Cleveland Indians: Previewing the series vs. the Detroit Tigers

The Cleveland Indians wrap up their nine-game homestand against their rivals, the Detroit Tigers, with a chance to extend their division lead.

The Cleveland Indians are starting to assert their dominance over the AL Central. Their competition is reeling as the Tigers sit five games back, and the Twins are now six games back. The Indians rebounded from a shaky weekend to sweep the White Sox, who have now lost six straight.

Now the Indians welcome the Tigers back to town for the first time since April. The last time the Tigers came to progressive field, they were swept in a four-game series, and outscored 18-5. The Indians might expect a bit more resistance from the Tigers this time around, as Detroit has proven to be a resilient bunch.

The Tigers will be seeing some different Tribe pitchers, as Shane Bieber and Adam Plutko will be facing the Tigers for the first time in their young careers. It’s a pair of high pressure games for the young duo, as this weekend could give the Tribe a significant edge over the Tigers in the division race. Here’s how they stack up this weekend.

Projected Lineups

Detroit Tigers (36-39) vs Cleveland Indians (40-33)

Detroit Tigers: CF Leonys Martin, 3B Jeimer Candelario, RF Nicholas Castellanos, DH Victor Martinez, 2B Niko Goodrum, C James McCann, LF Jacoby Jones, 1B John Hicks, SS Jose Inglesias

Cleveland Indians: SS Francisco Lindor, LF Michael Brantley, 3B Jose Ramirez, DH Edwin Encarnacion, 1B Yonder Alonso, 2B Jason Kipnis, RF Lonnie Chisenhall C Yan Gomes, CF Tyler Naquin

The Tigers offense has not been completely lackluster since they lost Miguel Cabrera for the year. But they were just humiliated by the Cincinnati Reds, one of the worst teams in baseball. No one in the Tigers lineup is really a hot hitter right now. Victor Martinez is the lone performer of late, as he is batting .333 in the last week.

As for the Tribe, they have just about everyone hot in their lineup. They’re starting to get hits from some of the underperforming batters in their lineup. Jason Kipnis is batting .316 in the last week with five RBIs and two homers. HALLELUJAH!