In an extremely pivotal series between two AL Central contenders, the Cleveland Indians will take the field at Detroit's Comerica Park on Tuesday to open a three-game set with a dangerous Tigers squad.
Fresh off a three-game loss to the last-place Minnesota Twins over the weekend, the Indians enter their mid-week tilt on an ice cold stretch with defeats in seven of their previous nine games. The recent skid has knocked the Indians to 2.5 games back of the first-place White Sox in the Central, and has also opened the door for the Tigers to make up a good deal of ground in the divisional race.
Cleveland will send inconsistent hurler Ubaldo Jimenez to the hill to kick off the brief series. Jimenez will try to get the better of a Detroit lineup that has been hit with a rash of injuries as of late, but still features two of the game's most feared hitters in Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.
Indians
1. Shin-Soo Choo - RF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera - SS
3. Jason Kipnis - 2B
4. Carlos Santana - DH
5. Jose Lopez - 3B
6. Michael Brantley - CF
7. Shelley Duncan - LF
8. Matt LaPorta - 1B
9. Lou Marson - C
Ubaldo Jimenez - SP
Tigers
1. Quintin Berry - CF
2. Matt Young - LF
3. Miguel Cabrera - 3B
4. Prince Fielder - 1B
5. Delmon Young - DH
6. Alex Avila - C
7. Jhonny Peralta - SS
8. Brennan Boesch - RF
9. Ramon Santiago - 2B
Drew Smyly - SP
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