Cleveland Indians: Previewing the series against the Detroit Tigers

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The Cleveland Indians hit the road again as they return to division play. The Tribe will start a series of games against the division starting with the rival Tigers.

It was a bizarre start to the second half for the Cleveland Indians. They played three road games followed by three home games. The MLB schedule now pits the Indians against a series of division rivals. It starts with the Detroit Tigers who have completely fallen off the map.

The Tigers were vying for the lead in the AL Central just a few months back. Now they are 12.5 games back and are likely to sell at the upcoming deadline. They don’t have much to play for at this point nor does anybody in the AL Central aside from the Indians.

Here is how they stack up in what could be a lopsided affair this time around.

Projected Lineups

Cleveland Indians (55-46) vs Detroit Tigers (44-60)

Cleveland Indians: SS Francisco Lindor, LF Michael Brantley, 3B Jose Ramirez, DH Edwin Encarnacion, 1B Yonder Alonso, RF Melky Cabrera, 2B Jason Kipnis, C Yan Gomes, CF Tyler Naquin

Detroit Tigers: CF Leonys Martin, 2B Niko Goodrum, RF Nicholas Castellanos, C John Hicks, DH Victor Martinez, 3B Jeimer Candelario, 1B Jim Adduci, SS Jose Inglesias, LF Victor Reyes

The Tigers have had some struggles at the first base position since the injury to Miguel Cabrera. They’ve been starting Jim Adduci who has a .219 batting average in just 14 games played since coming up from Triple-A Toledo.

As for the Indians, the Pirates did a good job of keeping the Indians offense in check. Jose Ramirez was held hitless in that series, but he’s still walking as well as anybody in the majors and he earned four more in that series.

Probable Pitchers

RHP Carlos Carrasco (CLE) vs RHP Mike Fiers (DET)

Carlos Carrasco had a remarkable start in his last outing. I was his longest outing since his return from the DL. Carrasco worked 6.2 innings allowing just two runs against a hard-hitting Rangers lineup. He’s got 12 wins on the year but his ERA is at 4.02. He’s slowly working on bringing it down and he’s gotten better with every start since his return. For Carrasco, health is key. If the Indians need to use him sparingly to keep him healthy for the playoffs, than so be it.

Mike Fiers may be auditioning for another team in this start. The Oakland A’s have shown interest in Fiers as well as the Atlanta Braves. Fiers’ time in Detroit has been a bit of a roller coaster. He did get beat up pretty badly by the Indians. He allowed four runs in five innings with two homers.

RHP Mike Clevinger (CLE) vs LHP Francisco Liriano (DET)

Mike Clevinger‘s slump continued as the Texas Rangers. It wasn’t his worst outing, but he can’t seem to find a groove early in games. Clevinger stuck it out for 6.2 innings but allowed two runs and thanks to no run-support from the offense, was dealt the loss. Clevinger has had a streak of either bad or bad luck outings.

RHP Corey Kluber (CLE) vs RHP Jordan Zimmerman (DET)

I’m not here to make excuses for Corey Kluber. I’m just saying that Kluber has faced two of the hottest offenses in baseball in his last two outings. The Pittsburgh Pirates were on a streak of dominance and Kluber was just in the way. That, and he basically pitched a five-out-inning thanks to some serious blunders by the defense.

Fortunately, Kluber has dominated the AL Central this year, and that includes the Detroit Tigers, who he has a 1.13 ERA against in two starts. As for Jordan Zimmerman he’s having a pretty average season.

Zimmerman hasn’t been a “lights out guy” much of his career. His best season came in 2014 with the Nationals where he had a 2.66 ERA and a career-high 182 strikeouts. This year he has a 3.97 ERA. To his credit, he’s pitching much better than last year.

Storylines

Dominate the division

There is a reason the Cleveland Indians are on their way to a third straight AL Central title. They have absolutely dominated within their division. This year that trend continues. While the Central has been a complete joke in terms of performance, and that includes the Indians somewhat as they are still behind the AL powerhouses in terms of record.

Having a 28-13 record against your own division is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s the best record against the division among any team in baseball in terms of losses. (The Red Sox have played more division games with two more wins and one more loss). That kind of play is keeping the Indians in contention to catch up with the other AL leaders, as they have the easiest schedule remaining thanks to their division.

Worst/Best case scenario

Worse case: 1-2 series loss

I would say that the worse case is a 2-1 series loss. But with Clevinger and Kluber’s recent struggles there is a chance they can drop two of these games without proper run-support. With that in mind, this really is a worse case. If the Indians drop this series and don’t make a trade at the deadline, fans will be sent in a frenzy.

Best case: 3-0 series win

This is what most fans should expect. The Tigers are bad, they’re selling the farm yet again and some of these names I’ve mentioned may not even be on the team on Sunday. The Indians can take advantage of these upcoming division games to gain some ground and some momentum.

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The series starts tonight at 7:10 EST and will continue until Sunday afternoon. You know the drill. Go Tribe!

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