Indians, Tomlin hope to stay hot against White Sox (Jul 30, 2017)
CHICAGO -- Josh Tomlin is on a roll, and the right-hander will try to help the Cleveland Indians extend their season-high winning streak on Sunday.
In Tomlin's last three starts, he is 3-0 with a 3.10 ERA. He will start against the Chicago White Sox as the teams conclude their three-game series.
Tomlin (7-9, 5.59 ERA) limited the Cincinnati Reds to two runs and four hits while striking out six in six innings in his last start.
"When (Tomlin's) going good, that's what he can do," Indians manager Terry Francona told MLB.com after Tomlin's last start.
Tomlin is 4-5 with a 4.15 ERA in his 12 career appearances, including 11 starts, against the White Sox. However, in his previous two starts versus Chicago this season, he allowed 10 earned runs in just 4 1/3 innings, suffering two losses.
On the road, Tomlin is 2-3 with a 5.44 ERA in eight starts in 2017.
The Indians (57-45) lead the American League Central by three games after they beat the White Sox 5-4 on Saturday to stretch their season-high winning streak to nine. Cleveland owns the second-best record in the AL and is 10-5 since the All-Star break.
"We're all really hitting one through nine in big situations, getting big hits," outfielder Brandon Guyer said. "Pitching has been good the whole year. The days we're pitching good we're also hitting good. Before, sometimes we pitched good where we wouldn't necessarily hit that day, or vice versa. We're kind of combining it all."
Meanwhile, the White Sox (39-62) have lost five in a row and 14 of their last 15. They have the worst record in the AL.
Starting for the White Sox on Sunday will be left-hander Carlos Rodon (1-4, 6.29 ERA), and he is coming off an odd outing. He struck out a career-high 11 and had a two-run double for his first career hit but lasted just four innings against the Chicago Cubs in that game.
"(I) just have to try to get them to put the ball in play, make them swing the bat," Rodon told reporters after his last start. "Right now, you can see they're up there taking the first strike to make me throw pitches. That's two games in a row where I'm at 60 pitches in two innings. It's tough to go deep in a game for your team when that is happening."
Opposing batters are hitting .260 against Rodon, who began the season on the 60-day disabled list with left biceps bursitis.
Rodon is 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA in nine career outings, including eight starts, against the Indians. He limited Cleveland to two hits in eight scoreless innings on Sept. 25 in his most recent start against the Indians.
While they undergo a rebuilding season, the White Sox are still looking for their starters to pitch deeper in games.
"These guys don't want to come out in the fourth," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "They don't want to come out without giving you an opportunity to extend the game. We've been doing everything we can honestly to try to keep our games respectable."
