Tigers at Indians
The Cleveland Indians looks to make up ground in the race for a playoff spot as they begin a stretch of 14 contests against teams near the bottom of the American League standings, starting with the first of four games against the visiting Detroit Tigers on Monday night. The Indians, who also play Toronto and Kansas City over the next two weeks, salvaged the finale of their series with AL Central-leading Minnesota on Sunday with a 4-3 victory and trail the Twins by 6 1/2 games.
Carlos Santana saw his 30-game on-base streak end in Saturday’s 6-2 loss, but he belted the go-ahead solo homer in the seventh inning Sunday for Cleveland while Tyler Naquin added two hits and an RBI after missing the first two contests of the series with a sore back. Right-hander Adam Plutko hopes to get back on track when he takes the mound Monday for the Indians, who have won eight of nine in the season series this year, and the Tigers counter with lefty Daniel Norris. Detroit snapped a five-game losing streak by pounding out 19 hits in a 12-8 victory at Kansas City on Sunday as Harold Castro finished with four hits to improve to 8-for-13 with three RBIs in his last three contests. Niko Goodrum also had four hits in Sunday’s win for the Tigers and has been a pest against Cleveland this season, going 12-for-30 with two walks and six RBIs in eight games.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, STO (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers LH Daniel Norris (2-8, 4.96 ERA) vs. Indians RH Adam Plutko (3-1, 4.95)
Norris hopes to snap a 10-game winless stretch after giving up six runs on eight hits and three walks over five innings in a 7-5 loss at the Chicago White Sox on July 3. The 26-year-old Tennessee native, who has not won since May 12, has allowed three or fewer earned runs six times during his winless streak. Francisco Lindor is 5-for-15 with a double and three RBIs versus Norris, who gave up six runs on eight hits over seven innings in a loss at Cleveland on June 23.
Plutko has gone three outings without a decision and did not complete five innings in any of them after winning three of his first four starts this season. The 27-year-old UCLA product did not serve up a homer in a relief appearance June 28 at Baltimore, but he has permitted 10 in 36 1/3 innings overall in 2019. Miguel Cabrera is 2-for-4 with a homer against Plutko, who yielded three runs (two earned) with six strikeouts across six innings in a victory over Detroit on June 14.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cabrera is 11-for-30 in the season series and has hit more homers (46) and knocked in more runs (153) against the Indians than any other team.
2. Cleveland 3B Jose Ramirez is 8-for-25 with three homers, six runs and six RBIs during a six-game hitting streak.
3. Tigers INF-OF Brandon Dixon is 6-for-17 during a five-game hitting streak but 3-for-23 versus the Indians this year.