Miami Marlins @ Cleveland Indians
Sunday, September 4, 2016. 4:10 PM EST, Progressive Field
TV: STO, MLB.TV
Radio: WTAM
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The last time that the Indians had back to back sweeps came on June 30 when they blanked the Atlanta Braves 3-0 to complete the sweep following a 3 game sweep of the Detroit Tigers. Today, Danny Salazar and the Tribe have a chance to extend their current win streak to 6 games and sweep a second straight series. To do so, they will have to beat the Miami Marlins one last time.
RHP Tom Koehler takes the mound for the Marlins to start today's game. 2016 has been roughly what the Marlins expected from Koehler, which is a slightly below average but not terrible starting pitcher who can eat some innings. So far in 2016, Koehler, over 150 innings pitched, has an ERA of 4.02 and a FIP of 4.22. In that time frame, Koehler has allowed 67 earned runs and 64 walks while striking out 121 hitters (good for an ERA+ of 99). His last start came on August 30 against the New York Mets, where he went 5 innings and allowed 5 earned runs on 10 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6.
Opposite Koehler is Danny Salazar for the Indians. Danny has had a fairly volatile year up to this point; pre-ASB, he looked like a dark horse candidate for the AL Cy Young award. Post-ASB, however, has been much more of a struggle for The Dzar has he has struggled to go deep into games and get batters out. So far in 2016, Salazar has logged an ERA of 3.88 and a FIP of 3.72. Over the course of his 127.2 innings, Danny has allowed 55 earned runs and walked 59 batters while striking out 146 (good for an ERA+ of 122). Salazar is coming off of his best start since the All-Star Break, which came on August 28 against the Texas Rangers. In that game, Danny went 5.1 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 10. Hopefully the Danny Salazar from Texas makes an appearance today.
And now, here's the starting 9 for your Tribe:
Live pregame chat with Tyler Griffith
LET'S GO TRIBE!!!