Clevinger bests JV again; Brantley clutch in win By Jason Beck and Ben Weinrib / MLB.com | 12:01 AM ET + 117 COMMENTS CLEVELAND -- For the third time in four meetings this season, the Indians beat Justin Verlander. This time, they only needed one run to do it. Michael Brantley's fifth-inning double provided the go-ahead tally, supporting Mike Clevinger through six scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over the Tigers on Saturday at Progressive Field. Six days after Clevinger (5-3) held the Tigers to a run on two hits over six innings in Detroit, he limited them to three hits, two walks and one runner in scoring position. The young right-hander retired 13 of 14 Tigers in between hits from the second into the sixth innings, with a walk accounting for the lone runner in the stretch. "He pitched well," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "But we have to find a way to scrape out a couple runs, to be honest with you. Somehow, we have to find a way to scrape out some wins. We just didn't do a lot offensively." Clevinger, 26, is pitching the best baseball of his budding Major League career with just five total runs given up over 27 innings in his past five starts. "The improvement he has through each start," Indians bench coach and acting manager Brad Mills said, "I thought today was sure nice to see, especially since going into the [All-Star] break now. That's really going to give him some confidence. Commanding the zone like he did. Not getting behind hitters. After the first hitter of the game, he kept coming after guys, stayed aggressive with all of his pitches and he was able to have command of his offspeed stuff." With a bevy of scouts watching ahead of the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline, Verlander (5-6) acquitted himself from last Sunday's struggles with the Tribe by holding down its mighty offense. He didn't have a 1-2-3 inning, but his lone inning with multiple hits was the one that cost him, with Brantley converting Francisco Lindor's two-out single into a run. "Personally, win. Teamwise, not a win," Verlander said. "And this is a team sport. This isn't a personal sport." Carlos Santana's RBI double, Bradley Zimmer's ensuing RBI triple and Yan Gomes' sacrifice fly provided insurance runs off Bruce Rondon in the eighth. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Clevinger thwarts early chance: The Tigers had their leadoff runner on base in each of the first two innings, but didn't advance either. The more costly chance was their first, with Ian Kinsler drawing a walk ahead of the middle of the order. Clevinger nearly nabbed him on three pickoff throws, then caught Kinsler too far off base on the fourth, retiring him just before Justin Upton's single. "The three previous were close," Clevinger said. "I feel like a lot of runners, especially if you pick over three times, that fourth time they're going to be going. We gave him a little bit of a hold. I was going for the throw for the tag, because I thought we might have had a chance because the other two were close." Brantley battles for RBI: Verlander struck out six of nine Indians hitters from the fourth inning into the sixth, but could not finish off Brantley after a 1-2 count. Brantley fouled off a curveball, fastball and slider from Verlander before running the count full, then turning on a curveball over the plate and lining it off the fence in right-center. "It's a battle every time," Brantley said of facing Verlander, whom he has seen more than any other pitcher. "There's so much video and there's so much tape to go back years and years. You really try to simplify it and get a pitch out over the plate, don't try to do too much, stay up the middle and don't get caught in any tendencies. He's a great pitcher over there, he's their ace, and we were lucky to get the victory tonight." QUOTABLE "There's been times when I've given up four or five [runs] in wins. I know it's a lot easier to dwell on the good ones when you don't get run support, but you can't do that. You just have to plug along, go about your business, just continue pitching and really take positives away from it. This felt like a huge step in the right direction for me." -- Verlander, on lack of run support "It's a little surreal. Especially when he made his mark and won the Cy Young, I think I was 16. I think any right-handed pitcher, especially the second he got on the scene, he had the 100-mph fastball with the power curveball. Everyone looked up to wanting to do that and wanting to be him. It was surreal to get to face him two starts in a row. It gives you a little extra edge, because you grew up watching the guy and trying to emulate the pitches he has." -- Clevinger, on facing Verlander SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Zimmer's strikeout to end the fourth inning was Verlander's first strikeout since fanning Kansas City's Alex Gordon to end the sixth inning on June 27. Verlander went 41 batters between strikeouts; 38 of those batters were Cleveland Indians. "Anytime that you want to have good at-bats, I think you want to make the pitcher to work for his outs maybe a little bit more," Mills said. "That's probably the most important thing that we can put together, is putting together a solid at-bat and making him use those pitches and kind of throw everything, so now we see all those pitches. I think that's what the guys were able to do." KIPNIS EXITS WITH INJURY Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis exited the game following the third inning with a right hamstring injury. In the bottom of the frame, he tried to beat a slow roller to the mound but pulled up before touching the base, holding his right leg. Erik Gonzalez replaced Kipnis at second base. AFTER FURTHER REVIEW The Tigers challenged a pickoff play at second base in the sixth inning in which Verlander tried to get Jose Ramirez out. After a review, the call stood, as shortstop Jose Iglesias' glove did not touch Ramirez in time. The Tigers have been successful on 10 of their 17 challenges this season, but they only have one successful overturn in their last four challenges. WHAT'S NEXT Tigers: All-Star Michael Fulmer gets the ball as the Tigers close out their first half on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball at 8:05 p.m. ET at Progressive Field. Fulmer went 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA against the Indians during his rookie season, but he hasn't faced them this year. Indians: Fellow All-Star right-hander Corey Kluber takes the mound for the Indians in the series finale. Kluber has given up just two total earned runs in his last four starts, but the Tigers have hit him hard for 11 runs over 9 1/3 innings in two starts this season. Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.

Brantley no stranger to JV, and vice-versa By Jason Beck / MLB.com | @beckjason | 12:38 AM ET + 0 COMMENTS CLEVELAND -- No pitcher has faced Michael Brantley more than Justin Verlander. Just a handful of current hitters have stepped into the box against Verlander more often than Brantley. They've built a history over the years. That's why, when asked about Brantley fouling off everything but the kitchen sink before lacing his fifth-inning RBI double to break a scoreless duel in a 4-0 Indians win over the Tigers on Saturday at Progressive Field, Verlander could smile and interject. "No, the kitchen sink was in there, too," Verlander said. On a night when Verlander felt comfortable throwing all of his pitches, Brantley fouled off everything but the changeup to keep his at-bat and the fifth inning going with Francisco Lindor on first base. It ended with a double off the wall in right-center field, sending Lindor around to score for the game's first run. That was all the Indians needed, though they tacked on three insurance tallies off Bruce Rondon. Though Verlander pitched better against the Indians than he had all season, he suffered his third loss in four meetings with the Tribe this year, thanks to a hitter he had owned the past few seasons. Though Carlos Santana and Lonnie Chisenhall garner a lot of the attention when Verlander faces the Tribe, Verlander and Brantley have had their own saga. Brantley went 15-for-38 from 2009 to 2013, but with just two extra-base hits. Since then, Verlander had held him 6-for-35 entering Saturday. Nineteen of Verlander's 115 pitches Saturday went to Brantley, all with a runner on base, but only one decided the game. "He never gets out of his game plan," Verlander said. "He's so patient and calm at the plate. There's no panic. Ever. Even going to back when I'm throwing 101, 102 [mph], he's just nice and calm, fouling stuff off. You make a mistake and he hits it." Said Brantley: "It's a battle every time. There's so much video and there's so much tape to go back years and years. You really try to simplify it and get a pitch out over the plate, don't try to do too much, stay up the middle and don't get caught in any tendencies. "He's a great pitcher over there, he's their ace, and we were lucky to get the victory tonight." In the first inning, Brantley fouled off two offerings from Verlander before flying out to right. Brantley chased a couple fastballs on the outside corner his next time up, fouling off the first before grounding a 2-1 fastball to second base to end the third inning following Lindor's two-out walk. By the time Brantley came back up in the fifth, Verlander was rolling, recording three consecutive strikeouts with help from a nasty curveball before Lindor's two-out single brought up Brantley. Brantley took a curveball at the knees and a 97-mph fastball inside to fall into a 1-2 count. After a curveball in the dirt, Brantley went to work. Verlander went back to the curveball at the knees. Brantley fouled it off. Verlander tried the fastball off the plate again. Brantley went for it, but fouled it off. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Verlander gave him a slider over the plate. Brantley fouled it off. "You make good pitches and he fouls it off," Verlander said. "It's easy to get frustrated as a pitcher. But I've dealt with these guys enough that it's just par for the course." After a high fastball ran the count full, catcher Alex Avila went back to the curveball that started the at-bat. "Looking back, maybe I should've called a backdoor curveball instead of going in there," Avila said. "But he's still got to hit it." Brantley considered himself fortunate. "He was staying on the corners, staying off the middle the plate and mixing it up," Brantley said. "I was lucky to get a breaking ball out over the plate and put a good swing on it." Said Verlander: "Even though it was a decent curveball in a decent spot, it kind of just ran away from him a little bit. So I think it gave him just enough time to say, 'Oh, it's a curveball.' It kind of just came out just a hair early. But we're kind of nitpicking right now." Kipnis exits with right hamstring injury By Ben Weinrib / MLB.com | July 8th, 2017 + 5 COMMENTS CLEVELAND -- Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis exited Saturday's 4-0 win against the Tigers following the third inning with a right hamstring strain. Kipnis hit a slow dribbler to Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander off a checked swing and tried to beat the throw to first, but he pulled up before hitting the bag and hobbled, grabbing his right hamstring after the play ended. The team didn't have an update after the game on how much time Kipnis -- who hit a double in his first at-bat -- might miss, but he will have built-in time off with the four-day All-Star break beginning on Monday. "We'll kind of work through tests and so forth," said bench coach and acting manager Brad Mills after the game. "We'll know a little bit more obviously tomorrow." Erik Gonzalez came in at second base to replace Kipnis as the Indians took the field in the next inning. Gonzalez singled and doubled in three at-bats and cleanly fielded five balls in his six defensive innings. Kluber, Fulmer to close down season's first half By Ben Weinrib / MLB.com | July 8th, 2017 + 9 COMMENTS Despite both of their nominations to the All-Star team, neither Corey Kluber nor Michael Fulmer will be pitching in the 2017 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard on Tuesday. That makes their face-off on Sunday night at Progressive Field on ESPN a de facto Midsummer Classic, of sorts, for the right-handers. Kluber is in his second straight All-Star campaign and has been dealing as of late. He has given up two total earned runs in his past four starts, lowering his ERA on the season to 2.85. However, the Tigers have hit him hard for 11 runs over 9 1/3 innings in two starts this season.

