Cleveland Indians: Tribe head to Toronto for a showdown with the Blue Jays
Probable Pitchers
RHP Shane Bieber (CLE) vs. RHP Sam Gaviglio (TOR)
Shane Bieber was on the verge of another brilliant outing before the Rays got to him late. This has been a lingering problem for Bieber. He has an 8.00+ ERA in the sixth inning and beyond, despite a sub 1.00 ERA in the middle innings of games. Teams are either getting to him early, or when he’s going through the lineup for the third time. I get that Terry Francona is resting his bullpen arms for the playoffs, but it is coming at the expense of good outings for Bieber.
Sam Gaviglio is in his first year as a starter in Toronto and the role hasn’t been too kind to him. He has a 5.02 ERA. He also has trouble working late into games; unless he plays Baltimore, then he manages to go seven innings and get a win. He’s never faced Cleveland despite spending some time with Kansas City last season.
RHP Carlos Carrasco (CLE) vs. RHP Marco Estrada (TOR)
Carlos Carrasco was roughed up pretty badly by the Rays in his last outing. He allowed five runs over 6.1 innings despite striking-out nine. This comes after a absolutely dominant outing against the Twins. Just when it seemed like Cookie was back to his old self, he has a setback. Let’s hope that it’s just a minor setback before he steps into the playoff rotation.
Marco Estrada is in the midst of his worst year with the Blue Jays. His 5.43 ERA is only getting worse as he’s allowed 11 earned runs in his last two starts. To make matters worse, he’s facing a Cleveland club that has given him trouble in recent years, including a five-run outing against him last year.
RHP Adam Plutko (CLE) vs. RHP Sean Reid-Foley (TOR)
Adam Plutko faces a problem similar to Shane Bieber… late inning struggles. Plutko actually has a pretty good ERA through the first five innings, but it jumps up when he faces the lineup a third time through. Despite Bieber staying in the rotation for a good half of the season, it’ll be interesting to see which of these two will stay in the rotation should Trevor Bauer return in September.
Sean Reid-Foley has pitched three games for Toronto. His first two outings weren’t very good, allowing nine runs in 9.1 innings. But his last start against Miami was downright dominant. He pitched seven innings of one-run baseball to the tune of 10 strikeouts. That’s dominance you don’t expect from a guy who’s only pitched twice in the majors. He’ll have his hands full with the Indians lineup, unless they return to the slumber that plagued them last weekend.
RHP Mike Clevinger (CLE) vs. Pitcher TBA (TOR)
Talk about dominant. In his last two outings, Mike Clevinger has a 0.71 ERA. Please please let Mike Clevinger get on a hot streak. Baseball is way more fun when the free-spirited pitcher is letting it fly on the mound. In August and September, Sunshine has done a complete 180 turn from his July struggles. He finished August with a 2.21 ERA, and has had 27 strikeouts in his last three starts.
This will be the second time the Indians have seen TBA in the forecast in the last week. He has a 0.00 ERA against the Indians, despite being replaced before the game actually starts.