Kluber duels with another of AL's best pitchers
CLEVELAND -- Each team will run out their ace Tuesday as the Chicago White Sox visit Progressive Field for the first game of a three-game series with the American League Central Division-leading Cleveland Indians.
Corey Kluber (12-8, 3.21) will start for the Indians while Jose Quintana (9-8, 2.85) will start for the White Sox.
Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on SportsTime Ohio
Kluber hasn't lost a game since July 3. In six starts since then, he is 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA, while holding opposing hitters to a .200 batting average. In 13 career starts vs. the White Sox, Kluber is 5-4 with a 3.51 ERA. His last start against Chicago was on May 25 of this year when he gave up one earned run on seven hits with nine strikeouts and one walk in a 4-3 Indians victory.
Quintana is 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA in his last seven starts. In 16 career appearances vs. Cleveland, 14 of them starts, he is 5-2 with a 2.68 ERA. In six career starts at Progressive Field he is 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA.
The White Sox are in fourth place in the AL Central, 11 1/2 games behind the division-leading Indians. So the Sox, to a certain degree, are already looking ahead to next year. Whether manager Robin Ventura is part of that future remains to be seen.
Ventura is in the final year of his contract. In his five years as manager, the White Sox are 353-412. The Sox were 85-77 in 2012, Ventura's first year on the job, and the only year he's had a winning record.
Ventura is not spending a lot of time worrying about his future with the team.
"The focus is on these guys and winning games," Ventura told MLB.com. "There's plenty of time to look at it in the offseason. I've never felt like there is a reason for either side to have to do something just because I don't have a contract next year. It doesn't mean I won't have one and it doesn't mean I will have one. You just go through it and do what you're supposed to do, and this is what I'm supposed to do right now."
Indians manager Terry Francona has no worries regarding his job security. The Indians are in first place in their division and seemingly headed for the postseason for the second time in Francona's four years as manager. He is signed through the 2018 season, with club options for the 2019 and 2020 season.
Of more immediate concern for Francona is keeping the Indians rolling toward a division title. On Monday, All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. Brantley only appeared in 11 games this year due to a series of setbacks in his rehab from surgery on the shoulder last November.
The Indians had been hoping that Brantley would eventually return to the lineup this season. That's not going to happen now, but Francona is not pushing the panic button.
"We've basically played the whole year without him, so we just need to keep playing like always," Francona said.
The Indians have lost some star power without Brantley, but the offense has been remarkably productive, despite the loss of its best all-around hitter. The Indians are second in the league in runs scored.
That should be enough to support one of the top starting rotations in the majors. As for Brantley, there's always next year.
"He'll come back and find a way to be as good as ever," Francona said.