Fulmer is impressing in his second Major League season, with a 3.20 ERA over 109 2/3 innings. He didn't allow a homer in 10 straight starts before giving up two to the Giants last time around, and he has not yet faced the Indians this year. Three things to know about this game • The heart of the Tigers' order all hit .300 or better in their career against Kluber. Miguel Cabrera (.442) leads the way with six homers in 52 plate appearances, followed by Justin Upton (.385), Victor Martinez (.341), Nicholas Castellanos (.333), and J.D. Martinez (.308). • Fulmer has been one of the hardest pitchers to make quality contact against this season. Among 39 pitchers with at least 300 batted balls against them, Fulmer's average exit velocity of 85.4 mph ranks sixth-best, according to Statcast. • Fulmer's fastball, in particular, has been hard to touch. Among 125 starters with at least 50 fastballs put in play, his .228 expected batting average ranks 27th-best, according to Statcast. Santana rejoins Tribe after birth of daughter By Ben Weinrib / MLB.com | July 8th, 2017 + 4 COMMENTS CLEVELAND -- The Indians welcomed back first baseman Carlos Santana from the paternity list on Saturday after the birth of his third child. To make room for Santana, the Indians optioned right-hander Shawn Armstrong to Triple-A Columbus, leaving the club with seven relievers for the final two games before the All-Star Game. Santana had been with his wife, Brittany, since the birth of Luna Star Santana, their second child together, on Wednesday. Santana sat out the maximum three games and returned to the lineup on Saturday to face Detroit's Justin Verlander, against whom he's homered in each of the last eight seasons. Santana didn't homer, but he did hit two doubles in Cleveland's 4-0 win. "It really looked like he hadn't skipped a beat at all, and really, the time away might have kind of been really refreshing for him," said bench coach and acting manager Brad Mills. Santana is the third Indian to go on the paternity list this year, following closer Cody Allen and left fielder Michael Brantley in June. Brantley, who has four children with his wife, and Santana have talked plenty with Allen, who's wife welcomed their first child. "[Brantley] was more experienced for that," Santana said. "Cody, this is the first one, so we talked about that. We have fun for that. We've gotten the opportunity for a beautiful family and baby. Everything's fine. I'm very happy." Because the Indians only used their bullpen for nine innings in the last five days -- including one total inning for back-end stoppers Allen and Andrew Miller -- they felt comfortable only keeping seven relievers for the two games before the break. Rehab start for Salazar • Injured right-hander Danny Salazar threw a side session at Progressive Field in front of pitching coach Mickey Callaway on Saturday and is scheduled for a rehab start with Class A Short Season Mahoning Valley on Tuesday. This will be Salazar's third rehab start since being placed on the 10-day disabled list in early June with right shoulder soreness. He gave up six runs over five runs between his other two starts earlier this month with Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. Tuesday's outing for the Scrappers was not meant as a demotion -- Mahoning Valley was the only affiliate not on an All-Star break or with a day off. Salazar is scheduled to throw 75 pitches. Clevinger, Brantley lead Indians past Tigers 4-0 BY STEVE HERRICK Mike Clevinger grew up watching Justin Verlander dominate opposing hitters. Lately, the Cleveland right-hander has had the Detroit ace's number. Clevinger, who made it to the big leagues last season, outpitched Verlander for the second time in a week to lead the Indians to a 4-0 victory over the Tigers on Saturday night. "It's a little surreal," Clevinger said after allowing three hits in six innings. "When he made his mark, I was 16. Any right-handed pitcher, especially, the second he got on the scenes, he had the 100 mile-an-hour fastball and the power curveball, that's what everyone looked up to, wanting to be him." Clevinger (5-3) allowed only one runner to reach second base and won his third straight decision. Verlander (5-6) gave up one run in 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander struck out six after the Indians snapped his streak of 331 consecutive games with at least one strikeout last Sunday. Verlander lost to Cleveland for the 24th time in his career, the most losses he's had against any team, and is 1-3 this season. "I don't think there has been a team that's battled against me better than them over the last couple years," he said. "If you take the Indians out of the equation, I've had a pretty good year. But with them in it, I haven't pitched very well." All-Star Michael Brantley broke a scoreless tie with an RBI double in the fifth, hitting a 3-2 pitch to right-center that scored Francisco Lindor, who reached on a two-out single. Brantley is batting .289 (22 for 76) with 10 RBIs lifetime against Verlander. "It's a battle every time," Brantley said. "He's a great pitcher. He's their ace."

Cleveland scored three in the eighth off Bruce Rondon. Carlos Santana, returning after three days on the paternity list, had an RBI double and scored on rookie Bradley Zimmer's triple. Yan Gomes added a sacrifice fly. The Indians played their fifth straight game without manager Terry Francona. He was released from the Cleveland Clinic on Friday night, one day after undergoing a cardiac ablation for an irregular heartbeat. Francona was resting at his downtown residence following a heart procedure and four-day hospital stay. Francona won't manage Tuesday night's All-Star Game in Miami and is expected to rejoin the Indians and assume his usual duties July 14 when the team opens a three-game series in Oakland. Bench coach Brad Mills is running the team with Francona out. Verlander was removed with two on in the seventh and threw 115 pitches. His name has been mentioned in trade rumors as the Tigers fall further back in the AL Central. "Everything felt better," he said. "I felt really good. But this is the end of a lousy first half." Clevinger retired Miguel Cabrera on a hard grounder to the mound with a man on to end the sixth. The ball hit off Clevinger's leg and rolled a few feet away, but he recovered and threw to first. Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis strained his right hamstring running out a grounder in the third and was replaced by Erik Gonzalez. GOOD COFFEE, TOO Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez's popularity grows by the day. A late surge in fan voting resulted in him being the starting third baseman in the All-Star Game. A local coffee company has introduced a blend named "Jose Jose," in honor of the chant heard nightly at Progressive Field. Ramirez handed out bags of the coffee in the concourse before the game. GETTING TO THE POINT Tigers manager Brad Ausmus knew his team didn't do the job against Clevinger. "We had three hits against the guy — and three hits generally doesn't get it done," he said. TRAINER'S ROOM Tigers: LHP Anthony Gose (strained elbow) was placed on the disabled list at Single-A Lakeland. The former outfielder has made 11 appearances in his first season as a pitcher, posting a 7.59 ERA. Indians: RHP Danny Salazar (sore shoulder) will make a minor league rehab start at Single-A Mahoning Valley on Tuesday. UP NEXT Tigers: RHP Michael Fulmer ranks second in the American League with 14 quality starts. The first-time All-Star is 1-2 with a 6.98 ERA in four career starts against Cleveland. Indians: RHP Corey Kluber — named to his second AL All-Star team — seeks to extend his franchise-record streak of five straight games with double-digit strikeouts. By the numbers: Mike Clevinger a beneficiary of ‘add ed confidence,’ Indians shutout Tigers by T.J. Zuppe, 1 hour ago CLEVELAND — Every club wants to head into the All-Star break with some momentum. The Indians' desire to finish the unofficial first-half strong is not unique, but it's something they talked about nonetheless prior to the weekend series against the Tigers. There's still one more game standing in their way — a nationally televised Sunday night game to send the sport into next week's All-Star festivities — but they are certainly very pleased with how the first two game of the series have played out, topping the Tigers in each of the first two matchups and beating their division rivals on Saturday night, 4-0. “It’s easy to let your guard down and just look for the All-Star break,” Michael Brantley said. “Our focus, our goal that we talked about was finish it off, finish it off the right way, play competitive baseball, whatever that might be. We did a great job the last two nights of just being a team all the way around and putting together good at-bats and coming out with victories.” Here are the numbers behind the club's ninth shutout of the season — tied for the most in the majors. 1.67: Mike Clevinger's ERA over his past five starts. His most recent effort, a six-inning, shutout effort featured just three hits and two walks, striking out four. While he was forced to pitch with some occasional traffic, he managed to get the timely outs necessary to keep the game scoreless until the Indians broke through for their run in the fifth. Then he got probably his biggest out in the sixth when Miguel Cabrera, with the tying run at first base, lined a ball off Clevinger's calf. The righty recovered, located the ball and threw out Cabrera at first to retire the side and end his outing.

