Series Preview: Cleveland Indians back home with momentum for Brewers

After reclaiming the division lead and an off day, the Cleveland Indians will return home for a three game set against the Milwaukee Brewers.

After topping the Kansas City Royals the last two games by a combined score of 15-1, the Cleveland Indians will return to Progressive Field for a three-game weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers, beginning this Friday (Sept. 4).

Having an off day on Thursday, the Indians are coming off an explosive offensive performance in back-to-back games, something that has become a bit of a rarity for the Indians this season.

The team belted four home runs on Tuesday in the 10-1 win over the Royals before Tyler Naquin knocked two round-trippers of his own on Wednesday to account for all five of the Tribe’s runs in the 5-0 victory, coming from a two-run shot and a three-run shot.

The pair of wins granted the Indians not only the series win, but also first place in the AL Central once again heading into their brief break with a one-game lead on the Chicago White Sox and 1.5 games on the Minnesota Twins with the Tribe holding a 23-14 record so far in the 2020 season.

Now looking ahead, the Indians will prepare for the National League’s Milwaukee Brewers who are coming off of a series split with fellow AL Central member, the Detroit Tigers as well as an off day themselves.

After falling to the Tigers 12-1 on Tuesday, the Brewers turned around to win 8-5 on Wednesday to close the series. The split series is indicative of Milwaukee’s season as they will enter the weekend with a 17-19 standing.

With two offenses that have been hit or miss recently, but hitting of late, this weekend series between the Indians and Brewers has the potential to be full of fireworks. To the same point, it could also turn into pitcher duels based on the lows of each offense and the scheduled starters for the series.

Friday, Sept. 4, 7:10 p.m. EST

Probable Starters: Carlos Carrasco (2-3, 3.75 ERA) vs. Corbin Burnes (1-0, 2.78 ERA)

The first game of the series on Friday will see two pitchers on opposite ends of the age spectrum go head-to-head. For the Tribe, it will be the 33-year old Carlos Carrasco on the bump while the Brewers will send 25-year old Corbin Burnes to the mound.

For Carrasco, it will be his eighth appearance of the season as he enters holding a 2-3 record while having an up and down season.

Two of Carrasco’s starts have been scoreless outings including his last one, but mixed in between those are two three-run performances and a four-run game. Luckily, his last start, being one of the scoreless starts, was a much better outing, going six innings while giving up just two hits and two walks while striking out six.

Carrasco last faced Milwaukee on June 6, 2018 when he snagged a win after going seven innings, allowing just one run on eight hits and one walk while striking out 10.

As for his counterpart in the other dugout, Burnes will be making his eighth appearance and fifth start this season for Milwaukee, having also played a role in the bullpen this season.

His last time on the mound ended in a Milwaukee win as he was able to toss six scoreless innings while allowing three hits and one walk while striking out an impressive 10 batters, his first time this season hitting double-digits. It will also be Burnes’ first time facing the Tribe in the majors.

Sunday, Sept. 6, 1:10 p.m., EST

Probable Starters: Shane Bieber (6-0, 1.20 ERA) vs. Brett Anderson (2-2, 4.18 ERA)

For Cleveland, it will be Shane Bieber on the bump to close out the series. Bieber is off to a hot start and is not only in the AL Cy Young conversation, but is now entering the MVP talk as well.

Through eight starts this year, Bieber is 6-0 and has allowed a run in just three of his starts, but that’s just the beginning of his dominance this season, as he is currently leading Major League Baseball in nine pitching statistics.

Perhaps the most impressive of those stats is his strikeout mark, coming in at an impressive 84. He is the only pitcher in major league baseball to not only break the 80 mark, but also the 70 mark with the next highest total being 66.

For Bieber, this will be his first time facing the Brewers.

As for Milwaukee, they will send Brett Anderson to the mound for his seventh start of the season while holding a 2-2 record.

A 32-year old veteran, Anderson has been on six teams, but never has been a member of the AL Central. Majority of his career was spent in Oakland where he played a total of seven seasons over two different stints with the club.

Anderson’s last outing against the Tribe came last season as a member of the A’s on May 20, 2019. He tossed 5.1 innings for Oakland, giving up one run on five hits while tallying just one strikeout.