Line-Ups Announced for ALCS Game 4

The only surprise for the Tribe going into a potential series clinching game four was announced yesterday as Corey Kluber will make the start instead of the originally scheduled Mike Clevinger and bullpen friends. With the bullpen taxed from Trevor Bauer’s short outing in game three, they will need Kluber to pitch on short rest and last as long as he can. Of course, if he wins, he’ll have plenty of time to rest before the World Series starts. Here’s the rest of the order:

This is Terry Francona’s typical line-up to face a right handed pitcher like Aaron Sanchez and with Napoli finally breaking out in game three and Crisp producing as well, there is little to complain about. As always, they will be ready for any match-up relievers with Brandon Guyer and Rajai Davis on the bench.

The Blue Jays line-up is much more interesting:

Similar to game three, but in stark contrast to games one and two, the powerful Bautista will lead off and Tulowitzki will hit fourth, ahead of the struggling Martin. The only difference between this and game three, however is that Carrera and Pillar have been flipped in the order. Both had hits in game three, but Carrera has been slightly more productive and was originally the lead-off hitter in the series.

Toronto has a heavy bench, but with Andrew Miller the only Indians lefty expected to pitch (Ryan Merritt is also on the roster, but should be saved in case Clevinger eventually does have to start), any changes will likely be to maximize overall production, like in game three when Justin Smoak hit for Goins, then was replaced by the nearly flawless defensively Darwin Barney. Of course, John Gibbons should be pulling out all the stops today with the series on the line, so don’t be surprised to see a lot of pieces in motion should Toronto get behind again.