“I think the added confidence just kind of allowed me to attack the zone and attack hitters,” Clevinger said of his terrific recent stretch. “It’s not ‘Oh no, runners on second with less than two outs.’ Now it’s ‘the runner’s on second with less than two outs. I’ve done this the past four starts. This is not news to me.’ It’s kind of getting more comfortable with the same situations you faced in the Minor Leagues that you’re able to climb out of instead of kind of digging a deeper hole like I was early in my career. I feel like now I’m getting to the point that it’s easier to find the mistakes I’m making and getting back to the plan of attack.” 47.92: Clevinger's percentage of four-seam fastball's used in Saturday's win, the second-lowest of any game this season. Early in the season, Clevinger said one of the biggest reasons why he felt like he was having success was because he was being less reliant on his fastball in predictable counts. This season, his four-seamer has resulted in the highest batting average of any of his offerings, partially because hitters were hunting it when Clevinger would fall behind in the count or utilize it with two strikes. More recently, he's gotten back to using more of his secondary stuff, and in particular, he felt like his changeup was a difference-maker on Saturday. “I was getting hurt [with the fastball],” Clevinger said. “A lot of my hard contact came when I was behind in the count throwing nothing but heaters. Finding that second pitch this start to get back to besides the fastball at any given time was huge. I think we found that in the changeup today.” While he felt good about the change, his slider might have actually been his best performer against the Tigers, earning five swinging-strikes and allowing an impressively low 71.8 mph average exit velocity on four balls put in play. Above all, his ability to distribute his pitch mix more evenly, changing speeds and location and being less predictable — in addition to his growing confidence and desire to attack opposing hitters — has helped him put together the best stretch of his young career. “The improvement he has through each start [is fun to watch],” acting manager Brad Mills said. “I thought today was sure nice to see, especially since going into the break now. That’s really going to give him some confidence. Commanding the zone like he did. Not getting behind hitters. After the first hitter of the game, he kept coming after guys, stayed aggressive with all of his pitches and he was able to have command of his offspeed stuff.” 11: Pitches Lonnie Chisenhall saw in his plate appearance against Bruce Rondon in the bottom of the eighth. At the time, it was a one-run game, but by driving up the pitch count and eventually reaching on a walk, Chisenhall started a three-run rally that would be punctuated by Carlos Santana's RBI double, Bradley Zimmer's RBI triple and Yan Gomes' sacrifice fly. “It was an outstanding at-bat with Rondon kind of doing everything he could,” Mills said. “Throwing the kitchen sink at him is really an understatement with the type of moves and pitches that he was throwing to Lonnie. And Lonnie kept fouling them off and fouling them off.” Before the game, I asked Chisenhall about his increased plate discipline this year — his 9.8 percent walk rate is the best of his career — and the outfielder offered the best sort of answer: an obvious one. “Swing at strikes and take balls,” he said. It's certainly a little more complicated than that, but it's not a stretch to call Chisenhall one of the Tribe's most improved and lethal hitters in the first half. We'll get into some of the reasons why he's become such a force at the plate over the next week or so. 1: Runs allowed by Justin Verlander in 6 2/3 innings. Many pondered if that was Verlander's last start in a Tigers uniform, which still seems like a little bit of a longshot considering the money left on the righty's contract (he's owed $28 million in each of the next two seasons with a vesting option for 2020). If that wasn't challenging enough, there's been reports of the Tigers wanting a decent haul for Verlander and he hasn't been as terrific this year as he was during his Cy Young runner-up season of 2016. Still, there were more scouts in attendance than your typical night at Progressive Field, with at least a few clubs sending eyes to watch Verlander allow six hits, walk four and strikeout six. “These guys battle,” Verlander told reporters of the Indians. “The last couple of years, I don’t know if there’s ever been a team that’s battled me as hard as they have, and it’s gone both ways.” Michael Brantley opened the scoring with a fifth-inning RBI double to right-center off Verlander, a man he's seen a lot of over the years. It's probably not a coincidence that Brantley also used the same word choice to describe his showdown with the familiar foe. “It’s a battle every time,” Brantley said. “There’s so much video and there’s so much tape to go back years and years. You really try to simplify it and get a pitch out over the plate, don’t try to do too much, stay up the middle and don’t get caught in any tendencies. He’s a great pitcher over there, he’s their ace, and we were lucky to get the victory tonight. ” If Saturday did mark the final start for Verlander with the Tigers, it would bring an interesting end to his battles with the Indians to a close — at least from a divisional rival standpoint. His 52 outings against the Tribe are the most of any team he's faced over his career, and his 4.71 ERA against the Indians is the second-highest against any AL club.

4-for-9: Jason Kipnis' past three games at the plate prior to exiting Saturday's game with a mild hamstring strain. The timing couldn't have been worse for the Indians second baseman, who was finally starting to string together some good swings and positive sequences at the plate. All four of his hits over that stretch were doubles, adding three walks over the three games. Kipnis has been banged up all year, starting with his shoulder issues in spring training. After missing almost the entire preseason, he's also battled neck spasms throughout various portions of the year. While he won't use it as an excuse, those issues have probably weighed on him more than he's revealed, and as a result, the offensive production (80 wRC+) hasn't been up to his typical standards. While we won't know more about the extent of Kipnis' leg injury until prior to Sunday's game, if Kipnis needs to miss an extended period of time, next week's All-Star break at least reduces the overall total of games he'd miss while recovering. 0: Number of Terry Francona's shoes thrown at his television. Before Saturday's game, Mills was asked how he's dealt with Francona's time away for his heart procedure, a development that not only thrust Mills into being the team's acting manager, but also added the responsibility of being the American League's manager at the All-Star Game to his plate. “I told him, ‘Hurry up. This playing sick is enough now.'” Mills joked. Humor has been a steady constant between the two during Francona's stay at the Cleveland Clinic, and Mills joked that Francona had likely thrown a few shoes at his TV over the past few days in response to things playing out on the field. After Saturday's game, Mills was asked if there was any more footwear tossed at the television. “I don’t know,” he said with a laugh. “I haven’t gone and looked at my phone yet.” Indians 4, Tigers 0: Mike Clevinger, bullpen blank Tigers

By Ryan Lewis

CLEVELAND: Mike Clevinger and the Indians went toe-to-toe with Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers Saturday night. The pitcher with less name recognition, but much more hair, won the duel, as the Indians topped the Tigers 4-0 before a sellout crowd at Progressive Field.

Clevinger (5-3) delivered one of the best outings of his young career, allowing only three hits and walking two in six shutout innings. He also struck out four. Only one runner reached second base with him on the mound, that being J.D. Martinez, who opened the second inning with a double but advanced no further as Clevinger quickly recorded the first two outs and then struck out Mikie Mahtook to end the threat.

Clevinger’s performance continued a strong last month, in which he’s allowed no more than two earned runs in any start. On June 6, his season ERA stood at 4.09. As he walked off the field on Saturday night, it had dipped to an even 3.00.

The last out — which might have been his biggest of the game — came with a price. With two outs in the sixth, Miguel Cabrera came up to the plate with Alex Avila as the tying run on first base. With Andrew Miller warming in the bullpen, the Indians chose to stick with Clevinger, who was facing Cabrera for the third time. Cabrera made solid contact, hitting a ball back up the middle that struck Clevinger and dribbled away. Clevinger corralled it, threw Cabrera out at first base and walked to the dugout to a large ovation from the home crowd.

The Indians (47-39) brought home their first run of the game with a two-out rally in the fifth. Francisco Lindor extended the inning with a single to left field. He then took off for second base on a pitch to Michael Brantley, which Brantley drilled into the gap in right-center field to easily allow Lindor to score from first.

In the eighth, facing Tigers reliever Bruce Rondon, the Indians added some insurance runs. Carlos Santana doubled to right-center, scoring Lonnie Chisenhall, who drew a walk in an 11-pitch at-bat. Bradley Zimmer followed with an RBI triple to the gap in right-center a few pitches later. Yan Gomes then scored Zimmer on a sacrifice fly to center field, putting the Indians on top 4-0.

The Indians’ bullpen put forth another shutdown performance. Andrew Miller started the seventh and pitched two scoreless innings and Cody Allen worked the ninth, which became a non-save situation thanks to the three-run eighth.

The Indians might have received some bad news, though, in the third inning. Jason Kipnis tapped a ball back to Verlander (5-6) on the mound. While running out the play, Kipnis came up hobbling just before he reached first base and then walked off the field slowly.

Kipnis exited the game with a right hamstring injury and was replaced by Erik Gonzalez. There were no further updates during the game.

With Saturday night’s sellout in their 44th home game of the season, the Indians topped one million fans this year at Progressive Field. Last year, it took 52 home games to draw a million fans.

