Cleveland Indians: The final home-stand continues against the White Sox

Probable Pitchers

LHP Carlos Rodon (CHW) vs. RHP Corey Kluber (CLE)

Carlos Rodon has been a pretty impressive pitcher for the White Sox this year. He’s been even more impressive when playing the Indians. He’s worked nearly 20 innings against the Tribe with a 2.79 ERA. He’s been one of the few lefties to give the Tribe fits this year in what has been the best year of his young career.

It’s been over a week now since Corey Kluber was rocked by the Tampa Bay Rays. The rest may have been good for Kluber, who has dealt with a few bad games of late. He still has 18 wins and is the Indians true number one. But the Indians need him to be at his best if they want to make it deep in the postseason.

RHP Dylan Covey (CHW) vs. RHP Carlos Carrasco (CLE)

Where Rodon has flourished against the Indians, Dylan Covey has been dismal against the Tribe with a 6.63 ERA allowing 14 runs. Covey has 13 losses on the year and his 5.64 ERA is reflective of that. The month of September hasn’t been too kind to Covey either, as his ERA sits at 6.14 this month.

Carlos Carrasco was simply out-dueled in his last start. He had to go toe-to-toe with Blake Snell who had a no-hitter working for much of their showdown on Wednesday. But Carrasco hasn’t wavered in tough situations. He’s played some of his best baseball in July and August. He just needs to get back to that in time for October.

RHP James Shields (CHW) vs. RHP Josh Tomlin (CLE)

James Shields has faced the Indians twice this year and he’s ultimately shut them down to the tune of a 1.93 ERA. Shields isn’t the same pitcher he was back in the early 2010’s. But this has been his best season in a while. It’s not saying much given his 4.53 ERA.

Josh Tomlin is a professional MLB pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. He has a 6.49 ERA in 29 appearances with just seven starts in 2018. I don’t know what else to say about Tomlin. He’s starting here as the Indians sort out their rotation for the playoffs. He wasn’t handed the loss in his last outing, and he deserves credit for keeping the game within reach on Friday.