After scoring exactly one run in their last two games, the Indians have become the personification of a team in the doldrums.
Tuesday night in Toronto, the Tribe will try to change all that and get back on the winning path against the Blue Jays, as Mitch Talbot also tries to bounce back from a personal nightmare against the Red Sox last week.
Talbot (1-1, 5.87 ERA) was rocked by Boston on the 25th in his return to live game action after a stint on the disabled list. In that game against the Sox, Talbot went only three innings, and allowed a whopping 12 hits and two walks, along with eight runs, while striking out only one, in a 14-2 loss.
Talbot will be making only his fourth appearance of the season, and the second in his career against Toronto. Mitch is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA against the Jays in only eight innings of work. and in that brief span of innings has allowed three home runs.
On the mound for the Blue Jays tonight will be right-hander Brandon Morrow. Morrow is 2-2 in 2011 with a 4.38 ERA, and is what the Indians might be averse to seeing right now -- a strikeout pitcher. In only 39 innings this season, Morrow has fanned 48.
Morrow will be making his ninth career appearance against The Good Guys. Morrow has made two career starts against Cleveland, and overall is 1-2 with a 4.58 ERA in 17.2 innings.
Consistent with his ability to rack up K's, Morrow has struck out 24 Indians in that slightly-less-than two full games of pitching.
In his last appearance -- against the White Sox on the 26th -- Morrow went seven innings and allowed only one run on four hits, but received no decision in what was the last loss by Toronto.
This series will wrap up tomorrow evening, when Josh Tomlin will go for the Indians. It would be nice if Tomlin could be taking the mound trying for a series win for Cleveland.
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