Indians bench coach Brad Mills looking forward to r elinquishing duties back to manager Terry Francona

By Ryan Lewis

CLEVELAND: Bench coach Brad Mills has dutifully filled in as manager while Terry Francona underwent tests and then a procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat.

And he’ll be happy when Francona returns. Mills has been the acting manager and the other coaches on the staff have had their roles expanded. The Indians chose to rely on the current staff rather than bring in additional help, and it has gone about as smoothly as can be expected.

Mills has been by Francona’s side for much of their careers and he’s looking forward to when that will be the case again after the All-Star break.

“I’m looking forward to T coming back,” Mills said. “That’s one of the things I told him last night. I told him, ‘Hurry up. This playing sick is enough now.’ Obviously messing around with him because it’s hard to talk to him without doing that … But everyone has really worked together to try to

move this forward the best we can. Everyone has kind of expanded their roles, not just me. Mickey [Callaway], the hitting coaches, [Mike Sarbaugh], Sandy [Alomar Jr.], everyone has worked together to try to have this move forward as seamless as possible.”

Francona has been in contact with Mills throughout this process, of course.

“Oh, I think he’s got a few questions,” Mills said, laughing. “He’s got a few questions and a few things. And I’m sure a few shoes thrown at the TV maybe. But at the same time, there’s been a lot of things he’s been happy about, too, the way the guys have done some things. I think that’s part of enjoying all of it as well.”

Francona was discharged from the hospital Friday night and is resting at home.

First baseman Carlos Santana was activated from the paternity list on Saturday. To make room on the active roster, relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.

Santana is hitting .233 with a .336 on-base percentage, 10 home runs, 21 doubles and 46 RBI. He returned to the lineup in the No. 7 spot on Saturday.

Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: 07.09.2017

Ryan Lewis: What went right and what didn’t: A look at the 2017 Indians heading into the All-Star break

CLEVELAND: It’s difficult to imagine too many teams being in first place at the All-Star break and still left wanting more. But that has been the 2017 Indians for much of this season.

They entered the weekend 46-39 and in first place in the American League Central. They remain the clear favorites in a weak division, even if that alone doesn’t reach the high expectations within the clubhouse.

Here’s a quick look back at what went right and what didn’t in the Indians’ first half (yes, the All-Star break comes after the true midway point). Or, if you’re just jumping on the bandwagon after the Cavaliers’ run, here’s a crash course on where they stand.

Next Sunday will include a look ahead to the trade deadline and the contenders around the division and the league.

Not included in this is the unfortunate, recent events surrounding manager Terry Francona and his health. Francona underwent a minor procedure on Thursday to correct an irregular heartbeat. He missed the past week as well as the game on June 27 and parts of games on June 13 and June 26 with symptoms including an elevated heart rate and light-headedness. The procedure was successful and Francona is expected to return on July 14 when the Indians travel to Oakland to play the A’s. He will not manage the All-Star Game.

Jose Ramirez’s stellar half — Ramirez has been the club’s Most Valuable Player thus far and will start for the American League in the All-Star Game. He hasn’t just built off of his breakthrough season in 2016, he’s been one of baseball’s top hitters by nearly every statistical measurement. Entering Saturday, Ramirez was fourth in the majors in batting average (.332), sixth in slugging percentage (.596), seventh in OPS (.982), sixth in wRC+ (155) and eighth in fWAR (3.8). Edwin Encarncion was the Indians’ high-priced free agent this year, the slugger in the middle of the lineup fans had been craving. But it’s been Ramirez, hitting behind Encarnacion, who has powered the lineup.

Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco — The top of the Indians’ rotation has been terrific. Kluber missed several weeks with a strained lower back but upon his return on June 1 was his dominant self. He was the American League Pitcher of the Month in June, posting a 4-0 record and 1.26 ERA to go with 64 strikeouts. With it, he effectively forced his way onto the All-Star team. Carrasco, due to performance and his health, has been the most stable member of the rotation. Carrasco enters the break 10-3 with a 3.44 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 104⅔ innings. Those two remain one of the better 1-2 punches in the league.

Lonnie Chisenhall’s power surge — In case anyone hasn’t noticed, Chisenhall is having an outstanding offensive season, and he’s done it about as quietly as one can while having the best year of his career. Chisenhall is hitting .306 with 12 home runs, 12 doubles and leading the team with 51 RBI entering Saturday.

Michael Brantley returns and remains — It’s fair to say there were still question marks about how Brantley’s shoulder would hold up once the regular season started. The Indians were cautious with him early on, and Brantley hasn’t just remained in the lineup (with the lone exception of some time off due to a sprained ankle), he’s found much of his former success prior to the multiple surgeries that robbed him of essentially the entire 2016 season. Brantley is hitting .307 with an .809 OPS. He’s remained a staple in the No. 3 spot of the lineup and earned an All-Star selection.

Bradley Zimmer takes ahold of center field — Zimmer, the Indians’ top prospect, was called up on May 16 and has slowly taken control of center field. He’s made numerous highlight-reel catches and has impressed with his combination of speed and size. Among outfielders with at least 300 innings this year, Zimmer’s 26.5 UZR/150 (essentially his defensive value equated to 150 games) is tops in the majors. But he’s also hitting. Zimmer is hitting .282 average with a .783 OPS, five home runs, 11 doubles and nine stolen bases in 47 games with the Indians.

The bullpen, despite Twitter’s fury — Indians Twitter has at times reacted harshly to Bryan Shaw or Cody Allen, but the Indians’ bullpen has kept its standing as one of baseball’s best. The Indians’ bullpen as a group owns the league’s best ERA (2.78) and FIP (3.26) entering Saturday. Andrew Miller, an All-Star, is one of the elite relievers in baseball. Allen has been solid as always for the season, and Shaw continues to own better-than-league-average numbers. Boone Logan, Dan Otero, Zach McAllister and company have backed up the big three.

The rest of the starting rotation — Kluber and Carrasco have been the anchors, but the rotation as a whole has been top heavy. Danny Salazar hasn’t been himself all season, was relegated to the bullpen and is now working his way back from the disabled list. Salazar was pitching at an All-Star level until he ran into injury issues around the All-Star break last year. Josh Tomlin went through a rough patch as well, but came back with a strong outing after evaluating film with pitching coach Mickey Callaway. Trevor Bauer, meanwhile, has been searching for answers all season.

Slumps in the middle infield — Francisco Lindor was voted in by the players to the All-Star Game, because he is that good, but he’s also been enduring the first extended slump of his career. For the season, he’s hitting .256 with a .315 on-base percentage. He has shown more power, already belting 14 home runs, one off his season total from 2016. But much of that came in a torrid April, from which he has since cooled. Jason Kipnis just hasn’t gotten going. He had a late start while he dealt with a shoulder injury and is hitting .230 with eight home runs and a .687 OPS.

Building up frequent flyer miles on the DL — Every team deals with the disabled list, but it’s true the Indians have had to navigate a bumpy road. Kluber, Salazar, Kipnis, Brantley, Chisenhall, Brandon Guyer, Abraham Almonte and Austin Jackson all landed on the DL, as it hit the outfield particularly hard. Heading into the break, only Salazar and Jackson remain sidelined, a good sign for a team trying to put additional separation between itself and the rest of the division.

Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: 07.09.2017

Terry Francona keeping tabs on Cleveland Indians fr om afar as he recovers from heart procedure

By Zack Meisel, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Terry Francona's absence has temporarily expanded the roles of the rest of the members of the Indians' coaching staff.

Not only is Brad Mills serving as the interim ringleader, but he also has an American League All-Star lineup to compose.

"I'm looking forward to [Tito] coming back," Mills said Saturday with a laugh. "I told him, 'Hurry up. This playing sick is enough now.' Obviously, messing around with him because it's hard to talk to him without doing that."

Francona was discharged from Cleveland Clinic on Saturday morning. He returned to his downtown residence to continue his recovery from a cardiac ablation procedure, performed on Thursday afternoon to correct an irregular heartbeat.

Francona is expected to rejoin the Indians when they head west on Thursday. In the meantime, the Indians' front office has tried to help fill some of the gaps left by Francona's absence.

"Everyone has worked together to try to have this move forward as seamlessly as possible," Mills said. "The front office has done a good job of helping us out with information that we might have needed to gather. It's been a collective effort that has probably made us a little better as a group."

Mills said he spoke with the skipper on Friday night and they exchanged text messages on Saturday.

"I think he's got a few questions," Mills quipped. "He's got a few questions and I'm sure a few shoes thrown at the TV."

Francona has also communicated some with his players. He and Corey Kluber traded texts after the right-hander's outing against San Diego earlier in the week.

Kluber told Francona it was strange to walk back to the dugout and not be greeted by his manager.

"He said it was killing him not to be there," Kluber said.

Kluber, four of his teammates and the Indians' coaching staff will travel to Miami following the game on Sunday night.

If the AL emerges victorious, is the win credited to Francona?

"I'm sure he'll take credit for that," Mills said. "He'll utilize that."

And if the AL falls short?

