Heading into the stretch run of the Wild Card chase, it seemed as though the Indians had the easiest remaining schedule. That was due in large part to repeated encounters with the White Sox. In the last meeting Cleveland not only took advantage of their late season scheduling but trounced the Sox in a 4 game series, outscoring them 32-6 and leaving the Pale Hose without a victory. It was beneficial enough to help spring them to a 1 game lead for the final Wild Card spot. With a little help from Texas, of course.
The White Sox need one more win to escape the 100 loss season. It seems with a 6 remaining, 4 of them at home, that’s no longer a fear. 1 win out of 6 has eluded the White Sox in the past but this shouldn’t be much of an issue, particularly if they can just get it out of the way tonight.
The contrast in first to second halves for Ubaldo Jimenez is stark. He opened up the year with an ERA well north of 4. Since then he’s sitting under 2 and has been seemingly in full of control of the games he’s involved in. The ball stays in the park, he’s only allowed 3 HR in the second half and since the beginning of August he’s been striking out batters at an accelerated rate, nearly 29% of batters faced go down without putting a ball in play. That sort of competition would seem overwhelming for the White Sox, whose offensive struggles this season are legendary. However since the Indians last left town the Sox are averaging 5 and a half runs a game, even managing to win 4 out of those 7 games.
To help their cause, Hector Santiago. Hector’s in the midst of a bad time. He’s thrown 295 pitches over his last 3 games without amassing 13 total innings. The control that he exhibited to start the season has all but disappeared. Without any sort of pitch economy and regularly putting runners on his effectiveness is fading fast.
Today’s Lineup:
1.De Aza – CF
2.Ramirez – SS
3.Gillaspie – 3B
4.Konerko – 1B
5.Dunn – DH
6.Avisail Garcia – CF
7.Viciedo – LF
8.Beckham – 2B
9.Phegley – C
Cleveland Indians Lineup:
1.Michael Bourn – CF
2.Nick Swisher – 1B
3.Jason Kipnis – 2B
4.Carlos Santana – DH
5.Ryan Raburn – RF
6.Asdrubal Cabrera – SS
7.Yan Gomes – C
8.Michael Brantley – LF
9.Mike Aviles – 3B
Where to Watch
Today’s game will be broadcast on WCIU and SportsTime Ohio. 6:05 Central start time.