Watch live: Indians and White Sox play in Free Game of the Day
The Cleveland Indians have 17 games until playoff glory. Meaning that they have 17 games left in the 2016 season, and if they can stay where they are, they will win the division for the first time since 2007.
Where they are is six games ahead of the Detroit Tigers. And while that seems like that’s a pretty safe lead, nothing is really safe in late season baseball. Especially when the last month is filled with divisional play. Like today’s Yahoo Sports’ Free Game of the Day, which happens to be the Indians versus the Chicago White Sox. You can stream it on the Yahoo Sports app, Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index, video home and this very post. Local blackouts apply, per MLB rules. First pitch is at 2:10 p.m. ET.
There are a few things that could trip the Indians up. And the obvious first thing is injuries, especially the one to pitcher Danny Salazar. Salazar has been solid for the Indians this season, with a 3.87 ERA and 161 strikeouts in 137.1 innings. It hasn’t been all smooth sailing, though. He’s been battling elbow issues since the All-Star break, which is concerning since he’s had Tommy John surgery.
After an MRI on Monday, Salazar was diagnosed with a mild strain to his flexor muscle, and he’s been shut down from throwing for 10 days. He’s expected to be back in 3-4 weeks, so he’ll either return to an Indians team in the midst of an exciting and deep playoff run, or he’ll return home until pitchers and catchers report in February of 2017. Without Salazar, the Indians’ rotation could definitely struggle. But as Matt R. Lyons points out at Let’s Go Tribe, their rotation isn’t the only thing that makes them great.
And then there’s catcher Yan Gomes. He’s been on the disabled list since mid-July with a separated shoulder, and was supposed to return on Friday night and catch Corey Kluber for a glorious reunion. But that’s all in doubt since he was hit on the hand during his rehab assignment on Friday night. Gomes’ return would help the Indians, but considering his season before he was injured, it might not make a difference at all.
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When Gomes was playing, he was having a truly craptastic season. He hit .165/.198/.313 in 71 games, which is just not good at all. Since Gomes has been injured, the Indians have used a combination of Chris Gimenez and Roberto Perez behind the dish, and that has barely been an upgrade. Gimenez has hit .220 and Perez has hit .180, with a combined 6 home runs. So if they can survive with Gomes, it looks like they can survive without him as well.
Beyond injuries, the Indians have their schedule to worry about. From now on, the Indians only play teams in the AL Central. In fact, they only play three teams in the AL Central: the White Sox, the Tigers, and the Kansas City Royals. Games against these teams, especially the second place Tigers, directly affect their divisional standings. Losing too many of those games isn’t something they want to do. But throughout 2016, they haven’t done much of that. They have a 10-5 record against the White Sox, an 8-5 record against the Royals, and an 11-1 record (!!) against the Tigers.
Indians have played solid baseball all year, and they worked themselves back up from a six-game deficit in early May. The AL Central id be theirs to win or lose, and if they win, they’ve earned it.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
