Two of the American League's best squads will face off on Friday night at Baltimore's Camden Yards, as the Cleveland Indians will play game two of a four-game set with the second-place Orioles.
Cleveland starter Derek Lowe will get the ball for the 16th time this season for Indians manager Manny Acta, and will square off against Baltimore right-hander Jake Arrieta. Although he has fanned 84 batters in 94 innings this season and is still one of the more promising young arms in the AL, Arrieta has struggled to the tune of a 5.55 ERA this year.
After dropping five consecutive games before a win in Thursday's series opener ended the streak, the Indians are now 2.5 games out of first place in the Central Division. With the White Sox clearly locked-in at the plate with new addition Kevin Youkilis in a starring role, the time is now for the Indians to get back on track in the race.
Here are Friday's starting lineups:
Indians
1. Shin-Soo Choo - RF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera - SS
3. Jason Kipnis - 2B
4. Michael Brantley - CF
5. Johnny Damon - LF
6. Casey Kotchman - 1B
7. Lonnie Chisenhall - DH
8. Jack Hannahan - 3B
9. Lou Marson - C
Derek Lowe - SP
Orioles
1. Brian Roberts - 2B
2. Xavier Avery - LF
3. J.J. Hardy - SS
4. Adam Jones - CF
5. Wilson Betemit - 1B
6. Chris Davis - DH
7. Matt Wieters - C
8. Ryan Flaherty - RF
9. Robert Andino - 3B
Jake Arrieta - SP
For more on the Indians, head over to Let's Go Tribe. For more on the Orioles, visit Camden Chat. And for more MLB news and analysis, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.