Sprinkling In Some Wins Would Be Nice – Game Preview & Lineups 9/14

Ubaldo Jimenez was briefly atop the pitching world. Shortly after he fell off, the Indians saw fit to trade for him and he’s not been the same since. His 2013 season, however, is the closest he’s come to mirroring his success of 2010. Though his overall performance is just slightly above league average, he’s seen his strikeout rate rise back up over 23%, which is where it stood during his standout season. The Indians need him now, when the day started they found themselves the closest team to a wild card berth, needing a falter looking up only at the Rangers and Rays.

Standing in their way, Andre Rienzo and his curveball. Rienzo has been inconsistent from start to start over his first 8 games, but the stuff is there and he’s shown that he’s capable. Last weekend in Baltimore he went 6.2 innings and allowed just 1 run en route to a White Sox victory, their lone win of a 4 game set. The Brazilian’s debut came against this same Cleveland squad just over a month ago, his 7 innings and 6 strikeouts are highs for him so far.

Today’s Lineup:

1.De Aza – CF
2.Beckham – 2B
3.Ramirez – SS
4.Konerko – 1B
5.Avisail Garcia – CF
6.Gillaspie – DH
7.Viciedo – LF
8.Phegley – C
9.Semien – 3B

Adam Dunn gets an off day after a 3-strikeout game yesterday. Not that it’s rare, but he’s getting the day off anyway and Conor Gillaspie will continue to try and regain some confidence by getting some at-bats without having to worry about anything in the field for an evening.

Cleveland Indians Lineup:

1.Michael Bourn – CF
2.Nick Swisher – RF
3.Jason Kipnis – 2B
4.Carlos Santana – 1B
5.Michael Brantley – LF
6.Asdrubal Cabrera – SS
7.Jason Giambi – DH
8.Yan Gomes – C
9.Lonnie Chisenhall – 3B

Hey it’s the Giambino!

Where to Watch
Today’s game will be broadcast on WGN and Sports Time Ohio. 7:10 Central start time.