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Read and Know More About Indians vs Astros- CLEVELAND, Ohio - Just how one views the Indians depends on their line of sight. From outside the walls that every team builds around itself when things aren't going well this is an under-performing team playing in a weak division with one of the worst bullpens in the big leagues. From the ramparts looking out, closer Cody Allen sees something different. And he's not giving the bullpen a pass. "There have definitely been some tough games," said Allen, after Wednesday's 6-0 win over Detroit.
"But for the most part, besides the bullpen, our team is really playing good baseball. Our starting rotation is giving us some serious length. ... The offense is putting up runs through different parts of the game. Different guys are doing it - Erik Gonzalez has been unbelievable for us. Greg Allen has been really good for us. "We're really close to being the caliber of club we need to be going forward." The rotation is 18-10 with a 3.42 ERA, second best in the AL. They've thrown the second most innings, walked the second fewest batters and rank third in strikeouts. Right-hander Charlie Morton (5-0, 2.03 ERA) seeks to keep his winning streak intact for the Astros on Friday, when they open a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians at Minute Maid Park. Morton is 8-0 over his last 11 regular-season starts and has one loss over his last 14 dating to last season. He has recorded all three of his double-digit strikeout games at Minute Maid Park, where he is 4-0 with a 1.96 ERA with 51 strikeouts over 36 2/3 innings this season. Morton is 0-2 with a 5.56 ERA over two career starts against the Indians. His second-worst start of 2017 came against Cleveland on May 19 at Minute Maid Park.
He allowed four runs, eight hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings in a 5-3 loss. Right-hander Mike Clevinger (3-0, 2.70 ERA) will start for Cleveland. He is 1-1 with a 1.04 ERA over two career starts against the Astros, including an outing last season when he twirled seven shutout innings at Minute Maid Park, allowing two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in a 3-0 victory on May 20. In three road starts this season, Clevinger is 2-0 with a 0.83 ERA. The Indians (21-21) embraced an off day on Thursday, particularly on the heels of eight shutout innings from right-hander Trevor Bauer in their 6-0 victory at Detroit on Wednesday. Bauer provided a salve for the Cleveland bullpen, one that yielded three earned runs over 1 1/3 innings in a 6-3 defeat on Monday, and five runs over 2 2/3 innings in a 9-8 setback on Tuesday. By salvaging the series finale against the Tigers, Cleveland maintained its tenuous grasp on first place in the AL Central. Considered by many as one of the elite teams in the majors, the Indians have scuffled to a .500 record over the opening six weeks of the season. Some of their woes are a product of bad luck — the Indians are 5-10 in one-run games.
However, the Indians are last in the AL in bullpen ERA (5.68), a reversal of fortunes from what was a team strength. “I think it’s very important that we continue to keep working hard and relying on one another and playing as a team,” Indians outfielder Michael Brantley said.The Seattle Mariners haven’t made the postseason since 2001. This year, they’ve looked like contenders, and at the moment, they’re on pace to win 91 games.
Yet if the season ended now, they wouldn’t even receive a wild card. The bar may end up being set awfully high for entry into the American League postseason this year — if you’re in the AL East or West, at least. The Red Sox, Yankees, Astros and Angels all have winning percentages of at least .600, with Boston and New York up in the stratosphere at .700. If the Mariners are going to end their postseason drought, they’ll either have to outlast the Astros and Angels for the division, or win enough games for a wild card. Both routes appear challenging. “We knew when we left spring training, it was going to be a very competitive division,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “Up and down the division, the fact that you play those teams so much — I’ve said all along, the teams that’ll be standing at the end, at the top or near the top, are the ones that can stay the healthiest.”
Not long after Servais said that Sunday, the Mariners lost second baseman Robinson Cano to a fractured hand . Last year, Minnesota took the second wild card in the AL with 85 wins. In 2016, both wild cards won 89. The 2015 Astros went 86-76, and that was good enough for a wild card. A record like that might be enough to win the AL Central this year — although Cleveland (20-19) has plenty of time to pull away — but the other two divisions look stronger. A sizeable gap has opened between the top of the league and the bottom. While the Red Sox and Yankees have been on a tear, the White Sox (10-27), Orioles (13-28) and Royals (13-27) have fallen way, way behind. At this early point in the season, it’s not a huge surprise to see some teams occupying the extremes, but two teams playing .700 baseball is unusual. Of course, if Seattle wants a reason for optimism, it can look back to the 2002 season. On the morning of May 14, the top two teams in the AL were Boston at 25-9 and … the Mariners at 26-11. Both those teams came back to the pack and missed the postseason.
If there had been a second wild card that year, they’d have finished tied for it at 93-69. As daunting as the American League terrain may seem at the moment, there’s still a long way to go.Cleveland’s underwhelming start has allowed the Twins a bit of a mulligan on their own 17-19 record. Minnesota is just 1 games out of first place. The Twins rank in the bottom half of the AL in batting average, OPS and home runs. After improving from 59 wins to 85 last year, Minnesota got off to a poor start in 2018 but has won seven of its last nine. HIGHLIGHT It doesn’t get much better than a defensive gem to preserve a no-hitter. Seattle’s Kyle Seager made a diving stop at third base on Kevin Pillar‘s shot down the line, then he popped up quickly and threw Pillar out at first in the seventh inning Tuesday night at Toronto. James Paxton was able to finish the no-hitter . LINE OF THE WEEK Believe it or not, it’s not Paxton’s no-hitter. Instead, the honor goes to Houston’s George Springer, who went 6 for 6 with a homer in a 16-2 win over Oakland on Monday night.
