Names to Know

Cameron Maybin

Maybin’s career in Detroit has come full circle. The Tigers originally drafted the center fielder with the 10th pick in the 2005 MLB draft, and he made his big league debut with the club in 2007. Maybin was then included in the trade with the then-Florida Marlins  that landed Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis in Detroit (Fun fact: Indians pitcher Andrew Miller was also one of the prospects that was sent from Motown to South Beach). Maybin then had stops in San Diego and Atlanta before the Tigers acquired him once against last November in a trade with the Braves.

The 29-year old native of Asheville, North Carolina has stepped up to the plate this year for Detroit, slashing .327/.393/.434 with four home runs, 43 RBIs, 15 steals, and an OPS+ of 127. Maybin also appears to have saved his best for last, hitting .452 with 12 runs scored in his last 31 at-bats.

Justin Upton

Upton is finally giving the Tigers a return on their investment. After signing a six-year, $132 million contract in the offseason, the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 MLB draft looked to be one of the biggest free agent whiffs in Detroit’s franchise history, as he struggled to a .235/.289/.381 slash line and just nine home runs by the all-star break.

While Upton’s second half batting average of .257 does not appear much better, he has bumped his on-base and slugging percentages significantly (.329 and .559), and really found his power stroke, mashing18 homers in the second half.

Upton’s improvements have especially been on display recently, as he is hitting .379 with four home runs in his last 29 at-bats.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Indians ace Corey Kluber (18-9, 3.11 ERA)  will look to continue his push for the American League Cy Young award when he takes on Tigers’ pitcher Buck Farmer (0-0, 4.07 ERA) in game one on Monday night. Kluber has really turned it on recently, going 10-1 with a 2.32 ERA over his last 14 starts.

Farmer will technically be making his first major league start of the season, after being on the bump last Wednesday in a game that was called in the third inning due to rain. The righty has made a total of seven starts the past two seasons, and has appeared in 13 games out of the bullpen for the Tigers this year, posting a 4.07 ERA in 24.1 innings of work.

Mike Clevinger (2-2, 4.65 ERA) will make his tenth career start  when he takes on Detroit pitching staple Justin Verlander (15-8, 3.21 ERA) in game two. Terry Francona should let Clevinger get a little deeper into the game if his performance warrants it, as he is coming off the third-longest outing of his career, and continues to stretch back out his arm after spending time in the bullpen.

Verlander is coming off of one of his best starts of the year, in which he struck out 11 Twins over six innings to get the win, his first since late August. The 33-year old right-hander is 0-3 in four starts against the Tribe this season, with a 6.46 ERA and seven home runs allowed, the most he has yielded to any team in 2016.

Trevor Bauer (12-8, 4.26 ERA) will look to have a start that he can build off of into the postseason when he goes against Tigers’ rookie phenom Michael Fulmer (11-7, 2.95 ERA) in game three on Wednesday. Bauer has stumbled a bit recently, as he’s posted a 6.75 ERA in five September starts. The Indians will lean on Bauer heavily in the postseason due to injuries suffered by Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco, so look for him to come out and try to find his command early.

Fulmer will be making what looks like his last regular season start of the year in the hopes that he can cement his case for American League Rookie of the Year.

Cleveland hasn’t announced who will start the series finale for them, but whoever it is will go against left-hander Daniel Norris (3-2, 3.59 ERA.) Josh Tomlin (12-9, 4.48 ERA) or Cody Anderson (2-5, 6.35) would appear to be the most likely options, with the bullpen likely to play a prominent role as well in a 1:00 p.m. ET getaway day game that will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Tomlin pitched well his last time out, giving up one earned run over 6.2 innings against the Royals, while Anderson had a rough go of it, giving up two runs over two innings on Saturday against the White Sox.  Norris beat the Indians on September 18th, when he struck out six over five innings and gave up just three unearned runs.

Next: Terry Francona's Manager of the Year Case

It’s the penultimate series of the regular season for the Indians, and one which has a very real chance of bringing a divisional championship. The action gets underway at 7:10 p.m. ET on Monday night.