Marlins at Indians
The Cleveland Indians look to rebound from a pair of rough contests at home when they open a two-game interleague series against the visiting Miami Marlins on Tuesday night. The Indians coughed up a late six-run lead in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday before Atlanta scored nine times in the first four innings and handed Cleveland an 11-5 defeat Sunday night.
The good news for the Indians (12-6) is they have a much healthier lineup as shortstop Francisco Lindor homered among two hits in his first two games of the season over the weekend while second baseman Jason Kipnis, who returned from injury April 15, had four singles in his last two contests. Carlos Carrasco will try to match his best outing of the season Wednesday when he takes the mound in the series opener against fellow right-hander Pablo Lopez in a battle of Venezuelan hurlers. The Marlins (6-16) begin a six-game road trip after winning their first series of the season, taking the first two games before dropping a 5-0 decision to Stephen Strasburg and Washington at home Sunday. Miami is last in the majors with 60 runs and have managed one victory in six road games this season, but veteran infielder Martin Prado leads the way with a .326 batting average while sitting one hit shy of 1,500 and three RBIs away from 600 for his career.
TV: 6:10 p.m. ET, FS Florida (Miami), STO (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins RH Pablo Lopez (1-3, 5.85 ERA) vs. Indians RH Carlos Carrasco (2-2, 7.41)
Lopez has dropped three straight decisions since winning his 2019 debut, but the Marlins did not score in any of those contests. The 23-year-old, who gave up two runs on five hits and a walk across five innings in a 4-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs last time out, has struck out 23 and walked three in 20 innings this season. Lopez faces the Indians for the first time in his career after going 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two interleague games in 2018 when he was 2-4 in 10 starts as a rookie.
Carrasco found his top form last time out, allowing three hits and two walks over seven scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts in a 1-0 win at Seattle after posting a 12.60 ERA in his first three starts. The 32-year-old retired two batters in his previous start at Kansas City, but has fanned 29 and walked five across 17 innings overall this year. Miami's Curtis Granderson is 6-for-14 with two homers versus Carrasco, who pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings in 2016 in his lone career start against the Marlins.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cleveland 1B-DH Carlos Santana, who needs one homer for 200 in his career, tops the team with a .379 batting average and 13 RBIs.
2. Granderson leads the team with seven RBIs, but is batting .155 after striking out four times Sunday.
3. The Indians, who have won five straight games in the series, meets Miami for the first time since 2016.