Indians at Tigers
Franmil Reyes and the Cleveland Indians hope to continue their power surge when they visit the major league-worst Detroit Tigers for the second of a three-game set between American League Central rivals Wednesday night. Reyes belted his fourth homer in three games as the Indians went deep three times in Tuesday’s 10-1 victory in the series opener for their 13th win in 14 meetings against Detroit this season.
Reyes launched two of Cleveland’s four long balls in Sunday’s 9-8 loss to Kansas City, giving him a career-high 33 on the season, and has knocked in 10 runs over the past three contests while extending his hitting streak to four games. Rookie Aaron Civale gets the start as the wild card-leading Indians go for a fourth victory in five outings while the Tigers counter with veteran Jordan Zimmermann, who is winless in his career against Cleveland. Detroit is 0-7-1 in its last eight series, dropping eight of the last 10 contests overall, after managing three hits in Tuesday’s setback and seeing former two-time MVP Miguel Cabrera leave the game as a precaution due to left biceps tightness. Harold Castro extended his hitting streak to five games (8-for-22) on Tuesday and teammate Dawel Lugo has hit safely in four straight (7-for-14) for the Tigers, who are 17-44 at home in 2019.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, STO (Cleveland), FS Detroit
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Aaron Civale (1-3, 1.82 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Jordan Zimmermann (1-9, 6.48)
Civale lost his third straight decision last time out against the New York Mets despite allowing two runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings in a 2-0 setback. The 24-year-old Connecticut native posted quality starts in his first four major league starts before that defeat, but has received two runs of support in his three losses. Civale beat the Tigers in his big league debut on June 22 when he yielded two hits and three walks with six strikeouts over six scoreless innings.
Zimmermann has pitched much better in his last four starts, permitting eight total runs over 21 1/3 innings with 18 strikeouts and just a pair of walks. The 33-year-old Wisconsin native gave up two runs on three hits and one walk over five innings at Houston in a 6-3 loss last Thursday. Jason Kipnis is 8-for-13 with five extra-base hits (three doubles, two triples) versus Zimmermann, who is 0-6 with a 10.68 ERA in eight career starts against the Indians.
WALK-OFFS
1. Detroit’s rookie SS Willi Castro was 0-for-4 in his home debut Tuesday after going 3-for-8 in his first two major league games at Minnesota.
2. Cleveland SS Francisco Lindor had a pair of doubles Tuesday and has hit safely in nine straight contests (10-for-38).
3. Tigers INF-OF Niko Goodrum was diagnosed with an adductor strain and will be out at least 10-14 days.