People keep talking about Carlos Carrasco pitching for his spot in the rotation.  With good reason – he’s had big problems with consistency as a starter at the major league level.  What you don’t hear people discussing as much – could Danny Salazar be pitching for a spot in the rotation at this point?  There’s no denying his talent, but with his recent struggles, and Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin pitching well in Columbus, they may opt to get him straightened out in Triple-A.  Plus there’s the fact that Salazar has options remaining, and could more easily be demoted for a while.  Am I saying that if Salazar pitches poorly tonight, he’s earned a one-way ticket to Columbus?  No.  What I am saying is that if his appearances don’t start trending in the right direction, he could end up the odd man out.  He’s yet to make it out of the fifth inning this season, yet he’s still managed to throw 80 pitchers or more in each start.  Salazar only saw the Royals once last season, but it was his worst start of 2013 – he surrendered four earned runs, his season-high.

Kansas City’s ace, James Shields, will take the mound against the Tribe tonight.  He’s had a strong start to the 2014 season, and was fairly dominant against the Indians in 2013 – in five appearances, he allowed three or fewer earned runs in four of the five.  The Indians did manage to score five earned runs off of him in a loss to the Royals on July 4.

So I’m a bit uneasy about this matchup tonight – a Tribe offense that is trying to break out of its slump against a tough pitcher, and a struggling Indians starter facing what could be a very potent Kansas City lineup.  I’m hoping for the best.

Tonight’s lineups:

Indians:

Michael Bourn, CF

Nick Swisher, 1B

Jason Kipnis, 2B

Carlos Santana, 3B

Michael Brantley, LF

Asdrubal Cabrera, SS

David Murphy, RF

Yan Gomes, C

Lonnie Chisenhall, DH

 

Royals:

Nori Aoki, RF

Omar Infante, 2B

Eric Hosmer, 1B

Billy Butler, DH

Alex Gordon, LF

Salvador Perez, C

Mike Moustakas, 3B

Alcides Escobar, SS

Jarrod Dyson, CF

 

14 Comments

  • Jon cindia says:

    Sigh Santana

  • The Doctor says:

    2 men on and no out in the 4th? cue salazar meltdown in 3..

    • The Doctor says:

      i hate being right sometimes. francona can’t possibly continue to let a guy with options ravage the bullpen every 5th game – at least with carrasco there’s a reason (albeit a terrible one) for it. i think there’s a reasonable chance salazar is back in columbus after this game.

      something clearly changed for gomes between last season and this one – 6 errors already?

  • Stephanie Liscio says:

    Even though this is about what I expected/feared, I did think there would be more home runs. Just because there are so many guys that can burn you in that Royals lineup if you make a mistake.

  • D.P. Roberts says:

    Are we sure that this is the same Danny Salazar as last year? The guy who started the Wild Card game, and never gave up 5 runs in any of his 11 starts is the same guy who has given up 5 runs in 3 of his 4 starts this year? Are we sure that Roberto Hernandez hasn’t pulled another fast one on us?

  • Stephanie Liscio says:

    I hate going for the lowest common denominator in terms of jokes, but it’s getting late and I’m tired. Anyway, at this point, I don’t think Hernandez can fit into the Danny Salazar suit anymore.

  • Stephanie Liscio says:

    OH and I forgot the fun fact for the night – James Shields is Aaron Rowand’s cousin. Small world.

  • The Doctor says:

    that Cabrera at bat, classic.

  • D.P. Roberts says:

    Bauer pitched in Columbus again tonight. 6.2 innings, gave up only one earned run on 6 hits. 3 walks, 3 Ks. His ERA in Columbus stands at 0.96. I really think it’s time to call him up to replace SOMEBODY, but who? I always assumed it would be Carrasco, but maybe it’s Salazar? As of now, only 3 guys are even giving the Indians a chance at winning. The other two are basically automatic losses.

    Oh, and the Indians’ attendance tonight was 8,848. With similar weather in Columbus, the Clippers drew 6,768. You know things are bad when the major league squad just barely outdraws its AAA team.

  • shaun says:

    i don’t care if he gives up 10 runs as long as we score that +1!!! our offense is completely anemic.