Indians Opening Series preview
The Cleveland Indians travel to Minnesota from March 28-31 to take on the Twins in their first series of the 2019 MLB season.
It is finally here, the first series of the season for the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe will take on the Twins in a three game series over the course of four days. The Indians will be without the services of Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis for this series and possibly several afterwards.
Game 1: March 28 4:10 P.M. – Corey Kluber versus Jose Berrios
The series opener pits Corey Kluber against up and comer Jose Berrios. Twins newcomers Marwin Gonzalez and Nelson Cruz have given Kluber trouble in the past. In 20 at-bats Gonzalez is batting .450 against Kluber with two home runs and six runs batted in. In 29 at-bats Cruz has three doubles and two home runs against Kluber. Eddie Rosario has also got the best of Kluber previously, hitting .280 in 25 at-bats with two doubles and a homer.
The Indians have had mixed results against Jose Berrios. Carlos Santana is 4-9 with a triple and a home run. Santana has also driven in three runs against Berrios. Brad Miller is the only other Indians batter with a home run against Berrios. Others have struggled previously. Roberto Perez is hitless in five at-bats, Leonys Martin has one hit in six at-bats and Jake Bauers does not have a hit in two at-bats. Cleveland will have to hope they can either outperform their previous history against Berrios or get to the Twins bullpen to come away with a victory on Opening Day.
Game 2: March 30 2:10 P.M. – Trevor Bauer versus Jake Odorizzi
The second game of the season pits Trevor Bauer against Jake Odorizzi. Bauer has struggled against the Twins batters in his career. Nelson Cruz is 7-12 with a homer and three RBI’s. While uncertain to start the year, Jorge Polanco has taken Bauer deep three times in 20 at-bats. Eddie Rosario is hitting .333 with two home runs and nine RBI’s against Bauer. Jonathan Schoop has driven in four runs on six hits in 11 at-bats.
The good news for the Indians is that their batters have also had their way with Jake Odorizzi in the past. Leonys Martin is 4-13 with three RBI’s and Jose Ramirez is 4-15 with two solo home runs. Although a limited sample, Jake Bauers is 2-3 with a home run against Odorizzi. Carlos Santana only has one hit in seven at-bats against Odorizzi, a home run.
Game 3: March 31 2:10 P.M. – Carlos Carrasco versus Michael Pineda
The final game of the series has Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco taking on Michael Pineda. Four batters have given Carrasco trouble over the years. Nelson Cruz is 7-22 with two homers and four RBI’s. Jorge Polanco has six hits in 15 at-bats against Cookie. Eddie Rosario is batting .333 in 24 at-bats against Carrasco, this includes two doubles, one home run and two runs driven in. Jason Castro is also another Twins hitter who has had previous success against Carrasco, with six hits in 20 at-bats.
There is only one batter in the Indians lineup with extensive history against Michael Pineda and that is Brad Miller. The good news is that Miller absolutely rakes against Pineda. Miller has seven hits in 23 at-bats including two doubles, two triples and one home run. Miller has also driven in four runs against Pineda. In smaller sample sizes the Indians have had some success, but it is not enough to look into all that much. Leonys Martin is 2-5, Jose Ramirez is 2-3 and Carlos Santana is 1-3.
The injury-plagued Indians will have their hands full over their first three games of the season. Minnesota has had some success against the Indians starting pitchers while Cleveland has had some mixed results overall. It will truly take a team effort to come out with a winning record after the opening series of the season.
