With the AL Central Division Title clinched and thoroughly celebrated on Monday night (and on into the wee hours Tuesday morning), the Indians will now look to put a bow on that big present by striving to continue their winning ways.
Most teams like to rest their “everyday players” following a division-clinching victory, and Terry Francona will do the same, despite looking to string more wins together and earn home field advantage throughout the American League Playoffs. The final week of play will continue to be intense, as the Indians stand just one game behind Boston and only a half game behind Texas in the chase for best record in the AL. The Wahoos have displayed a great deal of success at Progressive Field this year, so home field advantage would be a big boost if they can earn it. This will be no easy task, as the Tigers are in “must win” mode, needing to essentially win all of their remaining games in order to have a legitimate shot at earning one of the two AL Wild Card playoff spots.
Tuesday night represents a tough matchup on paper for the Tribe, as Mike Clevinger (2-2, 4.65) squares off against Justin Verlander (15-8, 3.21). However, despite Verlander’s reputation as an ace and former Cy Young Award Winner, the hard-throwing righty has struggled mightily against Cleveland this year (0-3, 6.46) allowing seven home runs in just 23.2 innings pitched over four starts. Be that as it may, Verlander was stellar during his most recent outing against the Tribe at Progressive Field on September 17th: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 7 K.
KEYS TO THE GAME
*Carlos Slamtana: Despite just a .207 career average against Verlander, Santana has swatted seven home runs against the tough righty.
*Ride the Wave: With their joyous on-field division-clinching celebration Monday evening, the Indians hope to have put a dagger in the Tigers’ momentum and will ride that wave into Tuesday’s matchup.
*Frankie & Coco: Francisco Lindor (.412) and Coco Crisp (.323) are the Tribe hitters who have experienced strong success against Verlander. Ironically, both are being given the night off, as Tito Francona has elected to rest all regular starters, with the exception of Carlos Santana.
*Oh, by the Way…: Remarkably, the Indians are 14-2 against Detroit in 2016 and have yet to lose in Comerica Park this season.
*And, without Further Adieu: Below, the Indians’ ultimate lineup of bench players, following Monday night’s division-clinching victory. After a night of partying, the Tribe’s everyday players will get a much-deserved rest…
TUESDAY NIGHT’S LINEUPS
| INDIANS | TIGERS | ||
|
CF
|
Tyler Naquin (L) |
2B
|
Ian Kinsler (R) |
|
2B
|
Michael Martinez (S) |
CF
|
Cameron Maybin (R) |
|
RF
|
Abraham Almonte (S) |
1B
|
Miguel Cabrera (R) |
|
DH
|
Carlos Santana (S) |
DH
|
Victor Martinez (S) |
|
LF
|
Brandon Guyer (R) |
RF
|
J.D. Martinez (R) |
|
1B
|
Jesus Aguilar (R) |
LF
|
Justin Upton (R) |
| 3B | Chris Giminez (R) | 3B | Erick Aybar (S) |
| C | Adam Moore (R) | C | James McCann (R) |
|
SS
|
Erik Gonzalez (R) | SS | Jose Iglesias (R) |
|
SP
|
Mike Clevinger (RHP) |
SP
|
Justin Verlander (RHP) |