Cleveland Indians: Tribe head to Toronto for a showdown with the Blue Jays

It’s time for the Cleveland Indians to head north of the border for their annual showdown in Canada with the Blue Jays in what could be an awkward meeting…

Imagine you and your significant other just split up. Then, to try to make yourself feel better you decide to go out with your friends. Unbeknownst to you, one of your friends is now dating your former lover and they’re joining the party. I imagine that is how the Toronto Blue Jays are feeling as the Cleveland Indians come to town.

The Indians are heading north for a showdown with the Blue Jays and they’re bringing two former beloved Blue Jays with them. Edwin Encarnacion and now Josh Donaldson are on the Indians roster, and while Donaldson won’t be playing it can’t feel good for Jays fans to see him in the Indians’ dugout.

These Blue Jays are like many other teams that were powerhouses in the AL back in the mid 2010’s. Devoid of their former identity and sitting in the middle of a rebuild. That’s just the way baseball works. Without consistent foundation, teams like the Rangers, Royals, Orioles, and Blue Jays are sifting through the cycle of the rebuild. For the Cleveland Indians, they’ve managed to find consistency for years and they deserve credit for that.

But there are still games to be played this weekend. The Indians have a chance to clinch their third straight AL Central title on this road trip, while the Blue Jays will continue to sift in baseball purgatory, on the verge of a top 10 draft pick. Here’s how the lineups stack up.

Projected Lineups

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

Toronto Blue Jays: LF Billy McKinney, 2B Devon Travis, 1B Justin Smoak, DH Kendrys Morales, RF Randal Grichuk, SS Lourdes Gurriel, 3B Aledmys Diaz, C Danny Jansen

It’s likely that you’ll also see Yandy Diaz make an appearance in this series, as he’s still playing red-hot baseball for the Tribe. Speaking of red-hot, Jason Kipnis might be playing with a chip on his shoulder since Donaldson was acquired. He’s batting .318 in his last seven games along with two homers and seven RBI’s in that span.

Kendrys Morales had been playing damn good baseball for the Jays but he has come back down to earth a bit. Still, Morales is batting .365 with a .827 slugging percentage in the last 15 days. Also, if you need a reason not to root for Toronto, they still  haven’t called up the slugging phenom Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He looks to be just as if not more exciting than this years prominent rookies, just call him up already, Toronto.