Cleveland looks to take series against Reds

The Cleveland Baseball Club looks to take the series against the Cincinnati Reds as Carlos Carrasco and Luis Castillo square off.

Looking to build off their win on Wednesday, the Cleveland Baseball Club can secure a series win Thursday against the Reds. Carlos Carrasco will take the mound for Cleveland as their offense will do their best to try and show signs of life offensively against Luis Castillo.

Reds first basemen Joey Votto has the best track record against Carlos Carrasco, going 6-13 with 2 doubles, 1 home run, and 2 RBI. Nicholas Castellanos has the most hits against Cookie (10), but also the most strikeouts (13). Mike Moustakas has struggled against Carrasco (3-25 and 7 strikeouts).

Cleveland’s hitters have only a handful of at-bats against Luis Castillo. Luckily there are a few with good history against Castillo. Francisco Lindor is 2-3 with 2 doubles and Cesar Hernandez is 1-3, that one hit being a home run. Carlos Santana is 2-8 with 1 home run and Domingo Santana is 2-9. Mike Freeman, Jose Ramirez, and Oscar Mercado are a combined 0-8 with 3 strikeouts.

In order for Cleveland to win their offense will have to turnaround big time. They are currently at or near the bottom in most offensive categories.

Cleveland is averaging 2.62 runs per game this season which is very difficult to turn into wins. An offensive breakout against Castillo is unlikely, but would be a welcome sight as they face division rival Chicago starting Friday.