Cleveland Indians: Three keys to victory against the Chicago White Sox

Three quality starts

The 2021 Cleveland Indians were always only going to go as far as their rotation took them. Early in the season it has already experienced a period of shakiness. The backend of starting five already has a vacancy following Logan Allen’s demotion. His poor performances were putting the relievers, who had to bail him out, under immense strain, and giving the hitters an early mountain to climb.

So the Tribe have been leaning heavily on their terrific trio at the front of the rotation. Bieber, Plesac and Civale have been masterful since making their debuts in the bigs. Bieber and Civale have picked up where they left off in 2020 as they both sport sub-three ERAs and tallied six wins from their ten collective starts. But Plesac has suffered a couple of bumps in the road; allowing six runs in back-to-back starts before righting the ship in has last appearance against Minnesota where he tossed 7 2/3 innings and gave up three runs.

Unfortunately, those two rough outings came against these same Chicago White Sox. Plesac will need a better approach when he, likely, faces them a third time this weekend. Civale has already shown he can weather the offensive power of the Chicago lineup when he threw a quality start against them the last time the Indians visited Guaranteed Rate Field. Bieber’s best showing this season came during the same series where he hurled nine innings and struck out 11.

If both Bieber and Civale can replicate their earlier performances against the Sox, and Plesac can find a way to put Chicago’s sluggers away, consistently, then the Indians will be on track for victory.