A three-game weekend series begins on Friday between the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals. The Indians are 19-12, good enough for second in the AL Central.
The Cardinals are still trying to get caught up from having several games postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests. They are 11-11 and look to catch up with the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs.
Top Pitchers Battle
The Indians and Cardinals have some of the best pitchers in baseball. Daniel Ponce de Leon will get the start for St. Louis, while Triston McKenzie will be on the mound for Cleveland.
Ponce de Leon hasn’t had much success yet this season. He is 0-2 with a 5.25 ERA. He hasn’t been able to go very deep in games while struggling with his command.
For the Indians, the rookie McKenzie will be getting just his second start in the big leagues. His major league debut was a dominant performance, creating a lot of buzz around the young star, as he allowed just two hits in six innings in a win against the Detroit Tigers.
“I know he was a little nervous. You could see it on his face,” Indians catcher Roberto Perez said. “He told me, ‘Hey, I rate my pitches: fastball, breaking ball, slider, change.’ I said, ‘Alright.’ I didn’t want to put a lot of information on the guy. I wanted him to go out there and be himself. But he was outstanding.”
The 23-year-old right-hander isn’t sneaking up on anyone in his second outing. He has the attention of his competitors and might be crucial for the future of the Indians’ pitching staff. After getting the nerves out in his first game, it will be interesting to see how he performs on Friday.
“The main thing I focus on is mainly just making sure my body feels good and every fifth day or whenever I’m going to go out there and touch the mound, and that I feel good,” McKenzie said. “If I feel healthy, that’s really big for me.”
The Bats
Paul Goldschmidt has been leading the offensive charge for the Cardinals. He is hitting .333 and has three home runs. Matt Carpenter is only hitting .200 but leads the team in RBI at 12.
With such a long layoff, some of the Cardinals hitters are still trying to get it going.
No one on the Indians has hitting stats that jump off the scorecard, but they are doing enough to get the job done behind their dominant pitching. Third baseman Jose Ramirez has six home runs and 21 RBI so far this season.
Prediction
It’s hard to say how McKenzie will throw in just his second outing, but his debut was impressive. I believe he will do enough to get the Indians a win in this one.
Ponce de Leon’s struggles will continue from the mound, and the Cardinals will drop to below .500
Take the Cleveland Indians on Friday.