Indians Wednesday Game Thread: Masterson takes on Milwaukee

The Indians take on the Brewers this Wednesday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 ET. Unfortunately the game is not available to watch on MLB TV.

Justin Masterson takes the mound for the Tribe today, making his final start of the spring before the season opener on Monday 31st March in Oakland. He has had a terrific spring up to this point, collecting 20 strikeouts over 19 innings, with an impressive 0.95 ERA as well (just 2 earned runs). The thing I've liked most about Masterson this past month has been his control, limiting himself to just 4 walks, which is a positive sign given his tendency to offer free passes to hitters in 2013. If he cuts down his walk rate this season, we could see him potentially take a step up from being a "very good" to "elite" pitcher.

Yovani Gallardo will start for Milwaukee, and like Masterson he is also scheduled to be the Brewers Opening Day starter, his fifth consecutive year doing so. He's had a successful spring, posting a 2.45 ERA in 5 games, over 18.1 innings.

Today's starting lineup:

1) Ryan Raburn (LF)

2) Nick Swisher (1B)

3) Jason Kipnis (2B)

4) Carlos Santana (3B)

5) Michael Brantley (CF)

6) Asdrubal Cabrera (SS)

7) David Murphy (RF)

8) Lonnie Chisenhall (DH)

9) Luke Carlin (C)

Since yesterday's breaking news that Carlos Santana will start the season as the Indians' primary third baseman, today marks his first appearance at the position since his confirmation. As a result, Lonnie Chisenhall will be today's DH, a role many of us expect him to be in when the season starts on Monday. Now that Santana is the starter at third base, it has thrown Chisenhall's future with the club into doubt and it is still unclear exactly where and how often Lonnie will feature early on in the season (Jason takes a look at what might be in store for Lonnie here).