Cleveland Indians-Detroit Tigers Series Preview

Cleveland Indians-Detroit Tigers Series Preview 4/22-4/24

The Cleveland Indians (6-7) head on the road to take on their division rivals the Detroit Tigers (8-6) in a three-game weekend series.  Tonight starts a nine-game road trip, their second longest of the season.  The Tribe is coming off a disappointing homestand that saw them win just two of the six games.

For the Indians, starters Josh Tomlin, Corey Kluber, and Carlos Carrasco are scheduled to start the Friday through Sunday series. The Tigers meanwhile are set to counter with right-handers Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez, and Shane Greene.  For the first time this season it would appear the Tribe will not see a left-handed starting pitcher.

Josh Tomlin will be making just his second start of the season while Kluber and Carrasco will each be making their fourth for the Tribe.  Indians outfielder Rajai Davis will be returning to Detroit where he played the previous two seasons. Davis is currently one of the hottest Indians hitters batting .323 with a .944 OPS during his current 7-game hitting streak. Davis is also currently leading the team with a 0.7 fWAR this year, just ahead of shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Danny Salazar (both at 0.5). The Indians will need Davis and the offense to help beat a Tigers team they’ve struggled against in recent years. In 2015, the Indians went just 7-11 (.389 win percentage) against the Tigers, which was their worst record against an American League opponent.

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Keys to the Series

The Cleveland Indians’ strength heading into this season was supposed to be their starting pitching and despite some solid performances, that simply hasn’t been the case on the young season. The Tribe’s rotation has an earned run average (ERA) of 4.14, good for just 10th best in American League. Their fielding independent pitching (FIP) number is even worse at 4.25 FIP, good for just 11th best in the American League.

On the bright side, though, their starting pitchers’ xFIP (expected fielding independent pitching) is 3.68, which is the 3rd best in the American League. Likewise, the rotation is still striking out a ton of hitters, ranking 3rd in the American League with a 9.0 K/9 ratio (strikeouts per nine innings).  While the samples are small (it’s only been 13 games), there are definitely signs that this rotation will turn it around. However, they need it to start this series…

Why this series? Because the Indians need to get off to a good start in the division. The Indians were terrible in 2015 when playing American League Central opponents, going 32-43 against the Tigers, Twins, Royals, and White Sox.  So far in 2016 they are 1-1, splitting a rain-shortened series in Chicago earlier this year. The biggest key, not only for this road trip, but the entire season will be how well the Tribe plays in the division. They have really struggled against the Tigers in recent years (as mentioned before) and need to get off to a good start to gain some confidence as the season progresses.

Could Brantley Help This Series?

As mentioned earlier in the week, outfielder Michael Brantley is set to take his biggest step in his road to recovery from offseason shoulder surgery this weekend. He’s scheduled to play in back-to-back games for the first time this year as he returned to Triple-A Columbus this weekend to play for the Clippers.  Assuming all goes well with his shoulder he’ll play tonight and tomorrow for the Clippers with a “TBD” set for Sunday.  To Be Determined…could that possibly mean a trip up US Route 23 to Detroit to join the Indians against the Tigers?

Next: Indians Banking on Old Guys For Now

As much as I’d love to see that, it may be too optimistic although as mentioned before, the Tribe did activate Lonnie Chisenhall the day after he played in back-to-back games on his rehab assignment.  Brantley, though, is recovering from a much more serious injury so the Tribe may wait a few more days to make sure the shoulder is 100 percent before activating him. The Indians will need Brantley to be his old self as they look to get back on the winning track.