"Oh, no. No," Mills said. "He won't do that."

Work never stops: Danny Salazar threw a side session at Progressive Field on Saturday afternoon. His next course of action will be a 75-pitch minor-league rehab start for short-season Mahoning Valley on Tuesday. Salazar tossed 60 pitches in a start for Triple-A Columbus on Thursday. He hasn't pitched in a big-league game since June 3 because of shoulder discomfort.

Rotating: The Indians have not yet structured their rotation coming out of the All-Star break. All five pitchers will be on regular rest by the time Friday rolls around and the Indians and Athletics play their series opener in Oakland. Kluber, the Indians' starter for their first-half finale on Sunday night, would be on regular rest if he pitched on Friday.

Pop quiz: Kluber won't have to prepare for the National League's lineup this year, since he will not pitch in the All-Star Game. He was the winning pitcher in the event last summer.

How much studying and preparation actually goes into the annual exhibition?

"It wasn't anything like cramming for an exam," Kluber said. "You probably are familiar with the hitters because it's nine of the best guys in the other league. You see them all the time. You see what they're capable of. When we got to San Diego last year, [we] briefly discussed the hitters as a group, but it wasn't anything in-depth like we would normally do for a regular-season series."

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 07.09.2017

Carlos Santana returns from paternity list, Clevelan d Indians send Shawn Armstrong back to Triple-A

By Zack Meisel, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Carlos Santana has returned from a three-day stint on the paternity list.

The Tribe first baseman was in the club's starting lineup on Saturday evening, batting seventh. To clear a spot for him on the active roster, the Indians optioned reliever Shawn Armstrong to Triple-A Columbus.

Santana and his wife welcomed a baby daughter, Luna, earlier in the week.

"I think he's had a little mental break as well," said bench coach Brad Mills. "It's nice to have him back in there."

Santana is the third Tribe player to spend time on the paternity list during the regular season. Michael Brantley and Cody Allen did so last month. According to a source, two more players are expected to do the same before the end of the season.

Armstrong, 26, has bounced between Cleveland and Triple-A Columbus throughout the year. With the Indians, he has posted a 4.26 ERA in 19 innings. He worked a scoreless, hitless inning in the Indians' games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

"Armstrong threw the ball really well his last couple outings," Mills said. "I think everybody is thrilled to death with the progress he's making."

Outfielder Abraham Almonte had rejoined the Indians' roster when Santana initially joined the paternity list on Wednesday. He totaled five hits in 13 at-bats in Santana's absence.

"Now Almonte goes to the bench and gives us an extra bat off the bench," Mills said, "which is going to be nice these last two games [before the All-Star break]."

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 07.09.2017

Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona recovering at home following heart procedure

By Zack Meisel, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Terry Francona was discharged from Cleveland Clinic on Friday night and is resting at his downtown residence, an Indians spokesperson said Saturday.

The Tribe manager underwent a cardiac ablation on Thursday afternoon to correct an irregular heartbeat. He will not manage the All-Star Game in Miami on Tuesday, but he is expected to rejoin the Indians in time for their weeklong stay in the Bay Area beginning with an optional team workout Thursday.

Francona has not managed the Indians since the club's trip to Detroit last weekend. Doctors ran tests on him at the Clinic on Tuesday and Wednesday before they performed the procedure. Francona twice had to exit a Tribe game early this season because of a rapid heart rate and lightheadedness. He had been wearing a monitor so doctors could analyze his condition.

"I think his mind is at ease knowing they were able to perform a successful procedure to get his issue corrected," said Chris Antonetti, the Indians' president of baseball operations, "and now he knows that the path in front of him is just a little rest and recovery and he can get back to doing what he loves."

Antonetti: 'It couldn't be better news'

Bench coach Brad Mills, who has filled in for Francona, will oversee the American League's All-Star team. The Indians' entire coaching staff, save for Francona, will travel to Miami after the club's game on Sunday night against the Tigers at Progressive Field.

"Every time you walk by his office, you see he's not there," said reliever Dan Otero. "He's a very charismatic individual. It's different not having him here."

Otero remembers entering the Indians' game against the Rangers in which they turned a 9-2 deficit into a 15-9 win. He didn't realize it was Mills handing him the baseball until he reached the mound.

"It is different with [someone other than] Tito giving you the ball," Otero said. "You're so used to it. Every day, it's the same. You always see Tito there, with all of his gum and tobacco, and this and that. It's different. It makes you think a little bit."

Said Mills: "It's not the same -- there's no doubt. The ballclub loves [Francona]. They love how he's around every day. The one thing that he has always done, is empowers his coaches to do their jobs in the dugout, in the clubhouse, on the field pregame, on the field during the game. And because he has done that so well in the past, I think it has really kind of helped being able to continue to do that as we move forward."

Mike Clevinger pitches Cleveland Indians past Justi n Verlander, downward-spiraling Tigers, 4-0

BY ZACK MEISEL, CLEVELAND.COM zmeisel@cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Perhaps the Indians no longer need to follow the mantra of "Kluber, Carrasco, Bauer and pray for a shower."

If Mike Clevinger keeps this up, the doomsday rhymes can cease. (What rhymes with Clevinger, anyway?)

The right-hander outdueled Justin Verlander to carry the Indians to a 4-0 victory on a breezy Saturday night at Progressive Field.

The Indians have long desired some reliability from their starting rotation. Clevinger might just be the guy to provide it.

Over his last five starts, Clevinger has logged a 1.67 ERA. That includes his most recent effort Saturday, in which he held the downward-spiraling Tigers scoreless over six frames. He allowed only three hits, walked a pair and struck out four.

The 26-year-old has struggled with his command at times this season (31 walks in 60 innings), but his recent results haven't disappointed. Last weekend at Comerica Park, he walked five in six innings, but he limited Detroit to one run on two hits.

"I think the added confidence just kind of allowed me to attack the zone and attack hitters," Clevinger said. "It's not, 'Oh, no, runner on second with less than two outs.' Now it's, 'The runner's on second with less than two outs. I've done this the past four starts. This is no news to me.'

"It's kind of getting more comfortable with the same situations you faced in the minor leagues that you're able to climb out of instead of kind of digging a deeper hole like I was early in my career. I feel like now I'm getting to the point that it's easier to find the mistakes I'm making and getting back to the plan of attack."

Clevinger's ascent has come at a crucial time for the Indians. Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco have kept the rotation afloat as Josh Tomlin searches for consistency and Danny Salazar seeks a full bill of health. Trevor Bauer has pitched better of late after a rocky start.

Andrew Miller relieved Clevinger in the seventh and cruised through two frames, as he retired all six batters he faced.

Verlander fared far better on Saturday than he did last weekend, when the Indians chased him after 3 1/3 innings. In that outing, Verlander failed to record a strikeout for the first time in 331 starts.

Verlander held the Indians to one run: a Michael Brantley RBI double in the fifth following Francisco Lindor's two-out walk. He exited in the seventh inning, however, and Bruce Rondon couldn't keep the Indians from a few insurance runs.

Lonnie Chisenhall worked an 11-pitch walk against Rondon in the eighth. Carlos Santana, who returned to the lineup after a few days on the paternity list, delivered an RBI double. Bradley Zimmer brought Santana home with a triple to right-center, and Yan Gomes capped the inning with a sacrifice fly.

With each win against the Tigers (38-48), the Indians (47-39) push Detroit closer to its likely trade-deadline fate of being a seller. The Indians have won four straight against the Tigers.

Detroit has lost 14 of its last 20 games.

Jason Kipnis hobbled back to the dugout with a right hamstring injury following a third-inning groundout. Erik Gonzalez replaced him at second base in the ensuing inning.

Kipnis hit a chopper back to Verlander, who threw him out at first. Kipnis hustled down the line, but pulled up near the bag.

Kipnis doubled in his first encounter with Verlander. Prior to that at-bat, he had been 6-for-55 against the right-hander in his career, with a .109/.227/.127 slash line.

For the third time this season, Progressive Field was packed to capacity. A sellout crowd of 34,726 watched the game at the ballpark.

With Saturday's sellout, the Indians eclipsed the 1 million mark in attendance for the season. They did so in 44 home games this year. In 2016, it took 52 home dates to reach that mark.

The Indians will host a national Sunday night broadcast for the first time in eight years, and the pitching matchup should appease the larger audience. Tribe ace Corey Kluber (7-3, 2.85 ERA) will make his final start of the first half. Since returning from the disabled list at the start of June, the right-hander has posted a 1.24 ERA, with 74 strikeouts and only 27 hits allowed in 51 innings. Kluber will attend the All-Star Game in Miami next week, but he will not pitch.

The Tigers will counter with an All-Star of their own in righty Michael Fulmer (8-6, 3.20 ERA). The reigning American League Rookie of the Year, who made his second career start against the Indians last May, has not faced Cleveland this season.

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 07.09.2017

Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis exits Saturday's game with right hamstring injury

BY ZACK MEISEL, CLEVELAND.COM zmeisel@cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Jason Kipnis hobbled off the field with a right hamstring injury after a third-inning groundout on Saturday night.

