Braves at Indians
Things are looking up for the Cleveland Indians, who open a three-game home interleague series Friday against the Atlanta Braves leading the American League Central after winning three straight at Seattle, and one of their star players is close to making his season debut. Shortstop Francisco Lindor, sidelined with a strained right calf and an ankle injury since spring training, was scheduled to rejoin the team after three Triple-A rehab games and could be activated as soon as this weekend.
Cleveland first baseman Carlos Santana, who missed his first game of the season Wednesday with a tight hamstring, is hitting .389 with a team-high 11 RBIs and enters the weekend batting 12-for-22 with runners on base. The Braves were swept in a three-game home series against Arizona and their bullpen continues to struggle, giving up 11 runs (nine earned) in the series with 10 walks over 10 innings. Outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. brings a nine-game hitting streak into the series, going 16-for-32 in that span with four homers and 10 RBIs. Second baseman Ozzie Albies went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts Thursday and is hitless in his past 11 at-bats.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS South (Atlanta), STO (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Touki Toussaint (1-0, 0.00) vs. Indians RH Corey Kluber (1-2, 6.16)
Toussaint started the season in Triple-A after a rough spring, but he bailed out the Braves with six innings of scoreless relief in his season debut Saturday against the Mets, striking out seven while allowing one unearned run on four hits. The 22-year-old, who takes the demoted Sean Newcomb’s spot in the rotation, impressed as a rookie a season ago while going 2-1 with a 4.03 ERA in seven games and firing three scoreless innings to get the win in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. Toussaint has 39 strikeouts in 35 career major-league innings.
Kluber has battled inconsistency through his first four starts, with two outings of six-plus innings and two games where the two-time Cy Young winner has lasted 3 1/3 innings or fewer. The 33-year-old got a no-decision in his last start Sunday at Kansas City, allowing six runs on six hits with five walks over just 2 2/3 innings. Kluber, who gave up just one earned run and struck out eight with one walk on April 9 at Detroit, beat the Braves in his only career appearance in 2016 - surrendering two runs on three hits with seven strikeouts across eight innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Braves finished 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left 18 runners on base in the final two games against Arizona, scoring three runs in 19 innings.
2. Cleveland RHP Nick Wittgren earned his first career save Wednesday with two perfect innings of relief, after LHP Brad Hand picked up the save in the opening two games of the series.
3. Atlanta is 7-6 when scoring first this season, after going 63-23 when doing so in 2018.