Tampa Bay Rays (28-18, second in the AL East) vs. Cleveland Indians (25-23, second in the AL Central)
Cleveland; Thursday, 6 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: TBD Indians: Adam Plutko (1-0, 1.50 ERA, .50 WHIP, 4 strikeouts)
LINE: Indians favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland enters the game as losers of their last three games.
The Indians are 14-11 on their home turf. Cleveland has a collective batting average of .224 this season, led by Francisco Lindor with an average of .296.
The Rays are 15-7 on the road. The Tampa Bay offense has compiled a .253 batting average as a team this season, good for tenth in the American League. Austin Meadows leads the team with a mark of .323. This is the first game between these teams in 2019.
TOP PERFORMERS: Carlos Santana leads the Indians with eight home runs and is slugging .491. Jason Kipnis is 9-for-36 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Cleveland.
Brandon Lowe leads the Rays with 10 home runs home runs and is slugging .557. Ji-Man Choi has 10 hits and is batting .000 over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
LAST 10 GAMES: Indians: 5-5, .231 batting average, 3.84 ERA, outscored opponents by 15 runs
Rays: 6-4, .244 batting average, 2.84 ERA, outscored opponents by seven runs
Indians Injuries: Danny Salazar: 60-day IL (shoulder), Corey Kluber: 10-day IL (arm), Mike Clevinger: 60-day IL (back), Bradley Zimmer: 10-day IL (shoulder), Tyler Naquin: 10-day IL (knee), Roberto Perez: day-to-day (head).
Rays Injuries: Tyler Glasnow: 10-day IL (forearm), Jose De Leon: 60-day IL (elbow), Anthony Banda: 60-day IL (elbow), Joey Wendle: 10-day IL (wrist), Matt Duffy: 60-day IL (back), Yandy Diaz: day-to-day (left hand contusion), Mike Zunino: 10-day IL (quad), Michael Perez: 10-day IL (oblique), Anthony Bemboom: 10-day IL (knee).
