Winners of four straight with a six-game homestand standing in their way, the Cleveland Indians will hope to keep things rolling on Friday against inconsistent Miami Marlins pitcher Carlos Zambrano.
Opposing Zambrano on the mound for the Indians is 6-foot-6 strikeout artist Justin Masterson, who has struggled to the tune of a 5.40 ERA and 1-3 record through eight starts this year. After whiffing ten batters in his season debut with just two hits allowed over eight innings, Masterson has routinely finished games with more walks than strikeouts as of late.
Masterson will face off against a speed-heavy Miami lineup that also features one of the most dangerous deep threats in baseball in outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. Knowing Masterson's lack of control lately, however, it's imperative that he doesn't give Marlins base stealers too many free passes.
Here are the full lineups for Friday's game:
Indians
1. Shin-Soo Choo - RF
2. Jason Kipnis - 2B
3. Asdrubal Cabrera - SS
4. Travis Hafner - DH
5. Carlos Santana - C
6. Michael Brantley - CF
7. Johnny Damon - LF
8. Casey Kotchman - 1B
9. Jose Lopez - 3B
Justin Masterson - SP
Marlins
1. Jose Reyes - SS
2. Omar Infante - 2B
3. Hanley Ramirez - 3B
4. Greg Dobbs - 1B
5. Giancarlo Stanton - RF
6. Logan Morrison - DH
7. Emilio Bonifacio - CF
8. John Buck - C
9. Bryan Petersen - LF
Carlos Zambrano - SP
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