Is it safe to say on September 1st that the Cleveland Indians are playing their most important game of the 2015 season thus far? That may very well be the case from here on out as the Tribe looks to continue to climb the Wild Card Standings in their quest for the playoffs. Weeks ago, when Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn, David Murphy, and Mark Rzepczynski were all traded away, clawing back to make the playoffs seemed like an insurmountable climb.

Don’t look now, but the Tribe is only four games out of the second AL Wild Card spot, and the formerly daunting number of teams in front of them in the standings has dwindled to just four (Texas, Minnesota, Anaheim, Tampa Bay). None of those clubs ahead in the standings look terribly intimidating, as evidenced by the Indians’ sweep of the Angels last weekend.

Dreaming of a Wild Card playoff game is fun, but the task at hand Tuesday night is the ultimate test, as the Indians take on the juggernaut Blue Jays north of the border. The Tribe won a season-best sixth consecutive game in a thrilling victory on Monday night.  Game Two of this series presents a more difficult matchup, as the Indians send Cody Anderson (2-3, 4.30)  to the hill to take on a tough competitor in Marco Estrada (11-8, 3.19).  Estrada, who will face the Indians for the first time in his career, enters the game on a torrid pace, sporting a sharp 2.42 ERA over his past 13 starts.

Matchups on paper don’t always predict the result of the game, however, as the Tribe got to David Price in Monday night’s contest, despite the southpaw ace’s previous undefeated record since joining Toronto in the blockbuster trade which brought him over from the Detroit Tigers.

Look for the Indians to score runs early and build a lead for the inconsistent Anderson, because you know the slugging Blue Jay offense is looking for revenge after a stifling performance by Danny Salazar in the opening game of the series.

Even though Estrada is tough at home and has been elite over the past two months, I look for tonight’s game to be a high-scoring contest, as the Tribe looks to keep their winning streak alive!

TUESDAY NIGHT LINEUPS

 

Indians Blue Jays
DH
Jason Kipnis (L)
LF
Ben Revere (L)
SS
Francisco Lindor (S)
3B
Josh Donaldson (R)
LF
Michael Brantley (L)
RF
Jose Bautista (R)
1B
Carlos Santana (S)
DH
Edwin Encarnacion (R)
DH
Lonnie Chisenhall (L)
SS
Troy Tulowitzki (R)
C
Yan Gomes (R)
1B
Justin Smoak (L)
CF
Abraham Almonte (S)
C
Dioner Navarro (S)
3B
Giovanniy Urshela (R)
CF
Kevin Pillar (R)
2B
Jose Ramirez (S)
2B
Ryan Goins (L)
SP
Cody Anderson (RHP)
SP
Marco Estrada (RHP)

 

 

1 Comment

  • Michael Strozewski says:

    These are the types of games that annoy me about Francona. Guy on 3rd with 1 out in the 9th and you pinch hit for Urshela. Fine, he’s been a big bag of suck at the plate lately. But why Chris Johnson, a guy you just brought off the DL. I’m not trying to say that Raburn, Aviles or Sands are great options, but at least they’ve been facing major league talent recently enough where I have confidence that they can at least hit a fly ball. And then the 10th, I’ll be less long winded on this one. Once Shaw gets out Pillar, why is Crockett not in to face Goins? Tito, get your head out of the bubble gum bucket and start managing a little bit.