Heading into the series against the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians had a 11-game winning streak. They expanded that streak to 12 games in the series opener in Chicago. Cleveland has gotten red hot and is on a roll, much like the team was at the end of last year. Can this team stay scorching hot and extend their winning streak, top the Houston Astros for best record in the AL and use the momentum throughout September and into October? Only time will tell.
This series will be contested from Monday, September 4, 2017 through Thursday, September 7, 2017 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.
Bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
Pitching Matchups
After Trevor Bauer and James Shields matched up on Labor Day, the Indians will welcome Danny Salazar back to the rotation on Wednesday. Following that, the Tribe then has its two aces for the last two games of the series with Carlos Carrasco set for Wednesday and Corey Kluber on tap for Thursday night.
With the White Sox in rebuilding mode, Chicago will counter the Indians’ arms with several youngsters in the final three games of the series: David Holmberg, Reynaldo Lopez and Carlos Rodon.
For Tuesday’s matchup, Salazar is not expected to go deep into the game. Fortunately for Cleveland, the bullpen has reinforcements with the expanded rosters.
Overall, when Salazar has been on the mound this year, he’s been just okay. He’s 5-6 with a 4.30 ERA and 1.380 WHIP. His FIP of 3.49 indicates he’s thrown better than the total numbers.
On the other side, Holmberg is 2-3 with a 3.55 ERA split between the rotation and the bullpen. The young southpaw has a slightly better ERA as a reliever, but his WHIP and strikeout rate are both better when he starts.
In either case, this will be his first start since June 26 and the Sox are just 8-25 in the 33 games he’s taken the mound. While his overall ERA is solid, his FIP is 5.86 as he’s striking out just five per nine innings while walking 4.6, leaving him with a 1.08 strikeout to walk ratio.
Moving on to the third game, Lopez has really struggled in his three starts with Chicago. He’s 0-2 with a 6.06 ERA, allowing 11 runs and 14 hits—including four homers—in 16.1 innings. He’s also walked eight though he has struck out 19.
He pitched well at Triple-A Charlotte with a 3.79 ERA though he still showed a tendency to allow too many walks.
Carlos Carrasco, meanwhile, is 13-6 with a 3.67 ERA and 1.114 WHIP in his 27 starts spanning 164.1 innings of work. He’s been particularly good against the White Sox, allowing just three runs in three games, giving up 14 hits and two walks in 20.1 innings.
Carrasco has owned the ChiSox and will be positioned for another strong performance against them on Wednesday.
Finally, the series wraps with Cy Young contender Corey Kluber getting the final start for Cleveland. Kluber went 5-1 with a 1.96 ERA in August. He’s gotten better as the season has progressed and now sits at 14-4 with a 0.895 WHIP and 2.55 FIP. He’s started just 24 games, but has four complete games, including a pair of shutouts.
Over his last 18 games, Kluber has allowed more than three runs just once and more than two just four times. The Tribe is 9-1 in his last nine starts. Interesting, the one start he’s allowed more than three runs in the last 18 games came against the White Sox.
Speaking of the ChiSox, they’ll counter Kluber with their defacto ace now that Jose Quintana and Miguel Gonzalez are gone. Carlos Rondon is 2-5 with a 4.15 ERA in 12 starts. In his last seven starts, he’s delivered five quality outings, posting a 3.00 ERA while strikeout 45 in 45 innings.
Offensive Breakdown
Since the All-Star break, the Indians have been one of the best offensive teams in baseball, the White Sox have been one of the worst.
Here in the second half, the Indians have posted a .791 OPS as a team and have scored 259 runs compared to 182 for Chicago. The Sox have a meager .306 OBP since the break.
Chicago’s offense is essentially limited to Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia with the occasional home from Matt Davidson. Davidson is batting .228 with a .272 OBP, but he does have 23 homers, second only to Abreu.
The departures of Todd Frazier and Melky Cabrera were made to help further stock the farm, but they’ve been replaced by players like Alen Hanson and Rob Brantly who’ve struggled in their limited action.
Meanwhile, the Indians offense has exploded even with Michael Brantley on the DL. Lonnie Chisenhall is back and Jay Bruce has provided some extra depth in the order.
Jose Ramirez is also hot right now with two—albeit assisted—homers on Sunday and a .310 average. Edwin Encarnacion’s 32 homers top a team with three other 20+ homer bats.
Bullpen Breakdown
The Indians have the best overall ERA in the second half and they’ve posted the lowest bullpen ERA on the year at 2.98.
Chicago had a solid ERA early on, but they’ve traded off nearly all of the arms from the first half save for Chris Beck who has a 6.24 ERA and Greg Infante who is solid, but unspectacular.
Now, the ChiSox’s bullpen is made up of struggling youngster and spare parts, providing very little relief.
The Indian’s bullpen, meanwhile, is still great, even with Andrew Miller on the sidelines. Cody Allen is a better closer than anyone on the Sox. Bryan Shaw, San Otero, Nick Goody and Joe Smith add to a laundry list of established big league arms.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go.
Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
