Indians at Rays
There may be a month left in the season, but there's a good chance what happens this weekend between the Cleveland Indians and Tampa Bay Rays will have some kind of impact on the American League wild-card race. The Rays look to close a 2 1/2-game gap on the visiting Indians beginning Friday when the teams square off in the opener of a three-game set at Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay ended a four-game losing streak by avoiding a sweep in Houston on Thursday, coming away with a 9-8 victory in a game that saw five lead changes and five ties to remain one game back of Oakland for the second wild card. “It was a big win to be able to have this momentum going against the Indians. They’re a great team, too. So to come out with a win where the lead kept changing and we never gave up, it’ll be a battle these next few days," Rays catcher Travis d’Arnaud told reporters. The Indians have won five of six following a 1-5 stretch and began their six-game road trip by outscoring Detroit 16-3 during a three-game sweep earlier in the week. Cleveland (79-55) is a major league-best 50-25 since June 4 but dropped three of four at home to Tampa Bay in late May.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, STO (Cleveland), FS Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Shane Bieber (12-6, 3.23 ERA) vs. Rays RH Austin Pruitt (2-0, 5.57)
Bieber ranks fifth in the majors with 215 strikeouts and tied for fifth in WHIP (1.01), but he has shown a surprising tendency to give up home runs (26) for a pitcher who is allowing opponents to bat .216. The UC Santa Barbara product settled for a no-decision Sunday against Kansas City, surrendering his ninth homer over his last six outings while permitting three runs (two earned) across seven innings. Bieber was effectively wild in a no-decision against Tampa Bay on May 24, allowing one run on four hits and four walks while fanning 10 in five frames.
Pruitt is set to make his first start in nearly two years and the ninth of his career despite coming off his roughest outing of the year, giving up six runs - including three homers - over 5 2/3 innings in a relief appearance Saturday at Baltimore. The 29-year-old went 2-3 with a 4.19 ERA as a member of the rotation in 2017, getting the bulk of his starts in August of that season. One of those outings came against the Indians, against whom Pruitt allowed three runs across six frames in a no-decision.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cleveland SS Francisco Lindor has at least one hit in 27 of his last 28 road contests, batting .323 with 11 doubles, seven homers, 17 RBIs and 22 runs scored over that span.
2. The Rays are 7-3 in their last 10 against the Indians since the start of last season.
3. Cleveland (3.62) and Tampa Bay (3.68) rank first and second, respectively, in the AL in team ERA.