The Cleveland Indians have been pummeled in the first two games of this weekend’s showdown with the Chicago White Sox and have fallen another game back (now 6.5) in the wild card chase. Their sputtering offense, once again, has been absent against Jeff Samardzija and Jose Quintana.
Yet, it doesn’t get any easier.
Cleveland will go toe to toe with White Sox ace Chris Sale on Saturday evening who, after his red-hot stretch in June, has cooled off a bit in July. The young lefty has been plagued by the long ball as of late, as he’s allowed multiple home runs in two of three starts this month.