clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

McAllister back on the mound to take on the Blue Jays

It'd sure be nice to win this one in nine innings.

Please...please only play 9 innings today.
Please...please only play 9 innings today.
Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports


Cleveland Indians @ Toronto Blue Jays


Saturday, July 2, 2016. 1:07 PM ET, Rogers Centre


TV: STO, MLB.TV


Radio: WTAM


--


After yesterday's impromptu double header, both the Indians and Blue Jays find themselves a bit short on the pitching end for today's game. In Friday's contest, the Blue Jays used a total of 10 pitchers, 2 of which were position players. The Tribe, on the other hand, only used 9 arms, but one of those arms was Trevor Bauer, who threw 5 innings to end the game. Bauer was scheduled to start today but, despite his eagerness in the post game interview, since he threw 83 pitches yesterday, he will not be pitching today. Instead, the Tribe turns to starter-turned-bullpen-arm Zach McAllister to start today's game. McAllister threw 27 pitches yesterday, so he did work yesterday, but not to the extent that Bauer did.


For Toronto, RHP Marco Estrada gets the start (he somehow didn't actually throw any pitches yesterday). Estrada is having a fantastic season for the Blue Jays; in 99.1 innings of work, he as allowed just 31 earned runs while walking 39 and striking out 92. His ERA is a stellar 2.81, but his FIP of 4.05 suggests that he's been getting some help out on the mound (good for an ERA+ of 150). He does have a tendency to walk batters, so if the Cleveland offense can be patient and not swing at junk (looking at you, Mike Napoli), they should be able to get to him.


To counter, the Indians send Zach McAllister to the hill. McAllister has not started a game this season, and he only started one game in all of 2015; the lone start came back on April 10, 2015 in a loss against Detroit. On the season, despite what some may think, McAllister has actually pitched pretty well for the Tribe, logging 25.1 innings of work and only allowing 9 earned runs. He has walked 12 batters, but he's also struck out 26 along the way, earning an ERA of 3.20 and FIP of 4.18 (good for an ERA+ of 145). After yesterday's marathon, McAllister is going to need to give Tito some length if the team wants to leave Canada with their arms intact.


And now, here's the starting 9 for your Tribe:


Today's Lineups

CLEVELAND INDIANS TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Rajai Davis - LF Ezequiel Carrera - RF
Jason Kipnis - 2B Devon Travis - 2B
Jose Ramirez - SS Josh Donaldson - DH
Mike Napoli - DH Edwin Encarnacion - 1B
Carlos Santana - 1B Michael Saunders - LF
Lonnie Chisenhall - RF Russell Martin - C
Juan Uribe - 3B Troy Tulowitzki - SS
Tyler Naquin - CF Kevin Pillar - CF
Chris Gimenez - C Darwin Barney - 3B
Zach McAllister - RHP Marco Estrada - RHP

LET'S GO TRIBE!!!