Cleveland Indians: Previewing the weekend matchup with the White Sox

It’s back on the road for the Cleveland Indians as they take on another division foe. The Tribe head to the South Side for a meeting with the White Sox.

The Cleveland Indians will have to put their new “walk-off every game” strategy on hold for now as they’ll be hitting the road once again. Hard to believe that the Indians only have three home-stands remaining in 2018. That’s a pretty big deal when you think about it considering that they’re only .500 on the road.

It’ll be a chance for the Indians to increase that record, which is a big deal considering they’ll likely have to play every playoff series they’re in on the road. This will be a good test for the Indians. What may not be the best test of their skill is the opponent.

The White Sox have been a miserable team all season and they’re coming off being swept by the Yankees in their own house. It’s not like they were big sellers at the deadline, partially because they have a lot of the pieces they need for their future, they just need time to develop.

As for the Indians, they’re coming off a 5-2 home-stand. They’ve finally taken care of the Twins and they got a little revenge on the Angels. Now is a chance to pad their division lead as they’ve managed to take care of the White Sox most of the year.

Projected Lineups:

Cleveland Indians (64-50) vs. Chicago White Sox (47-68)

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 Greg Allen

Chicago White Sox: 2B Yoan Moncada, 3B Yolmer Sanchez, 1B Jose Abreu, DH Daniel Palka, RF Avisail Garcia, LF Nicky Delmonico, SS Tim Anderson, C Omar Narvaez, CF Adam Engel

The beauty of having Lindor and Ramirez compliment each other in the lineup is that one can make up for the other’s performance if they aren’t hot. They often compete with each other on a daily basis to see who has a better game. Recently, it’s been Francisco Lindor. He is batting .400 in the last week with a 1.188 OPS.

Jose Abreu is still continuing his All-Star season. In the last week his slash line is .375/.407/.792. He’s the heart of this White Sox team. While some of the other names in this lineup pose a threat, none of them can do damage like Abreu.