Update: Tribe bench coach Brad Mills said after the game that Kipnis suffered a right hamstring strain.

Erik Gonzalez replaced him at his second-base position in the following frame.

Kipnis bounced an offering from Detroit's Justin Verlander back to the mound. The pitcher tossed to first for the out. As Kipnis attempted to make the play interesting, he pulled up near the bag.

Kipnis doubled in his first at-bat against Verlander. Previously, the Tribe second baseman had been 6-for-55 against the right-hander.

Kipnis did not start Wednesday's game against San Diego because of a stiff neck, his second bout with the ailment this season. He started the year on the disabled list because of a strained rotator cuff in his right shoulder.

The 30-year-old doubled twice and walked twice in the Indians' series-opening win against the Tigers on Friday night.

He is batting .232 with a .694 OPS this season.

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 07.09.2017

Why aren't Cleveland Indians protecting Jose Ramirez in the lineup? Hey, Hoynsie BY PAUL HOYNES, CLEVELAND.COM phoynes@cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Do you have a question that you'd like to have answered in Hey, Hoynsie? Submit it here or Tweet him at @hoynsie Hey, Hoynsie: Why isn't Jose Ramirez being protected in the Indians' lineup? He has been the Indians most consistent hitter for the past two years? - Tom Kuhn, High Point, Ohio. Hey, Tom: I think you should check the Tribe's lineup and stats. Ramirez is usually being protected by Lonnie Chisenhall, who is having a career season, when the Indians face a right-hander. Through Friday, Chisenhall was leading the Indians with 51 RBI. Chisenhall is doing that even though he has 139 fewer at-bats than Ramirez. When the Indians face a lefty, several players have hit behind Ramirez including: Yan Gomes, Yandy Diaz, Brandon Guyer, Jason Kipnis, Edwin Encarnacion, Bradley Zimmer, Austin Jackson and Carlos Santana. One more point, the way Ramirez is hitting he doesn't need a whole lot of protection from any pitcher. Hey, Hoynsie: Do you think the Tribe's deep thinkers will approach the trade deadline with the same aggressiveness as last year? - Steve Cornelius, Rocky River. Hey, Steve: I do. With the commitment they've made in payroll this year, and what they accomplished last year, they have to go for it. I'm not saying they should be reckless, but if they have an opportunity to improve the team, they have to do it.

This roster wasn't put together to have a nice season and go home on Oct. 1. Hey, Hoynsie: There's been a lot of talk about this year's record-breaking home run surge because there's something different with the baseball. Like Yogi Berra once said, "It's deja vu all over again. This was the same reason given back in the 1990s when all those home runs were flying out of parks. Of course, we now know why everyone was hitting home runs. Do you think players are juicing again? Have they found a way to beat the testing? - Casey Redmond, Logan. Hey, Casey: I have no doubt there are big league players gaming the system, but I can't believe it's that widespread. MLB's testing is rigorous and continuous. Indians' players were getting tested last weekend in Detroit. Andrew Miller on Friday was talking about more homers being hit this year and said that it might have something to do with a change in players' swings. He said hitters have elevated their swings, trying to hit the ball out of the park. There seems to be a drop in players trying to hit in situations and going the other way. That taint of a hitter continually striking out has long since left the game, which encourages an all-or-nothing mentality at the plate. Hey, Hoynsie: Do you believe Carlos Carrasco should have gotten a look for the 2017 American League team? - Sean Skiba, Clermont, Fla. Hey, Sean: I'm sure he did get a look. He just didn't get selected. In my opinion, he deserves to be an All-Star. Hey, Hoynsie: Left-hander Shawn Morimando is on quite a run for the Columbus Clippers. Do the Indians view him as a viable candidate for the big-league rotation? - Steve Alex, Gainesville, Fla. Hey, Steve: Chris Antonetti, Indians president of baseball operations, said he's been encouraged by the way Morimando, Ryan Merritt and Adam Plutko have pitched at Columbus. I'm sure Antonetti realizes that could help the Indians in a number of ways. It gives them options if they want to make a change in the rotation in the second half. Or they could be used in a trade to bring in another player. Hey, Hoynsie: When a player is called to the big leagues is his pay pro-rated based on 183 days, the number of days in a season, or 365 days, the number of days in a calendar year? -- Richard Hiles, Shaker Heights. Hey, Richard: It's based on the days in the season. Hey, Hoynsie: When Detroit realizes this isn't its year, should the Tribe go after Justin Verlander. He's such a horse and pitches well against everyone, but Cleveland. -- Mike Hoffman, Palm Desert, Calif. Hey, Hoynsie: I like Verlander, but he's 34 and will make $28 million this year, $28 million next year and $28 million in 2019. He also has a no trade clause in his contract. I can't see the Indians making a deal like that. Hey, Hoynsie: Why doesn't Yan Gomes get more criticism for his eighth-inning at-bat in Game 7 of the World Series? The Indians had Aroldis Chapman on the ropes. Brandon Guyer doubled, Rajai Davis homered and Coco Crisp singled. Chapman went 2-0 to Gomes before he swung at three pitches that were nowhere close to being strikes. - Shawn, Canton. Hey, Shawn: Do you still have a Jose Mesa dartboard in your basement? The World Series is over. Turn the page. You'll feel a lot better. The last time the Cleveland Indians hosted an ESPN S unday Night Baseball game... BY ZACK MEISEL, CLEVELAND.COMzmeisel@cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's not often that Progressive Field is busy on a Sunday night. In fact, the venue hasn't hosted an ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcast since June 14, 2009. That will change Sunday night, when the Indians and Tigers play the final game of Major League Baseball's first half. Eight years ago, Cliff Lee tossed a three-hit shutout in Cleveland against the St. Louis Cardinals before a national audience. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner would be dealt to Philadelphia the following month, with the Indians receiving a package in return that included Carlos Carrasco. Mark DeRosa hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Chris Carpenter. Six weeks later, the Indians traded DeRosa to St. Louis for relievers Chris Perez and Jess Todd. Perez pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Cardinals in that 2009 game. The Indians won the contest, 3-0, in one hour, 58 minutes. Kelly Shoppach contributed a solo homer and was responsible for two of the Indians' five hits. The Indians did play on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball on Aug. 31, 2014, when they required extra innings against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. The game was ultimately suspended because of a thunderstorm, with the Tribe on top, 4-2, in the 10th inning. The teams completed the game in Cleveland three weeks later before the start of a regularly scheduled meeting.

Following Sunday's game, the Indians' coaching staff and five of the club's players will fly to Miami for next week's All-Star Game festivities. They'll return to Cleveland after the Midsummer Classic and head to the west coast for an optional team workout on Thursday in Oakland. The Indians open the second half of their schedule with a weeklong stay in the Bay Area. They'll start with a series against the Athletics before they play a series against the Giants at AT&T Park. SPORTS Indians 4, Tigers 0: Tribe blanks Detroit to cement first-place standing at the break Chris Assenheimer ByChris Assenheimer | The Chronicle-TelegramPublished on July 8, 2017 | Updated 1:26 a. m. CLEVELAND — It hasn’t been the smoothest ride, but the Indians will be where they wanted when the unofficial first half comes to an end tonight. Atop the Central Division standings. By virtue of its 4-0 victory over the Tigers at Progressive Field on Saturday night, Cleveland guaranteed it would enter the All-Star break in first place. It will be the second straight season the Indians will own the division lead to begin the second half, something they hadn’t accomplished since 1998-99. “It’s easy to kind of let your guard down and look forward to the All-Star break,” said left fielder Michael Brantley, whose team improved to a season-high eight games over .500 with its seventh win in 10 games. “But our focus, our goal we talked about was finishing it off, finish it off the right way, playing competitive baseball, whatever that may be. “We’ve done a great job the last two nights of just being a team all the way around and coming out with victories.” Much of the credit for Cleveland’s series-clinching win went to right-hander Mike Clevinger, who outdueled six-time All-Star and former Cy Young and MVP Justin Verlander. Clevinger continued his recent string of effective outings, blanking the Tigers on three hits over six innings. Over his last five starts (27 innings), Clevinger has posted a 1.67 ERA, allowing 15 hits and 14 walks while striking out 28. “I think the added confidence just kind of allowed me to attack the (strike) zone and attack hitters,” Clevinger said. “It’s just kind of getting more comfortable with the same situations you might face in the minor leagues that you’re able to climb out of. Instead of kind of digging a deeper hole like I was early in my career, I feel like now I’m getting to the point where it’s easier to find the mistakes I’m making and getting back to the plan of attack.” Clevinger allowed a leadoff double to J.D. Martinez in the second, then retired 15 of the last 17 batters he faced. “The improvement has been through each start and I thought today was sure nice to see, especially going into the break,” said bench coach Brad Mills, who filled in for manager Terry Francona for the fifth straight game. “That’s really going to give him some confidence. He commanded the zone and was coming after guys and staying aggressive with all his pitches.” Verlander, who has historically struggled against Cleveland — 20-23 with a 4.78 ERA over 51 starts prior to Saturday — was on the mark this time around, allowing only a run while striking out six over 6 2/3 innings. The Indians got their run off Verlander on a two-out double from Brantley in the fifth. Cleveland had six two-base hits, five coming off Verlander. “I was just battling. I don’t know how many pitches it was, but he’s a great pitcher,” Brantley said of his nine-pitch at-bat. “He was staying on the corners, staying off the middle of the plate, mixing it up. I was lucky to get a breaking ball out over the plate and put a good swing on it.” The Indians broke it open with a three-run eighth inning off Bruce Rondon, scoring once on Carlos Santana’s double, followed by a triple from Bradley Zimmer and sacrifice fly from Yan Gomes. Santana, who was activated from the paternity list prior to the game, went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles. Cleveland played in front of its third sellout crowd — 34,726 fans — but it wasn’t all good news for the Indians. They lost second baseman Jason Kipnis to a right hamstring injury in the third inning. Kipnis, who went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles Friday night and doubled in his first at-bat Saturday, sustained the injury trying to leg out a ground ball back to the mound. He pulled up after crossing first base and limped off the field, heading down the dugout steps and into the clubhouse. “It’s a mild strain,” Mills said. “We’ll kind of work through the tests and so forth and we’ll know obviously more (today).”

