Indians at White Sox
The Cleveland Indians are hitting their stride with four straight victories, while the Chicago White Sox are struggling to feel at home at Guaranteed Rate Field. The reigning American League champion Indians look to continue their run of good fortune and secure a series victory Saturday against Chicago, which has dropped three of four overall and four of six on its home field.
Michael Brantley collected a pair of singles in Friday's 3-0 win to improve to 11-for-29 with two homers, four RBIs and seven runs scored during his seven-game hitting streak. While the 29-year-old Brantley extended his streak, Chicago's Avisail Garcia was unable to follow suit as he failed to reach base for the first time in 15 games this season following an 0-for-3 performance in the series opener. Melky Cabrera has seven hits in his last six contests overall and is batting .310 (9-for-29) with two homers and eight RBIs against Saturday starter Carlos Carrasco. The White Sox will counter with veteran Mike Pelfrey, who was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to step in after Chicago placed fellow right-hander James Shields on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right lat.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), CSN Chicago
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Carlos Carrasco (1-1, 2.33 ERA) vs. White Sox RH Mike Pelfrey (2016: 4-10, 5.07)
Carrasco sustained his first loss despite yielding just two runs on four hits in 6 2/3 innings against Detroit on Sunday. The 30-year-old Venezuelan struggled with his control to the tune of allowing five walks to elevate his pitch count after issuing just one free pass and striking out 14 in his previous two outings. Carrasco traditionally has struggled mightily in his career versus the White Sox with a 3-9 mark with a 5.31 ERA in 18 appearances (17 starts), although he pitched well by permitting one run on four hits and striking out seven in seven frames of a no-decision on April 11.
Pelfrey posted an 0-2 mark with a 7.50 ERA in two starts with the Knights after signing a minor-league deal on the heels of being released by Detroit in spring training. "The thought on Pelfrey being the guy was we wanted to keep everybody in the rotation in their current spot right now, as opposed to moving anybody up," Chicago general manager Rick Hahn said. "And in terms of any of our younger players, we didn't want to disrupt their development for what could potential be only one or two, or maybe three times through the rotation." Carlos Santana is 6-for-18 (.333) in his career versus Pelfrey, who owns a 65-91 mark with a 4.57 ERA since making his major-league debut for the New York Mets in July 2006.
WALK-OFFS
1. Chicago 3B Todd Frazier, who had two extra-base hits against Carrasco on April 11, was hitless in his return in the series opener following a four-game absence due to the flu.
2. Cleveland 2B Jose Ramirez is 0-for-7 on the heels of belting three homers during his six-game hitting streak.
3. White Sox 1B Jose Abreu is 5-for-38 with 10 strikeouts in his last 10 games.