Indians face the Tigers after Civale's strong performance
Detroit Tigers (45-106, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Cleveland Indians (89-63, second in the AL Central)
Cleveland; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Tigers: Daniel Norris (3-12, 4.62 ERA) Indians: Mike Clevinger (11-3, 2.68 ERA)
LINE: Indians -356; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland heads into the matchup after a dominant performance by Aaron Civale. Civale pitched 7 2/3 innings, giving up one run on four hits with four strikeouts against Detroit.
The Indians are 46-26 against AL Central opponents. The Cleveland pitching staff owns a team ERA of 3.71, Shane Bieber leads the staff with a mark of 3.26.
The Tigers are 20-45 in division matchups. Detroit's team on-base percentage of .294 is last in the American League. Miguel Cabrera leads the club with an OBP of .343. The Indians won the last meeting 2-1. Adam Cimber earned his sixth victory and Yasiel Puig went 4-for-5 with an RBI for Cleveland. Jose Cisnero registered his fourth loss for Detroit.
TOP PERFORMERS: Carlos Santana leads the Indians with 34 home runs and is slugging .527. Oscar Mercado is 14-for-43 with four doubles, two home runs and four RBIs over the last 10 games for Cleveland.
Cabrera leads the Tigers with 133 hits and is batting .281. Harold Castro has 13 hits and is batting .406 over the last 10 games for Detroit.
LAST 10 GAMES: Indians: 7-3, .259 batting average, 3.10 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs
Tigers: 3-7, .249 batting average, 5.40 ERA, outscored by 18 runs
Indians Injuries: Danny Salazar: (groin), Jefry Rodriguez: (shoulder), Tyler Olson: (undisclosed), Corey Kluber: (arm), Brad Hand: (arm), A.J. Cole: (shoulder), Cody Anderson: (elbow), Tyler Naquin: (knee), Jose Ramirez: (wrist), Jason Kipnis: (wrist), Christian Arroyo: (forearm).
Tigers Injuries: Daniel Stumpf: (elbow), Tyson Ross: (nerve), Matt Moore: (knee), Blaine Hardy: (elbow), Michael Fulmer: (elbow), JaCoby Jones: (wrist), Niko Goodrum: (groin).