TRIBE NOTES Indians Notes: Michael Brantley's retur n to form puts him back in the All-Star Game -- and he 's grateful Chris Assenheimer ByChris Assenheimer | The Chronicle-TelegramPublished on July 8, 2017 | Updated 12:59 a. m. CLEVELAND — Left fielder Michael Brantley has returned to form and as a result is going back to the All-Star Game — something that didn’t seem possible at this point last season. “There were some dark days and long nights, but the training staff, the doctors kept me positive,” said Brantley, who underwent two surgeries on a problematic right shoulder that limited him to 11 games last year and left his status in question. “I just kept working, just kept going after it. Nothing was guaranteed, not even coming out of spring training. I didn’t know if I was going to make the Opening Day roster, but I was lucky how everything paid off. The shoulder’s doing great and I’m very excited about it.” Brantley, who entered Saturday batting .307 with five home runs and 36 RBIs over 64 games, earned organization-wide respect for his tireless rehabilitation. All the hard work will pay off when he steps onto the field Tuesday in Miami. “That will be one of the highlights. I’ll look forward to that, because this is the ultimate team guy,” president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. “This is the guy who put in all those days when no one was looking, when it was really hard, away from the spotlight, he was in here trying to get back. Not only did he do his individual work, but at a time where we were having collective (postseason) success, it would have been easy for a guy to wonder why he wasn’t able to share in that and have woe-is-me attitude, and Michael in fact had the exact opposite. “He took the approach that, ‘Hey, I’m going to embrace this time with our team and try to find a way to contribute and help us win.’ Even though he wasn’t on the field, he was a big part of our team last year. For a guy that’s put in the work with the mindset and mentality that Michael has, to see all of that work rewarded with on-field success and the recognition in the All-Star Game, there’s nobody more deserving to be there.” Though he didn’t get to play with him until this season, reliever Andrew Miller recognized how much Brantley meant to the Indians when he was acquired at the trading deadline last year. “I just saw how hard he worked and how badly everybody else wanted it for him,” Miller said. “You saw the way that people talked about him, how happy everybody was that he was a part of the clubhouse last year and the run that we had. Just hearing the guys that have been here for years with him, the way that they spoke about Michael and how much they appreciate how much work he was putting into it and looking forward to getting him back. “I think this is a pretty special acknowledgement of how much work he’s put in, and well-deserved.” Brantley finished fourth in All-Star fan voting — just outside of a starting spot — but was elected via player vote. “It’s very special,” he said. “In 2014, I was voted in by the players as well. Just to have that recognition that I play the game the right way, that I have the respect from the other side, that you kind of work for ... play the game hard and kind of keep your head down. Just play baseball the right way. It means a lot. I’m very thankful. Nothing comes easy in this game. Everything is earned.” Back home The Indians announced that manager Terry Francona was released from the Cleveland Clinic during Friday night’s game after undergoing surgery Thursday to correct an irregular heartbeat. Francona, who is expected to return when the unofficial second half opens Friday, had been hospitalized since Tuesday. The team said Francona was resting in his downtown Cleveland residence. Catching fire? Shortstop Francisco Lindor entered Saturday batting just .222 in 36 games since May 29, but was 7-for-15 over his last three games. “I’m just trying to get the barrel to the ball,” said Lindor, who was batting .256 with 14 homers and 43 RBIs over 83 games through Friday. “I thank the Lord for all I’m going through. It’s just a matter of time. I’m continuing to play the game right and work as hard as I can and eventually you see the results. I was seeing results for sure, but not as much. “The last couple days, I’ve been fortunate enough to see the ball drop a couple times and I feel good. It’s just a matter of continuing to do the same thing day in and day out.” Roundin’ third Carlos Santana was activated from the paternity list, with reliever Shawn Armstrong optioned back to Triple-A Columbus. ... Right-hander Danny Salazar (right shoulder soreness) is scheduled to make his next rehab appearance Tuesday for Class A Mahoning Valley.

... Cleveland’s rotation had posted an AL-low 3.21 ERA over the last 24 games through Friday, while limiting opponents to two or fewer runs in eight of the last 10 games. JIM INGRAHAM Indians Commentary: Dynamic documentary d etails Tribe's fun run in 1990s that lacked only a World Series title Jim Ingraham | The Chronicle-TelegramPublished on July 9, 2017 Twenty-two years ago, giants roamed the earth at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. They were the baddest ballclub in balldom. Big. Bad. Bodacious. They knew it. The other teams knew it — and the other teams could do nothing about it. It was the best Cleveland Indians team ever. In 2012, the six division winners in Major League Baseball won their divisions by a combined 27 games. In 1995, the Cleveland Indians, by themselves, won their division by 30 games. Think about that. They clinched their division Sept. 8 — and then played 21 more games before reaching the end of the season. Their final record in that strike-shortened, swashbuckling season looks like a typo: 100-44. That projects, in a standard 162-game season, to a record of 113-49. In 1995, the Indians led everyone in everything, including swagger. Especially swagger. They led the majors in runs scored, runs per game, hits, home runs, RBIs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and “Whadda you looking at?” They led the American League in stolen bases, ERA, saves, fewest runs allowed, WHIP and “You talking to me?” They scored 840 runs. The American League average was 730. For the season, they had a preposterous run differential of plus-233. The closest team was at plus-104. They didn’t just beat teams, they bludgeoned teams. The only thing they didn’t do? Win the World Series. That team, that era, that civic exhilaration and heartbreak are all recounted in “The Dynasty That Almost Was,” an excellent MLB Network documentary on the Indians’ powerhouse teams of the 1990s. It will premiere on the MLB Network on Wednesday night at 7:30. All the central characters you’d want to hear from were interviewed for the film, except for — big surprise — serial sourpuss Albert Belle, whose only quote is a one-sentence voicemail left for the producers, which is played, on camera, for John Hart, hearing it for the first time. It’s a priceless moment that I won’t spoil for you, other than to say it’s vintage Belle, who even unseen can still steal a scene. Hart, the Indians’ former general manager/quote machine, is a big player in the film. It was he, and assistant Dan O’Dowd, who did most of the assembling of that ferociously talented core group of players. The subsequent big bang that explosion of talent produced changed the major league landscape, while reviving the communal sporting spirit of the sleeping giant that Cleveland, through decades of losing, had become. Five consecutive division titles and two trips to the World Series in the five-year span from 1995-99 will do that, and this is how they did that. Starting with that 1995 Wild Bunch, whose bluster and bravado was exceeded only by its bashing and mashing of opponents. “When we stepped on the field, we wanted people to know we are the man!” says Carlos Baerga. Man, oh, man, could those guys hit. The Nos. 6 and 7 hitters in the lineup, Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez, combined to hit 1,167 career home runs.

