Cleveland @ Kansas City preview
Kauffman Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 18, 2010 ) Cleveland 6, Kansas City 4
The Cleveland Indians’ pitching staff has been the best in the American League this month. Rookie Josh Tomlin has been one of the reasons.
Tomlin takes the mound for the 10th time as the Indians try to complete a sweep of the Kansas City Royals on Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.
Shin-Soo Choo homered thee times, including a grand slam, and tied his career high of seven RBIs in Friday’s 9-2 pasting, and Cleveland endured over three hours of rain delays and Matt LaPorta slugged his first career grand slam in a 6-4 victory.
Entering the contest, the Tribe has an ERA of 2.57 in September. The rotation has a 3.02 ERA this month with two complete games and a 5-4 record. But even more impressive has been the bullpen, which has posted a 1.85 ERA, even though it allowed four runs on Saturday to match the total runs allowed the rest of the month.
Tomlin (4-3, 4.17 ERA) is making a good case for a rotation spot in 2011. The right-hander joins Steve Dunning (1970) and Herb Score (1955) as the only franchise pitchers since 1920 to last at least five frames in their first nine starts.
The 25-year-old beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 4-3 on Tuesday, allowing three runs – one earned – and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings for his third straight victory. The 19th-round pick in the 2006 draft beat Kansas City 15-4 on Aug. 27, allowing three runs and eight hits in five innings.
After winning a Double-A Eastern League-leading 14 games in 2009, Tomlin was 8-4 with a 2.68 ERA at Triple-A Columbus, finishing second in ERA in the International League.
Luke Hochevar (5-5, 4.81) will start for Kansas City. His career has not gone as planned since being the first overall pick in the 2006 draft. He was 13-25 with a 6.06 ERA in 2008-09 and has shown little growth this season.
The right-hander went on the disabled list in early June for three months with a right elbow sprain before returning in September.
In his second appearance – and first start – since coming off the DL, against the Oakland A’ on Mondays, Hochevar was beaten 3-1 despite allowing no earned runs and two hits in five innings. He's 0-3 in his last four starts and hasn’t won since May 26 against Texas.
In his lone start against the Indians this season, Hochevar tossed his third career complete game in a four-hitter as Kansas City triumphed 9-3. For his career, the 27-year-old is 2-4 with a 4.98 ERA in six starts.