Tigers at Indians
The Cleveland Indians look to continue their offensive surge when they host the Central Division-rival Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon in the rubber match of a three-game series. The Indians scored six runs in the final two innings of Friday’s 7-6 loss before belting four homers among 19 hits in the 13-6 triumph on Saturday that snapped a three-game slide.
Jose Ramirez led the barrage with a pair of blasts while knocking in a career-high six runs for Cleveland in the victory and is a scorching 9-for-13 in the last three games after managing five hits in the first eight contests of the campaign. Right-hander Carlos Carrasco will try to get the Indians a series victory for the first time since they swept Texas to open the season and he will oppose promising lefty Matthew Boyd, who is coming off a strong performance. Detroit’s offense has continued to produce, scoring at least five runs for the seventh time in 11 games to start the season. The best sign for the Tigers is former two-time MVP Miguel Cabrera is beginning to swing a hot bat after a cold start, going 5-for-9 with three walks in the last three contests.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers LH Matthew Boyd (1-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. Indians RH Carlos Carrasco (1-0, 2.13)
Boyd rebounded from a rough season debut by limiting Minnesota to one hit over six scoreless innings last Tuesday with six strikeouts and a pair of walks. The 26-year-old Oregon State product, who was acquired from Toronto in the David Price deal in 2015, gave up five runs, five hits and four walks while securing just seven outs against the Chicago White Sox on April 6. Edwin Encarnacion is 2-for-7 with a double versus Boyd, who pitched 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball against Cleveland in 2016.
Carrasco has picked up where he left off last season by producing two solid starts to open 2017, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk over 12 2/3 innings with 14 strikeouts. The 30-year-old from Venezuela, who went 11-8 with a 3.32 ERA last year, limited the White Sox to one run on four hits last Tuesday without getting a decision in the 2-1 victory. Cabrera is 10-for-31 with a homer against Carrasco, who went 2-0 with a 0.51 ERA in four starts versus the Tigers last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Detroit OF Justin Upton homered for the second time in three games Saturday and is 6-for-13 with five RBIs in a four-game span.
2. Cleveland OF Lonnie Chisenhall is 5-for-11 with a pair of homers and seven RBIs in three games since coming off the disabled list.
3. Tigers OF Tyler Collins has hit safely in seven consecutive games, going 10-for-26 in that stretch.