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Series Preview: Cleveland Indians look to tame surprising Tigers

By Aaron Gershon

CLEVELAND, OHIO - JULY 28: Catcher Roberto Perez #55 of the Cleveland Indians celebrates with closing pitcher Brad Hand #33 after the Indians defeated the Chicago White Sox 4-3 in game 1 of a double header at Progressive Field on July 28, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO - JULY 28: Catcher Roberto Perez #55 of the Cleveland Indians celebrates with closing pitcher Brad Hand #33 after the Indians defeated the Chicago White Sox 4-3 in game 1 of a double header at Progressive Field on July 28, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – JULY 12: Pitcher Aaron Civale #43 of the Cleveland Indians delivers a pitch in the second inning of an intrasquad game during summer workouts at Progressive Field on July 12, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – JULY 12: Pitcher Aaron Civale #43 of the Cleveland Indians delivers a pitch in the second inning of an intrasquad game during summer workouts at Progressive Field on July 12, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images) /

Friday Aug. 14, 7:10 p.m. EST

Probable Pitchers: Aaron Civale (1-2, 2.84 ERA) vs. Ivan Nova (1-0, 5.74 ERA)

The Indians and Tigers will kick off their three-game set Friday with the Tribe sending right-hander Aaron Civale to the mound to face off with 33-year-old veteran Ivan Nova.

Civale will be making his fourth start of the season Friday and is coming off a strong outing against the White Sox that saw him toss seven innings of one-run ball and strike out five despite taking his second loss of the season. Opposing hitters are batting just .236 against the Indians right-hander in 2020.

The start will be Civale’s third against the Tigers of his career as in 2019, he earned a pair of victories against Detroit, including tossing 7.2 innings of one-run ball on September 18th.

The only Tiger to have much success against the right-hander is outfielder Victor Reyes who is batting .400 with an RBI in five at-bats.

Nova will be making his fourth start in a Tiger uniform after joining the team this past offseason. Despite an ERA  near six, Nova has yet to lose this season and is coming off a strong outing against the Cincinnati Reds that saw him toss five innings of three-run ball. He is 3-3 lifetime in seven starts against Cleveland with an ERA of 4.22.

Nine Indians have career batting averages above .300 against Nova, including Carlos Santana, who is batting .368 with a home run in 19 at-bats, Cesar Hernandez, who is batting .357 in 14 at-bats and the newly activated Tyler Naquin who is batting .375 with a home run in eight at-bats.

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