Well, this is where things get interesting. With the second half of baseball starting tonight, this means that the trade deadline is fast approaching. While the Indians have shown flashes pf promise this year, the front office has to be realistic. And a big part of how they’ll decide to go, buyers or sellers, will be in the next stretch of games.
And all of that starts tonight. In the Indians’ first game after the break, we send our apparent ace Trevor Bauer (8-5, 3.76) to the mound against righty Mike Leake (6-5, 4.08). Watch for the Tribe to put up a crooked number tonight against Leake who has struggled this year. After all he is a righty, which is something the Indians like to face. Michael Bourn, Michael Brantley and Carlos Santana have all faced Leake multiple times and have all struggled. Here are the lineups.
Indians | Reds | ||
2B
|
Jason Kipnis |
2B
|
Brandon Phillips |
SS
|
Francisco Lindor |
1B
|
Joey Votto |
CF
|
Michael Brantley |
3B
|
Todd Frazier |
LF
|
David Murphy |
RF
|
Jay Bruce |
1B
|
Carlos Santana |
LF
|
Marlon Byrd |
C
|
Yan Gomes |
SS
|
Eugenio Suarez |
RF
|
Brandon Moss |
C
|
Tucker Barnhart |
3B
|
Giovanny Urshela |
SP
|
Mike Leake |
SP
|
Trevor Bauer |
CF
|
Billy Hamilton |