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The Indians, 29-24 at home, take on the Oakland A’s, who are 30-23 on the road. The Indians are up 2-1 in the season series, but the A’s are hot, having won 10 of 12. The Indians’ bats are hot, having scored 23 runs on 47 hits in the last four games. But they will be facing some formidable pitching this weekend.
The A’s are fourth in the A.L. in team ERA but only average in scoring at 4.44 runs per game. They are two games behind the Astros for first place in the West and coming on strong. They were off yesterday.
Matt Olson presents the biggest problem for Tribe pitchers. He’s hitting .285/.954 for the season, .364/1.118 in August, and was 4-for-11 against the Indians with three doubles and a home run. Best thing is to just walk this guy, especially with runners on.
Starling Marte was picked up at the deadline and is 17-for-40 (.425) in yellow and green. However, 13 of those hits have been singles and he has only six RBI’s. Mark Canha is hitting .254/.812.
As a team the A’s are hitting .233/.714 against RHP’s. In the first series coming out of the All-Star break they scored nine runs in three games against the Indians with Morgan, Quantrill, and Plesac starting.
Tonight McKenzie goes against LHP Sean Manaea, 8-7, 3.26. Manaea went 5.1 innings allowing 3 runs in his first start against the Tribe. In his most recent start he was touched up for 8 hits and 5 runs by the Padres.
McKenzie has not faced the A’s. In his last eight starts he has alternated between good and bad performances. His last start was good (7 innings, 3 runs against Toronto) so if the pattern continues he should have a bad outing tonight. The next step in his development is to get off the good start/bad start train and start stringing some good starts together. Maybe tonight he starts doing that.
Tomorrow it’s Quantrill against Frankie Montas, 9-8, 4.10. Montas is on a roll, allowing just 13 runs in his last six starts. He went six innings allowing two runs against the Indians in July.
Quantrill is also on a roll having allowed just three earned runs in his last five starts covering 30 innings. That string started against the A’s when he went five innings allowing one run. This could be a very low scoring game.
Thursday’s matinee features Eli Morgan against All-Star Chris Bassett, 11-3, 3.19. Bassett went seven innings against the Tribe and allowed three runs. He has given up one earned run in his last two starts covering 14 innings.
Morgan went five innings allowing three runs against Oakland in July. Since then he allowed three runs in five innings against Houston, two runs in six innings against Toronto, and two runs in seven innings against Detroit. Considering that Houston and Toronto are the highest scoring teams in the league, that is a pretty impressive run. But now that Oakland is seeing him for the second time let’s see if they can get to him.
For the first time in forever the Indians have two lefties in the bullpen with the promotion of Francisco Perez. The cleveland.com writeup:
Pérez is a combined 4-0 with a 1.19 ERA in 45 1/3. He’s allowed 21 hits, six earned runs and 21 walks with 71 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .135 against him in 23 outings.
In his last 11 appearances, Pérez has allowed just two earned runs in 18 innings. On the season, right-handed hitters are batting .109 (10-for-92) against the Dominican native.
Maybe we’ll see Perez or Hentges brought in to face Matt Olson late in a close game. Olson hits lefties as well as he hits righties, so maybe not. But I think we’ll see Perez this series, especially after the bullpen went five innings yesterday. He will be the 9th member of the organization to make his major league debut in 2021.
The A’s are fourth in the A.L. in team ERA but only average in scoring at 4.44 runs per game. They are two games behind the Astros for first place in the West and coming on strong. They were off yesterday.
Matt Olson presents the biggest problem for Tribe pitchers. He’s hitting .285/.954 for the season, .364/1.118 in August, and was 4-for-11 against the Indians with three doubles and a home run. Best thing is to just walk this guy, especially with runners on.
Starling Marte was picked up at the deadline and is 17-for-40 (.425) in yellow and green. However, 13 of those hits have been singles and he has only six RBI’s. Mark Canha is hitting .254/.812.
As a team the A’s are hitting .233/.714 against RHP’s. In the first series coming out of the All-Star break they scored nine runs in three games against the Indians with Morgan, Quantrill, and Plesac starting.
Tonight McKenzie goes against LHP Sean Manaea, 8-7, 3.26. Manaea went 5.1 innings allowing 3 runs in his first start against the Tribe. In his most recent start he was touched up for 8 hits and 5 runs by the Padres.
McKenzie has not faced the A’s. In his last eight starts he has alternated between good and bad performances. His last start was good (7 innings, 3 runs against Toronto) so if the pattern continues he should have a bad outing tonight. The next step in his development is to get off the good start/bad start train and start stringing some good starts together. Maybe tonight he starts doing that.
Tomorrow it’s Quantrill against Frankie Montas, 9-8, 4.10. Montas is on a roll, allowing just 13 runs in his last six starts. He went six innings allowing two runs against the Indians in July.
Quantrill is also on a roll having allowed just three earned runs in his last five starts covering 30 innings. That string started against the A’s when he went five innings allowing one run. This could be a very low scoring game.
Thursday’s matinee features Eli Morgan against All-Star Chris Bassett, 11-3, 3.19. Bassett went seven innings against the Tribe and allowed three runs. He has given up one earned run in his last two starts covering 14 innings.
Morgan went five innings allowing three runs against Oakland in July. Since then he allowed three runs in five innings against Houston, two runs in six innings against Toronto, and two runs in seven innings against Detroit. Considering that Houston and Toronto are the highest scoring teams in the league, that is a pretty impressive run. But now that Oakland is seeing him for the second time let’s see if they can get to him.
For the first time in forever the Indians have two lefties in the bullpen with the promotion of Francisco Perez. The cleveland.com writeup:
Pérez is a combined 4-0 with a 1.19 ERA in 45 1/3. He’s allowed 21 hits, six earned runs and 21 walks with 71 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .135 against him in 23 outings.
In his last 11 appearances, Pérez has allowed just two earned runs in 18 innings. On the season, right-handed hitters are batting .109 (10-for-92) against the Dominican native.
Maybe we’ll see Perez or Hentges brought in to face Matt Olson late in a close game. Olson hits lefties as well as he hits righties, so maybe not. But I think we’ll see Perez this series, especially after the bullpen went five innings yesterday. He will be the 9th member of the organization to make his major league debut in 2021.
