Yankees at Indians
The top competition in the American League has brought out the best in the Cleveland Indians, who have posted consecutive series victories over two teams that arrived at Progressive Field sitting atop their respective divisions. The Indians are 4-1 on their eight-game homestand and will look to complete a sweep of the New York Yankees on Sunday afternoon.
Roberto Perez homered for the fourth consecutive game to boost his season total to 11 and drove in three runs as Cleveland rallied for an 8-2 victory after spotting the Yankees a two-run lead for the second straight day. Oscar Mercado delivered a tiebreaking two-run blast and Kevin Plawecki added a solo shot as the Indians have carried the momentum from taking two of three from Minnesota. The Yankees had won nine consecutive series -- their longest stretch since 1998 -- before dropping two in a row to lose their hold on sole possession of first place in the AL East. Didi Gregorius had two hits in his season debut Friday and followed that up by going 2-for-4 with a two-run homer Saturday in New York's fifth defeat in six games.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, YES (New York), SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Chad Green (1-2, 9.16 ERA) vs. Indians RH Shane Bieber (5-2, 3.57)
With scheduled starter Masahiro Tanaka on paternity leave after his wife gave birth to the couple's second child, New York will go with a bullpen game with Green serving as the opener. The 28-year-old has completed two innings on only one occasion this season and had a stretch of four straight scoreless appearances snapped last time out in Toronto, when he allowed one run on a season-high four hits in one inning. Green sports some ugly numbers on the road, including a 12.79 ERA.
After going five starts and nearly a month without cracking the win column, Bieber is 3-0 over his last four outings after limiting Minnesota to two runs and five hits over seven innings on Tuesday. Although he has struck out 38 batters in 26 innings over the unbeaten streak, Bieber continues to struggle with the long ball, surrendering five homers in his last two turns and 15 overall on the season. He won his lone career start against the Yankees last July with seven innings of four-run ball.
WALK-OFFS
1. Yankees 2B DJ LeMahieu has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games.
2. Indians 2B Jason Kipnis has back-to-back two-hit games after going 0-for-18 in his previous five.
3. Yankees OF Giancarlo Stanton (calf) could start a rehab assignment on Monday or Tuesday, manager Aaron Boone said.