Cleveland Indians: Previewing the inter-league matchup against the Brewers

The Cleveland Indians head up to Milwaukee for their second inter-league matchup of the year, this time against the Brewers.

It was a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad weekend for the Tribe. The Indians went up to New York and ran into a buzzsaw playing the Yankees. There were some positives, and the losses weren’t blowouts, but the Yankees are on a tear and the Indians were just in their way.

But it’s a new week and the Indians have a chance to bounce back against a fun Brewers team. They’re 4-6 in their last ten games but had an eight game winning streak before that. The Indians are 1-1 in inter-league play this year, while the Brewers are 2-0 after a quick series with the Royals.

The Brew crew find themselves in a tight NL Central race early on. They’re a game and half behind the Cardinals and are just a game over the Pirates. The NL Central is certainly much more competitive than the AL Central. The Indians are surely grateful for that.

Let’s see how these teams stack up

Projected Lineups

Cleveland Indians (17-17) vs Milwaukee Brewers (20-15)

Cleveland Indians: SS Francisco Lindor, 2B Jason Kipnis, 3B Jose Ramirez, LF Michael Brantley, 1B Edwin Encarnacion, C Yan Gomes, RF Tyler Naquin, CF Bradley Zimmer, P Indians Pitcher

Milwaukee Brewers: CF Lorenzo Cain, LF Christian Yelich, 1B Ryan Braun, 3B Travis Shaw, RF Domingo Santana, C Manny Pina, 2B Jonathan Villar, SS Orlando Arcia, P Brewers Pitcher

This will be the first time this year that the Indians play in a National League park. That means we will likely see Edwin Encarnacion playing first base in order to keep his bat in the lineup; however, regular 1B Yonder Alonso may see the field at some point. Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco have a combined four hits in their long tenured careers as American League pitchers. But hey, Kluber has one double!

The Brew Crew have found themselves in the same offensive roller coaster that the Indians have been on. Cain and Yelich provide some nice pop at the top of the order. Eric Thames is likely out 6-8 weeks with a torn ligament in his thumb, which doesn’t help. Their stud reliever Corey Knebel has been out since early April but should return soon.