CLEVELAND ¡ª Cleveland Indians starting pitchers lead the American League in
wins with a 44-23
record Trenton
Cannon Color Rush Jersey , and they¡¯re second with an ERA of 3.39.
Cleveland¡¯s remarkable starting pitching depth will be on display Sunday
afternoon at Progressive Field in the finale of a three-game series with the
Oakland Athletics. The teams split the first two games, with Oakland winning 6-3
on Saturday to snap Cleveland¡¯s five-game winning streak.
Rookie Shane Bieber will start Sunday for the Indians. In a combined 17
starts for Cleveland and Triple-A Columbus, Bieber is 10-1 with a 1.77 ERA ¡ª and
he¡¯s the No. 5 starter in the Indians¡¯ rotation.
The rotation is led by two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber and Trevor
Bauer, who ranks third in the AL in strikeouts and innings pitched and is fifth
in ERA.
The No. 3 starter is Carlos Carrasco, a 17-game winner last year when he
finished fourth in the Cy Young Award voting. The No. 4 starter is Mike
Clevinger, who in 38 starts since the beginning of the 2017 season is 18-7 with
a 3.07 ERA.
¡°Good baseball starts with good starting pitching,¡± Indians manager Terry
Francona said. ¡°Having good starting pitching always enhances your chances to
win, and we¡¯ve got five very good starting pitchers.¡±
Bieber is the newest addition to that rotation, having replaced Josh Tomlin
in the No. 5 spot. Like Tomlin, Bieber¡¯s calling card is impeccable control. In
his 17 starts between Cleveland and Columbus, Bieber has pitched 107 innings and
has 101 strikeouts and 11 walks.
In his five starts with the Indians, Bieber is 4-0 with a 2.97 ERA. His last
start was the worst of the five, but he still won the game. On July 3, he was a
6-4 winner over Kansas City, pitching six innings and giving up four runs and
nine hits with two strikeouts and one walk.
Sunday will be Bieber¡¯s first career start against Oakland.
The A¡¯s on Sunday will activate left-hander Brett Anderson
(0-2 http://www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com/authentic-leighton-van der-esch-jersey ,
7.63 ERA) off the disabled list and he will make his first start since May 18.
Anderson was removed from that start after one inning because of a sore shoulder
and placed on the disabled list the next day. In four starts before the injury,
he was 0-2 with a 7.63 ERA.
Anderson will make his first appearance against the Indians since Aug. 27,
2012, when he pitched seven scoreless innings and gave up two hits in a 3-0 win.
Only two players in Cleveland¡¯s lineup that day are still with the Indians:
Michael Brantley and Jason Kipnis.
In four career starts against Cleveland, Anderson is 2-0 with a 0.96 ERA.
The A¡¯s on Saturday made a roster move, putting outfielder Matt Joyce on the
10-day disabled list with a lumbar strain, the second time this season that
Joyce has spent time on the DL with the same back condition.
To replace Joyce on the roster, the A¡¯s recalled outfielder Nick Martini from
Triple-A. In 73 games with Nashville, Martini was hitting .308 with six home
runs and 40 RBIs. This is his third stint with the A¡¯s this year. In the first
two, he was 1-for-10 with one RBI in five games.
As far as Javier Baez is
concerned, no deficit is too big for the Chicago Cubs to overcome.
Baez and his teammates showed why he feels that way on Saturday.
Baez homered and had four hits ¨C including a game-tying infield single in the
eighth ¨C and the Cubs rallied from a five-run deficit for an 8-7 victory over
the Cincinnati Reds.
Anthony Rizzo¡¯s RBI groundout capped a four-run eighth inning for Chicago,
which has come from behind in each of its last eight wins.
¡±That¡¯s what we do,¡± Baez said. ¡±We fight to the end. We¡¯ve been coming back
since 2016.¡±
Eugenio Suarez homered and Billy Hamilton added three hits and three stolen
bases for Cincinnati, which had its five-game winning streak against the Cubs
snapped.
Randy Rosario (4-0) allowed two hits in 2 1/3 innings to get the win. Brandon
Morrow worked the ninth for his 20th save.
The Reds took a 7-4 lead into the eighth, but reliever Amir Garrett ¨C who
retired three straight batters in the seventh ¨C walked Victor Caratini and
Addison Russell to start the inning. Pinch hitter David Bote then singled to
load the bases.
Jared Hughes (2-3) replaced Garrett and Ben Zobrist greeted him with a
two-run double to left-center to trim the deficit to 7-6. Baez followed with a
comebacker http://www.texansauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jordan-akins- jersey ,
but Hughes bobbled the ball and then fell down as he picked it up. Baez was
credited with an RBI infield hit as Bote scored for a tie at 7.
¡±It was right there; it hit my glove,¡± Hughes said. ¡±I think it was a hit,
but still, I should have made the play.¡±
Rizzo then drove in Zobrist with a groundout to second base to put Chicago on
top.
¡±Amir gave us a clean seventh inning, and the wheels fell off in the eighth,¡±
Cincinnati manager Jim Riggleman said.
The five-run deficit was the largest the Cubs have overcome during the eight
comeback wins.
¡±It¡¯s fantastic,¡± Bote said of Chicago¡¯s string of comebacks. ¡±The quality
at-bats the last two weeks have been incredible.¡±
Suarez¡¯s three-run blast in the third gave the Reds a 5-0 lead.
Chicago moved closer with a pair of runs in the fourth. Caratini drove in the
first with a double and then scored on an RBI groundout by Russell.
Cincinnati reclaimed the five-run advantage with single runs in the fifth and
sixth innings on RBI singles by Jesse Winker and Joey Votto.
The Cubs made it 7-3 in the bottom of the sixth as Rosario drove in a run
with a single for his first major league hit and RBI.
Baez¡¯s 17th homer leading off the seventh trimmed the deficit to three
runs.
HARVEY SOLID
Reds starter Matt Harvey was in line to win his fourth straight start before
the eighth-inning meltdown. The right-hander allowed three runs (two earned) in
5 2/3 innings. He has a 1.88 ERA over his last four starts. ¡±It¡¯s a good sign
that I can go out, not feel great, be out of whack and still get somewhat deep
in the game and limit the damage,¡± Harvey said.
SUN FIELD
Harvey might have completed the sixth without giving up a third run had right
fielder Scott Schebler not lost a pop fly by Russell in the sun with one out. It
dropped in for a double. Rosario followed with a single to drive in Russell.
TRAINER¡¯S ROOM
Cubs: OF Jason Heyward left the game after taking a foul ball to the groin in
the third inning. 3B Kris Bryant (left shoulder inflammation) took batting
practice, fielded grounders and ran the bases before the game. Manager Joe
Maddon said Bryant will go on a rehab assignment before being activated,
although the details haven¡¯t been worked out yet.
UP NEXT
LHP Jon Lester (11-2, 2.25 ERA) looks to become the NL¡¯s first 12-game winner
on Sunday in the finale of the three-game series. Lester has won seven straight
starts. RHP Luis Castillo (5-8, 5.53) pitches for the Reds.
¡ª