September baseball is set to arrive soon as many of the postseason races tighten across the league.
Cleveland has stayed at around .500 despite a season ravaged by injuries at key roster positions. But over time, the remaining roughly .500 won’t be nearly enough to make it to the regular season finale on October 3rd, and Cleveland will need something drastic to create a playoff spot in 2021. A rough week, or possibly even a streak, could dash Cleveland’s post-season hopes this week.
This won’t be easy considering that Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, Bobby Bradley, Roberto Perez and Harold Ramirez are all on the injured list with various complaints and the clock is ticking as Cleveland’s young squad is on the water. This group now includes Triston McKenzie, who was accepted into the 10-day IL on Wednesday.
For multiple squad seats – like the Outfield and Bradley Zimmer, Oscar Mercado and Ramirez – it could be a key month as Cleveland sets up 2022 at the same time.
3 up, 3 down: Cal Quantrill rises, Franmil Reyes wakes up
Here’s a look at Cleveland’s upcoming schedule as the roster grows, but only to 28 players (and 29 for all doubles) for the remainder of the season, which begins September 1st.
Cleveland vs. Boston, Jan. 27-29 August
Friday, August 27th: Logan Allen (1-5, 9.13 ERA) vs. Eduardo Rodriguez (9-7, 5.19 ERA)
Saturday, August 28th: Cal Quantrill (4-2, 3.04 ERA) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (10-8, 3.72 ERA)
Sunday, August 29th: Eli Morgan (2-6, 5.98 ERA) vs. Tanner Houck (0-3, 3.43 ERA)
Cleveland welcomes Boston, one of the teams serving as the catalyst for the upcoming Guardians’ tiny playoff odds in 2021. The Red Sox (72-56) competed Thursday with second wildcard place in the American League along with rivals New York Yankees holding first place. The Oakland A’s and Seattle Mariners are both within 2.5 games of Boston, with Toronto 5 games behind and Cleveland 8 games behind.
The Red Sox have one of the better offensives in baseball, finishing fourth in the majors with 643 runs on Thursday, just behind the Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers. The left side of the Red Sox’s infield was fatal between Xander Bogaerts (average 0.302, 20 homers, 32 doubles, 69 RBI) and Rafael Devers (0.275, 29 homers, 34 doubles, 91 RBI) along with JD Martinez (.283, 23rd Home runs, 33 doubles, 79 RBI) and others who made Boston’s line-up a nightmare for opposing pitchers.
Cleveland, Kansas City, August 31st to September 2nd
Tuesday, August 31: Zach Plesac (7-4, 4.87 ERA) vs. Brady Singer (3-9, 5.07 ERA)
Wednesday, September 1st: TBA vs. Mike Minor (8-11, 5.34 ERA)
Thursday, September 2nd: TBA versus Brad Keller (8-12, 5.43 ERA)
The Royals remain in their long-term rebuilding alongside the well-known Detroit Tigers and the recently revamped Minnesota Twins in the American League Central.
Whit Merrifield (.280, nine homers, 28 doubles, 37 stolen bases, 65 RBI) and Salvador Perez (.272, 34 homers, 19 doubles, 82 RBI) are the cornerstone of Kansas City leading a younger group of controllable players, including starter mug Brady Singer (3-9, 5.07 ERA), which is a piece on the future of the royals.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about the Indians at www.beaconjournal.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.
