A 6-game Bay Area Road Trip after the All-Star Game seemed like a great way for the Tribe to get off to a hot start in the second half of the season…after all, San Francisco and Oakland aren’t exactly world beaters in 2017, right?
Well, after a 1-4 start and some difficult walk-off losses to begin this six-game stanza, the Indians are looking to salvage a win in the Bay-area matinee finale Wednesday afternoon in order to get back on track. The Wahoos are coming off of a deflating 2-1 extra-inning loss Tuesday night and really need turn things up a notch.
The Tribe sends the right man to the hill, as Carlos Carrasco (10-4, 3.65) will pursue a series win in this rubber match against the Giants Matt Cain (3-8, 5.56)
Runs have been difficult to come by for the Indians offense to start the second half, as the offense has tallied just 12 runs in their past five games. To increase the challenge, Tito Francona has taken Edwin Encarnacion out of the lineup–due to the Interleague Match-up in the NL Park–and will give Carlos Santana his first start of the series. The move pushes Jose Ramirez to the cleanup spot in the order and gives Santana some much-needed at bats to stay fresh.
The Tribe is due for an offensive breakout and will look to continue Matt Cain’s tough season in this series finale. I’m predicting a 7-4 Indians matinee victory this afternoon.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON LINEUPS:
| INDIANS | GIANTS | ||
|
CF
|
Bradley Zimmer (L) |
CF
|
Denard Span (L) |
|
SS
|
Francisco Lindor (S) |
2B
|
Miguel Gomez (S) |
|
LF
|
Michael Brantley (L) |
1B
|
Brandon Belt (L) |
|
2B
|
Jose Ramirez (S) |
SS
|
Brandon Crawford (L) |
|
1B
|
Carlos Santana (S) |
3B
|
Connor Gillaspie (L) |
|
RF
|
Abraham Almonte (S) |
C
|
Nick Hundley (R) |
| C | Roberto Perez (R) | LF | Kelby Tomlinson (R) |
| 3B | Erik Gonzalez (R) | RF | Gorkys Hernandez (R) |
|
SP
|
Carlos Carrasco (RHP) | SP | Matt Cain (RHP) |