Let’s Play Two!

With all the funky weather that can happen in Northeast, Ohio in April, it’s only natural that rain outs, or even snow out can occur from time to time. Well, that’s exactly what happened during the Indians opening home series of the year against the Yankees. Two of the four games were canceled due to inclement weather and rescheduled for a date later in the future.

Well, that date later in the future has arrived.

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The Indians will take on the New York Yankees in a double headed today at Progressive Field. Game one is set to begin at 12:05 and will feature Justin Masterson versus David Phelps. Meanwhile, game two, which is tentatively scheduled for 3:35, will feature Tribe ace of the future Trevor Bauer, making his third start of the season for the big league club, against Vidal Nuno.

This comes as bit of a strange arrangement. The Indians were originally slated for an off day today before traveling the Philadelphis to take on the Phillies for another two-game interleague series matchup, and then back home for a four game set against the Seattle Mariners and a two-game rematch against the Tigers.

It’s this arrangement that has made it necessary for Bauer to make yet another start for the Tribe. The need for an additional pitcher without negatively impacting the current rotation has allowed for him to have yet another opportunity. He showed a significant improvement from his Indians debut in his last start. His offspeed/breaking pitches looked incredible, but the control on the fastball left little to be desired. Here’s hoping Bauer can finally reign in that lightning bolt arm of his and give everyone a sneak peak at what the Indians have invested in.

As for the Indians as a whole, they continued their recent hot streak this weekend against the Tigers despite a slight hiccup on Firday night. After taking two of three from the Tigers, the Indians are now 20-15 on the year and tied with the Tigers for first place in the Central. Since the calendar flipped over from April to May the Indians have been playing like a team possessed. Whether or not that can keep the positive momentum going against the Yankees, a team they have struggled mightily against as of late, will be an interesting turn of events.