The Cleveland Indians are coming off a disappointing series against the Minnesota Twins as they look to turn things around against the Detroit Tigers.
A four game series against the Detroit Tigers may be exactly what the Cleveland Indians need right now. Cleveland dropped two out of three to Minnesota and have a chance to pick up half a game in the standings Monday while the Twins are idle. Detroit comes in with the worst record in the division at 29-59 while the Tribe are second with a record of 51-40.
The Indians are sending Adam Plutko, Zach Plesac, Mike Clevinger and Trevor Bauer to the mound to do their best to silence the Tigers offense. Detroit is the worst team in all of baseball in regards to hitting with runners in scoring position. Although Cleveland is third-worst in that same statistic.
Besides the advantage when it comes to the pitching staffs, Cleveland has the advantage offensively. There are the obvious names in the Cleveland lineup who have hit all season (Carlos Santana and Francisco Lindor). Jose Ramirez has been turning things around as of late and is on quite a tear. Over the past 15 games Ramirez is slashing .321/.381/.589 with an OPS of .970. During this stretch Ramirez has four doubles, three home runs and one triple while driving in nine runs. This is exactly what the Indians need right now as they are still trailing in playoff hunt.
Cleveland should have an easy time when facing Spencer Turnbull. As a team the Indians are slashing .396/.448/.585 with an OPS of 1.033 over 53 at-bats. The Tribe have collectively hit five doubles, one triple and one home run with nine runs batted in.
Cleveland should also have a decent day at the plate against Daniel Norris as they have seven of their 21 total hits against him have gone for extra bases.
As long as Matthew Boyd is not traded before his scheduled start he may give Cleveland some trouble. Boyd has historically pitched fairly well against the Indians left handed heavy lineup. Although Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez have found success against him, but again who haven’t they found success against?
