Tigers at Indians
The Cleveland Indians are closer to first place in the American League Central than they have been since mid May and look to make up more ground when they attempt to complete a four-game sweep of the visiting Detroit Tigers on Thursday. Jose Ramirez remained hot with three hits and scored twice as the Indians rolled to a 7-2 victory on Wednesday to move within four games of first-place Minnesota.
Ramirez has gone 14-for-37 with three homers, nine runs and nine RBIs during his nine-game hitting streak while Tyler Naquin recorded his fifth straight two-hit performance and improved to 15-for-33 in his last nine contests for Cleveland, which has won 15 of its last 20. Trevor Bauer will try to help the Indians improve to 12-1 in the season series when he takes the mound Thursday opposite Matthew Boyd, who leads Detroit with six victories and will make his team-high 20th start. Nicholas Castellanos registered the only hit for the Tigers in Tuesday’s loss and homered on Wednesday, making him 6-for-16 with two walks during his four-game hitting streak. Detroit, which is tied for the fewest amount of victories in the majors with Baltimore (29), has allowed at least seven runs in seven of its last nine contests and has dropped 11 of 13 overall.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers LH Matthew Boyd (6-7, 3.95 ERA) vs. Indians RH Trevor Bauer (8-7, 3.65)
Boyd, who has been mentioned in trade rumors, has won just one of his last seven starts and allowed at least four runs in each of his last five. The 28-year-old Oregon State product kept the ball in the park against Kansas City on Saturday after serving up 12 homers over his previous six turns. Roberto Perez is 4-for-5 with four walks versus Boyd, who is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts against Cleveland this year.
Bauer suffered the loss against Minnesota on Saturday, permitting three runs over six innings while registering 11 strikeouts after winning his previous four decisions. The 28-year-old UCLA product, who has notched 160 strikeouts in 138 frames this season, has given up fewer than two runs in four of his last seven outings. Miguel Cabrera is 12-for-35 with a homer and two doubles against Bauer, who is 1-1 with a 4.34 ERA in three games versus the Tigers in 2019.
WALK-OFFS
1. Detroit INF-OF Niko Goodrum was a late scratch on Wednesday after being hit on the right pinky finger by a ball during batting practice.
2. Cleveland OF Oscar Mercado has gone 5-for-11 with three homers and six RBIs in the series after entering with one hit in 25 at-bats this month.
3. Tigers UTIL Harold Castro is 11-for-24 with four RBIs in his last six contests.