Indians, Tigers meet in final game before All-Star break (Jul 09, 2017)
CLEVELAND -- One team wants to keep rolling, the other team is trying to start rolling.
On Sunday night at Progressive Field, the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers will face one another in their last game before the All-Star break. Cleveland has won the first two games of the three-game series, outscoring Detroit 15-2.
The Tigers (38-48) dropped 10 games below .500 and nine games behind the American League Central-leading Indians.
"The only thing we can do is try to come back tomorrow and try to win that game. We can't control anything else," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said after Saturday's loss.
Since June 8, the Tigers are 9-19, but Ausmus is emphasizing that there is still the second half of the season to play.
"It's a 162-game season and this team is built for 162 games," he said. "I'm confident the guys will bounce back."
The Indians (47-39) have won four of their last six games. Since June 15, they are 16-8. They lead the AL with a 3.77 team ERA, and their starting pitchers have a 1.96 ERA in the last seven games.
"It's easy to let down as you get close to the All-Star break, but we want to finish the first half off strong," Indians outfielder Michael Brantley said.
Sunday will be the sixth consecutive game in which Indians bench coach Brad Mills serves as acting manager. The team is 3-2 under Mills, who is filling in for Terry Francona.
Francona was discharged from Cleveland Clinic on Friday after being hospitalized for four days with an irregular heartbeat, a condition that was corrected through a cardiac procedure on July 6.
Mills and the rest of the Indians' coaching staff have closed ranks and tried to keep things as normal as possible in Francona's absence.
"Everyone has worked well together trying to move this thing forward as seamlessly as possible," Mills said. "The front office has done a good job of helping us out. It's been a collective effort that I think has made us a better group."
Sunday night's pitching matchup features two starters who were selected for the American League All-Star team, although neither will pitch in Tuesday's game because of their starts Sunday: Cleveland's Corey Kluber (7-3, 2.85 ERA) and Detroit's Michael Fulmer (8-6, 3.20).
The Tigers have given Kluber trouble through the years. In two starts against Detroit this year, Kluber is 1-1 with a 10.61 ERA. In 11 starts against all other teams, Kluber is 6-2 with a 1.94 ERA.
Kluber was the American League Pitcher of the Month in June. He ranks fourth in the league in strikeouts even though he spent most of May on the disabled list with a lower back strain.
In seven starts since coming off the DL, Kluber has gone 4-1 -- the score in the one loss was 1-0 -- with a 1.24 ERA while averaging 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings and holding opposing hitters to a .155 batting average.
Kluber will go into his start Sunday having struck out 10 or more in a franchise record five consecutive starts. In 19 career appearances against Detroit, Kluber is 6-7 with a 4.59 ERA.
Fulmer has not faced Cleveland this year. In four career starts against the Indians, he is 1-2 with a 6.98 ERA.
