The Indians, who saw their lead in the Central increase to 1.5 games last night when the San Francisco Giants clubbed the Detroit Tigers, will look to sweep the Reds for the second time this season and end interleague play with a four-game winning streak when they take on Cincinnati at 1:10 on Sunday afternoon.
Mitch Talbot (2-4, 4.96 ERA) will go for the Tribe. Talbot has not received a decision in either of his last two starts, and has not won since beating Toronto on May 31. Mitch has worked only 49 innings this year, but the Indians will be hoping that he can add significantly to that number against the Reds, after having seen the bullpen work seven innings on Saturday to secure the 3-1 Cleveland win.
Talbot has faced Cincinnati once before, getting a victory with seven innings of one-run ball.
The Reds will send Mike Leake (7-4, 3.89 ERA) against the Tribe. Leake won his last start, at Tampa Bay, when he went six scoreless innings and allowed four hits in a 5-0 Cincinnati win. Before that win over the Rays, Leake had dropped his two previous starts.
Leake has never faced the Indians.
Cincinnati has dropped to .500 at 42-42, and trail the Milwaukee Brewers and the St.Louis Cardinals by three games in the National League East, as well as having fallen into fourth place, a half-game behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Fausto Carmona, who strained a quad muscle as well as had the webbing between his right index-and-middle fingers, will be evaluated further today.
Chris Perez is expected to rejoin the Tribe today, after having been on the bereavement list for three days to attend the funeral of his grandmother.
In Perez’s stead, Vinnie Pestano picked up his first save of the season and only the second of his career on Saturday afternoon with a scoreless — albeit adventurous — ninth inning, in which he struck out the side yet stranded runners at the corners.