Chicago is in last place but not really out of the race either, but needs to pick it up or it could become sellers at the trading deadline. The Indians are at home but have struggled there so far this season and need to pick it up if they plan on making a return trip to the World Series this season.
This series will be held from Friday, June 9 through Sunday, June 11, 2017, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. The Saturday series will be shown on FOX and the series finale on Sunday will be televised on MLB Network.
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Pitching Matchups
The Indians will feel good about their chances in the opener as they send right-hander Corey Kluber to the hill. He is 4-2 on the season with a 4.36 ERA. Kluber has 51 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched and should be watch his ERA decrease as the year goes on. The White Sox will aim to pull the upset behind Miguel Gonzalez. He is 4-6 with a 4.83 ERA and has been hit hard in each of his past five starters.
On Saturday, Cleveland is scheduled to start Josh Tomlin. He is 3-7 with a 5.54 ERA. He has 44 strikeouts against only four walks on the season but has been giving up a lot of home runs. He needs to keep the ball in the park. Chicago will counter with David Holmberg, who is 0-0 with a 2.50 ERA. He has started two games on the season, allowing four runs in a combined 7.2 innings pitched.
In the finale, the Indians will send out Carlos Carrasco. He is 5-3 on the year with a 3.36 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. Carrasco has solid peripheral numbers, and even though he got roughed up last time out, is one of the better starters in the American League. White Sox ace Jose Quintana takes the hill, although he has struggled with a 2-7 record and a 5.30 ERA on the year. Quintana only gave up one earned run in 5.1 innings pitched last time out against the Rays and is hoping to finally turn it around.
Player To Watch
Todd Frazier -- The White Sox third baseman got off to a slow start but has been much better lately. He has five home runs in his past 10 games and is now batting .206 on the year with 10 homers and 28 RBIs. Frazier is a proven power source and is likely to see his batting average climb a little bit higher as the year moves along.
It will be interesting to see what the White Sox do with Frazier. He seems like a possible trade candidate to a contender if Chicago falls out of the race. When he is hot, he can really affect games in a big way. If Frazier has another impressive series, he will increase his trade value.
Key Stat
555. That’s the number of strikeouts the Indians have accumulated this season in 500.2 innings pitched, good for a ratio of 9.98 strikeouts per nine innings. The team ERA is 4.03, and while that is pretty solid, it seems likely to go down even further if the Indians continue to miss so many bats.
Carrasco and Kluber both punch out a lot of batters, as do fellow starters Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger and Danny Salazar. The Indians have a dominant back end of the bullpen, led by Andrew Miller, who has a 0.33 ERA and averages 13.01 strikeouts per nine innings.
The Indians have some pitchers with great stuff, and that’s why they are expected to win the division.
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