Friday, the Indians continue their home stand with a series against the hot Rays, who are a surprising eight games above .500.
The Indians send out Carlos Carrasco (8-5, 4.38), and Tampa counters with Nathan Karns (3-3 3.67). Cleveland is coming off a split of a two game series against the Cubs. The Indians have been not doing well at all offensively as of late. Good news for the Tribe though: they do not have to face Chris Archer who is quickly becoming one of the best pitchers in the AL.
Rays manager Kevin Cash returns to his old stomping grounds in Cleveland where he was the bullpen coach. Yan Gomes is sidelined with neck tightness, and Roberto Perez is getting the start. Cleveland is trying to win back-to-back for the first time since late May.
Carrasco is 1-2 with a 3.10 ERA against the Tampa Bay Rays in his career. Evan Longoria is one of the few Rays with any experience against Carrasco, who has gone 2-10 with a HR against him. Here is how the lineups look.
| Indians | Rays | ||
|
2B
|
Jason Kipnis |
CF
|
Kevin Kiermaier |
|
SS
|
Francisco Lindor |
DH
|
Joey Butley |
|
LF
|
Michael Brantley |
3B
|
Evan Longoria |
|
1B
|
Carlos Santana |
LF
|
David DeJesus |
|
DH
|
David Murphy |
2B
|
Logan Forsythe |
|
RF
|
Brandon Moss |
RF
|
Steven Souza Jr. |
|
3B
|
Giovanny Urshela |
SS
|
Asdrubal Cabrera |
|
CF
|
Michael Bourn |
1B
|
Jake Elmore |
|
C
|
Roberto Perez |
C
|
Rene Rivera |
|
SP
|
Carlos Carrasco |
SP
|
Nate Karns |