The Cleveland Indians’ run of three straight AL Central crowns appears to be in serious jeopardy as they sit well behind the Twins into the first weekend of June. One thing teams can’t control is injuries and both the Tribe and New York Yankees have dealt with their share over the first few months. The difference is that the Yankees have played through their ailments and lead the AL East.
One player who recently spent time on the shelf will take the hill for the Bombers when C.C. Sabathia gets the call in the middle of a three-game set. With four pitchers currently on the injured list, the Indians will turn to Adam Plutko for his third start of the year.
This MLB game between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians will be held at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, at 4:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 8, 2019. The game will be nationally televised on FS1.
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Odds Analysis
Considering their rash of injuries, it’s a minor miracle the Yankees have performed as well as they have this season. They had won 21 of 27 games without losing two in a row until recently. A loss to Boston in the finale of that series was followed by a two-game sweep in Toronto, giving the Yanks their first three-game losing streak since early April heading into their showdown with the Tribe. Still, the Yankees hold a slim lead over Tampa in the AL East.
The preseason favorite to win the AL Central, it’s been a hectic season for the three-time defending division champion Indians, who are struggling to get back in the race. The good news is that they play in a crappy division and can make up ground. The bad news is that the Twins play the same number of games against those lousy teams. That makes those head-to-head battles more important and the Indians just won the first two against the Twinkies, now they have to continue their minor resurgence against New York.
Probable Pitchers
With retirement looming, C.C. Sabathia ( 3-2, 3.61 ERA ) is making his final season mean something. No longer is he the fireballing ace that clocked in the mid to upper 90s. For the past few seasons he’s been more of a pitch-to-contact hurler and now that he’s mastered that Sabathia is more comfortable on the hill. His current season numbers are in line with his career totals.
MLB’s active leader in wins will try to rack up a few more before the season ends. And despite his 249 lifetime victories, Sabathia has gone a full season with an ERA below 3.00 just once. He typically gets plenty of run support and that’s been the case this season. C.C. hasn’t pitched more than 6.0 innings in any of his nine starts and he’s surrendered 13 home runs in his last 37.1 innings.
With Cory Kluber, Mike Clevinger and now Carlos Carrasco on the shelf, the Indians are turning to Adam Plutko ( 1-1, 6.35 ERA ) for Saturday’s start. He’s pitched in 21 games with 14 starts during his career and will making just his third start this season. Plutko spent all of 2017 at Triple-A Columbus and has been back and forth the last two seasons. He pitched a no-hitter for the Clippers in 2018 and was the College World Series Most Outstanding Player helping UCLA to the 2013 national championship.
Plutko has proven he can pitch, just not at the big league level. He has a 5.40 ERA over 91.2 lifetime innings and was clubbed for seven earned on 12 hits, including four homers, in a loss to Tampa Bay in his last start. This will be his first time facing the Yankees.
Live Betting
When runs are scored it’s likely to happen early in the game. Both starters give up a bunch and both bullpens have been stellar. The Indians have the best bullpen ERA in the Majors at 3.30 and closer Brad Hand has been awesome with a 0.78 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 25.2 innings. The Yanks have been good as well with relievers combining for a 3.74 ERA, however they have blown eight saves and lost eight games.
Free MLB ATS Picks
This could be Sabathia’s last visit to Cleveland, where he began his career back in 2001 and spent eight seasons. You know the adrenalin will be flowing and his mates would like nothing better than to get him a win. And it doesn’t matter how good the Indians bullpen is if they have to work from behind. Avoiding Hand is a plus and the Yankees will put up some runs early off Plutko, who has yet to prove he can consistently get big league hitters out.
MLB Pick: Yankees 7, Indians 3
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