Cleveland Indians (80-79) at Detroit Tigers (92-67)
Probable Pitchers:
Monday September 26, 7:05p:
RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (10-12, 4.52, 177 K, 75 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Delmon Young (7 for 12, 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Andy Dirks (1 for 10, 2 K)
at
RHP Doug Fister (10-13, 2.94, 137 K, 37 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Travis Hafner (4 for 13, 1 HR, 2 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Carlos Santana (1 for 11, 3 K)
Tuesday September 27, 7:05p:
RHP Jeanmar Gomez (5-2, 3.52, 26 K, 13 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Delmon Young (3 for 6, 2 2B, 2 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Jhonny Peralta (1 for 4)
at
RHP Max Scherzer (14-9, 4.37, 167 K, 54 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Jim Thome (5 for 11, 1 HR, 4 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Grady Sizemore (1 for 8, 2 K)
Wednesday September 28, 7:05p:
RHP Zach McAllister (0-1, 8.53, 10 K, 6 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Has never faced a Detroit hitter.
Hitter to Fail: Has never faced a Detroit hitter.
at
RHP Rick Porcello (14-9, 4.76, 100 K, 44 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Carlos Santana (6 for 14, 1 2B, 3 HR, 4 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Shelley Duncan (0 for 2)
What to Watch For:
1. Trade Deadline vs. Trade Deadline - This series opens up with 2 pitchers who started the season on different teams. One of the bigger (and expensive) trades was Ubaldo Jimenez. The former Colorado Rockie has been productive for his new team, he is 4-2 with a 4.62 ERA for the Indians. But the best trade acquisition was Doug Fister coming to the Detroit Tigers. Fister is 7-1 with a 2.02 ERA in a Tigers uniform and 4-0 with a 0.69 ERA in the month of September.
2. Betemit returning - Tigers third baseman Wilson Betemit is expected back early in this series. He has not played since September 16th after injuring his knee in a play at home plate in Oakland. Betemit was hitting .233 with 5 RBIs in his last 10 games.
3:45 UPDATE: Jim Leyland told MLB.com's Jason Beck's about Betemit: "He's not right." He's also not starting, obviously.
3. Don't ignore Gomez - Indians starter Jeanmar Gomez takes the mound on Tuesday night. He is 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA in his last 3 starts. He has not given up more than 2 earned runs since July 17th. He is 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA against the Tigers in his career.
On Deck:
Regular season over. Postseason begins 9/30!