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TORONTO – There is little suspense in the Cleveland Indians American League race. It's just a question of when they make it official.
They can take a step closer to a division title on Friday night when they play the Toronto Blue Jays in the second game of a four-game series at the Rogers Center.
The Indians will start right-hander Carlos Carrasco (16-8, 3.52 ERA) while the Blue Jays will send right-hander Marco Estrada (7-11, 5.43).
The Indians (80-60) reduced their magic number to seven in the AL center with a 9-4 win over the Blue Jays (63-77) on Thursday. Any combination of Indian wins or losses by the second-ranked Minnesota Twins, who total seven goals or more, will earn a third consecutive division title for Cleveland.
"They had injury problems, but they have an infernal team, a very good training," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "Now they've added to that, of course, and they've even brought back the old Melky (Cabrera), who's playing pretty well, and they've always had a good throw there, and they've had to fight to get some of their guys are in good health, but you have (Corey) Kluber and a few other guys.And then their plumb, they picked up (Andrew) Miller.They added a few pieces there. "
The Indians defeated the Blue Jays in five games of the AHL championship series in 2016.
Both teams made history on Thursday.
Bluejays first baseman Rowdy Tellez, who had doubled in his first appearance at the final on Wednesday as a batter, made his first start in the first division on Thursday. He continued his double frenzy with three of them in the match and had an RBI.
Such became the first player in the era of live-ball (from 1920) to obtain an additional base shot in each of his first three appearances in the major leagues. He also became the first player with additional strikes in four of his first five appearances.
Not to be outdone, the goal-stop Indians Francisco Lindor led the match with his first of two home circuits. It was his seventh game of the season at home, linking Grady Sizemore to the club record. He has played eight home games and six more this season. His six home games since the start of the season are the most numerous of all players in the history of the major leagues.
The Indians had 13 hits on Thursday as they played without Michael Brantley, who was absent with a bruised left foot. It was the result of a ball foul on the top of the foot in the third round of the 3-1 win against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
"He finished the match correctly, but he took the flight and he started to stiffen, so we'll give him (Thursday in a row) to let the coaches do their job, but it'll be fine."
Friday will be the second time Carrasco will face the Blue Jays this season. He did not take into account the decision made on May 3 at Progressive Field in the first match of the double-header, a victory of the Blue Jays 13-11. He allowed six points, nine hits and three walks in five and a half innings.
His previous start at Rogers Center took place on May 9, 2017, when he pitched seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and eliminating seven goals in Cleveland's 4-2 win.
Carrasco is 3-1 with an ERA of 5.60 in seven career outings (six starts) against the Blue Jays. In three games (two starts) at Rogers Center, he's 2-0 with a 1.76 ERA.
Estrada has struggled recently, partly because of back problems. He is 0-2 with an ERA of 15.63 in his last two starts.
This will be the first start of the season of Estrada against the Indians. In three career starts against them, he is 0-1 with a score of 5.40.
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