Series Preview: Cleveland Indians (59-82) @ Texas Rangers (83-57)

The Cleveland Indians come to town tied for the last spot in the AL Central with the Minnesota Twins. The Indians have struggled mightily in the second half and are fighting to stay out of the division cellar.

Aug 31, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus (1) throws to first base after forcing out Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis (22) in the fourth inning at Progressive Field. Andrus was charged with a throwing error on the play. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-US PRESSWIRE

The Rangers, after taking two out of three against Tampa Bay come home after a well-deserved day off. They have been playing a lot of extra baseball lately so it is nice to have an extra day of rest this late in the season.

Matt Harrison had two extra days of rest getting pushed back from his Sunday scheduled start to start tonight. He will need to bounce back strong if the Rangers expect to make a push towards a third straight World Series.

Series at a Glance

Texas Record: 83-57 (1st AL West)
Cleveland Record: 59-82 (T-4th AL Central, 17.5 GB)

Season Series: 3-3
Record at Texas: 0-0

Notable Transaction: December 6, 1988: The Cleveland Indians traded Julio Franco to the Texas Rangers for Jerry Browne, Oddibe McDowell and Pete O’Brien.

Probable Starters:

Tuesday 7:05 CDT TEX: LHP Matt Harrison (15-9, 3.37 ERA/3.95 FIP) – CLE: RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (9-15, 5.58 ERA/5.08 FIP)

Wednesday 7:05 CDT TEX: RHP Ryan Dempster (5-1, 4.36 ERA/3.91 FIP) – CLE: RHP Jeanmar Gomez (5-7, 5.33 ERA/5.19 FIP)

Thursday 7:05 CDT TEX: LHP Derek Holland (10-6, 4.59 ERA/4.62 FIP) – CLE: RHP Zach McAllister (5-7, 4.31 ERA/4.30 FIP)

Projected Indians Lineup
1 RF Shin-Soo Choo (L)
2 2B Jason Kipnis (L)
3 SS Asdrubal Cabrera (B)
4 C Carlos Santana (B)
5 CF Michael Brantley (L)
6 1B Casey Kotchman (L)
7 DH Russ Canzler
8 3B Jack Hannahan (L) vs RHP
9 LF Ezequiel Carrera (L)

Bench
C Lou Marson
C/IF/OF Vinny Rottino
1B Matt LaPorta
3B Lonnie Chisenhall (L)
IF Jason Donald
IF Cord Phelps (B)
IF/OF Brent Lillibridge 3B vs LHP
OF Thomas Neal

Bullpen
CL RHP Chris Perez
SU RHP Vinnie Pestano
SU RHP Joe Smith
MID LHP Tony Sipp
MID RHP Cody Allen
MID RHP Esmil Rogers
MID LHP Scott Barnes
MID LHP Scott Maine
MID RHP Frank Herrmann
MID LHP David Huff
LR LHP Chris Seddon
(source MLBDepthCharts)

For more information on the Indians see FanSided’s Indians page, Wahoo’s On First.