Had it not been for injuries and PED suspensions, seven of the nine players in that lineup would be in the Hall of Fame. Eddie Murray already is. Thome, who ranks fifth all time among non-steroid-tainted hitters with 612 homers, will be, once he’s on the ballot. Kenny Lofton should be, but was incomprehensibly ignored by voters. Omar Vizquel should go in when he becomes eligible. Belle averaged 38 homers and 123 RBIs per year, for nine years, until a hip injury ended his career. Ramirez was a lock for the Hall until he got suspended multiple times for juicing, and Sandy Alomar Jr. could have been, had injuries not derailed his career. The MLB Network special covers all of it, and all of them. The ’95 team’s rampage to the World Series, where it was undone by the Braves’ three Hall of Fame starting pitchers, and a strike zone wider than Wyoming. “Maybe the stage got to us. We didn’t deliver,” Hart says. There’s Belle’s acrimonious free agent exit after the 1996 season, and the near-riot his return with the White Sox caused. There’s the shocking trade of Lofton to the Braves prior to the start of the 1997 season. “One of the saddest moments for me,” he says. “My heart dropped to the floor.” And, of course, the gruesome extra-innings loss to the Marlins in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, where The Dynasty That Almost Was got a sniff of the celebration that never was. “The trophy was in our locker room,” a still-exasperated Hart says. “Biggest jinx ever.” “It was like a knife in your heart,” Vizquel says. For a five-year run in the 1990s, the Indians, playing in their sold-out brand-new playpen, won almost everything, including the hearts and minds of their fans, the adulation of the region … But not the World Series. Cleveland Indians: Jose Ramirez bobblehead a hit wit h Lake County Captains fans By David Glasier, The News-Herald Marilyn Mestek wasn’t taking any chances. On July 8, the longtime Mentor resident arrived at Classic Park at 3:50 p.m., a little more than three hours before the Lake County Captains took on the West Michigan Whitecaps. More to the point, the early arrival put Mestek at the front of the long line of fans waiting to enter the main gate and receive one of the 1,500 Jose Ramirez bobbleheads that were the promotional prize on a pleasant summer evening. Ramirez is the third baseman for the Cleveland Indians, the parent club of the full-season Single-A Captains. The 24-year-old native of the Dominican Republic has been so good all season he won the fan voting to be the starting third baseman for the American League in the All-Star Game on July 11 in Miami. “I love his attitude, his personality and his rapport with all of his teammates,” Mestek said. Pat Codney of Willoughby, a devoted Captains fan since the team arrived in Eastlake in 2003, was next in line behind Mestek. “I was going to be here tonight come hell or high water,” Codney said, laughing. Mentor residents Pat and Loren Dodge also were near the front of the line. They were all smiles when asked to pose with their Ramirez bobbleheads. “He’s a cocky player, and I love that, “ Loren Dodge said. Added Pat Dodge: “He’s so dedicated, a hard-core player.” The affection these fans have for Ramirez is rooted both in how well he’s played for the Indians since his big-league debut in September 2013 and his ties to the Captains. In late June 2012, the then-unknown Ramirez was promoted to the Captains from the short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

The Captains in 2012 had struggled mightily in the first half of the Midwest League season even with 2011 first-round draft choice and highly-regarded prospect Francisco Lindor in the everyday lineup at shortstop. The impact Ramirez had on that team was immediate. Installed as the second baseman and leadoff batter by manager Dave Wallace, Ramirez batted .354 in 67 games with three home runs and 27 RBI. He made all the plays at second base, too, combining with Lindor to give the Captains the best middle-infield duo in the league. The Captains rallied in the second half to clinch a playoff spot. In the years since, Ramirez has occasionally spoken about how well he was received by Lake County fans and how the experiences he had with the Captains that season fueled his belief he could defy the naysayers and fulfill his dream to make it to the big leagues. The Captains sent a team representative to Progressive Field last week to show the bobblehead to Ramirez and have him autograph a few of them for prize giveaways. Before the Indians faced the Detroit Tigers on July 8, Ramirez smiled when told through interpreter Anna Bolton that scores of fans arrived early to make sure they went home with bobbleheads. “That’s really special,” Ramirez said. “I thank the fans there for going out and supporting me like that.” Ramirez smiled again when asked for his opinion of the bobblehead maker’s rendering of his trademark shock of dyed red hair. “It’s nice,” he said. Indians 2015 top pick Brady Aiken falls to 1-10 wit h Lake County Captains By David Glasier, The News-Herald It has been that kind of a season for Captains starting pitcher Brady Aiken. Even on a night when the 21-year-old left-hander turned in a good effort, he wound up on the losing end. Against the West Michigan Whitecaps on July 8, Aiken gave up two runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He again had some control issues, yielding six walks, but he buckled down when it mattered against a hard-hitting team with by far the best overall record in the Midwest League’s Eastern Division. The Whitecaps (13-4, second half) nicked him for single runs in the fourth and sixth innings. West Michigan second baseman David Gonzalez drove in both runs. Problem was, the Captains managed only three hits against West Michigan starter and eventual winner Tom de Bok (1-0, 1.11 ERA) and two relievers. Two of the hits were doubles by Lake County left fielder Connor Capel. Aiken, the Indians’ first-round pick in the 2015 draft, now is 1-10 with a 4.39 ERA. He is the first pitcher in the league this season to post 10 losses. The Captains slipped to 8-9 with their third straight loss and sixth in seven games. DON’T MISS >> Cleveland Indians: Jose Ramirez bobblehead a hit with Lake County Captains fans

Curve 5, RubberDucks 1

GAME 2: Curve 5, RubberDucks 1

Storylines: All-Star Edwin Espinal hit his 10th home run of the season, this one a solo shot in the fourth, to give Altoona its third win of the four-

game series. The Curve scored four times in the sixth inning thanks in large part to two wild pitches and an error.

Duckbills: The Ducks have left their share of runners on base this series. After stranding nine in Game 2, the RubberDucks have left 32 on

base in three games against Altoona.

Next: The Ducks wrap up the series and the first half of the season Sunday at 2:05 p.m. RubberDucks left-hander Matt Whitehouse (5-3, 3.57)

and Curve right-hander Tanner Anderson (7-7, 3.89) are the scheduled pitchers.

Curve 6, RubberDucks 5: Ducks fail to take advantag e of opportunities in first game of doubleheader

Losses in the second week of July rarely are remembered at the end of the season. The Altoona Curve’s 6-5 win over the RubberDucks in

Game 1 of a doubleheader Saturday at Canal Park could be the exception.

With arguably the two best teams in the Western Division of the Eastern League squaring off, the Ducks (43-40) had enough chances to head

into Game 2 a winner, but the Curve (45-40) did just enough to stay ahead.

“I was saying to my dad on the ride over here on the phone when I was in Lynchburg and Lake County those seasons are in halves, so if you

win the first half you’re in the playoffs,” RubberDucks starting pitcher Thomas Pannone said. “Here it’s not like that. You have the long haul of

the whole season. Every day in batting practice, you see those standings come up and you’re like, ‘Oh damn, we’re in first place and these

guys are right behind us.’ ”

Pannone didn’t take the loss after pitching 5⅓ innings of six-hit, three-run ball with five strikeouts and a walk.

In fact, the all-star was in line for the win when he handed the ball over to fellow all-star Cameron Hill after giving up a one-out double to Edwin

Espinal in the sixth inning with a 4-2 lead.

Hill came in promptly and gave up a two-run home run to Jerrick Suiter.

He gave up another run in the sixth and one in the seventh in his worst outing since April 11 when he gave up four runs — two earned — in a 6-

4 loss to the Trenton Thunder.

“We know this is a big series,” Pannone said. “Any time you lose a game it’s not cool. It stings a little bit for sure.”

It stung a little more because the Ducks had more than enough opportunities to win.

After leaving 13 runners on base Friday, the RubberDucks left 10 in Game 1.

They had the bases loaded with one out in the sixth inning, but Joe Sever, who had a go-ahead two-run double in the fifth, grounded into an

inning-ending double play.

“Close ones always hurt the worst,” Sever said. “We put ourselves in position to come back a couple times. We just never got the hit, so yeah

it’s tough one to swallow.”

The Ducks batted .429 with runners in scoring position (3-for-7), but they left the bases loaded twice.

They cut it to one on a two-out base hit by Dorssys Paulino in the top of the seventh and had Luigi Rodriguez up with the bases loaded.

Rodriguez, who gave the RubberDucks the lead for good in an extra-inning game earlier in the week with a home run, flied out to center fielder

Logan Ratledge to end the game.

“We’re just missing that big hit,” Sever said. “I think we’re pressing when we’re up there. They’re making good pitches, too, so you have to give

them some credit. We’re just trying to do too much. We need to get back, simplify it and stick with our approach.”

Dish duty

With catcher Francisco Mejia already in Miami for Sunday’s MLB Futures Game, Juan De La Cruz caught Game 2. Mejia was placed on the

temporary inactive list. He’ll be in New Hampshire along with Yu Chang, Hill and Pannone to compete in the Eastern League All-Star Game on

Wednesday.

Clippers 6, Tides 4 | Two rallies lead to victory Giovanny Urshela went 3 for 4 with two RBI, Yandy Diaz hit a solo homer and the Clippers twice rallied from deficits to defeat the Norfolk Tides 6-4 on Saturday night before 12,225 at Huntington Park. After the Clippers fell behind 2-0, Diaz’s homer in the bottom of the fourth helped forge a 2-2 tie. They trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the sixth, when Urshela doubled home Richie Shaffer, who led off with a walk, to spark a three-run inning. After walks loaded the bases, Josh Wilson’s single to left scored Urshela and Ronnie Rodriguez to make it 5-3. Urshela doubled home Shaffer again in the seventh, after Shaffer was hit by a pitch to open the inning. Norfolk’s Chris Johnson singled home Adam Brett Walker with two outs in the ninth to make it 6-4, but Clippers reliever Kyle Crockett picked up his third save by getting Drew Dosch on a groundout to end it. The teams totaled 24 hits, but they also stranded 16 runners and went a combined 4 for 19 with runners in scoring position. Chris Narveson (2-5) got the win by pitching 4 1/3 innings in relief of starter Julian Merryweather, who gave up a run on four hits in three innings. Narveson allowed two runs on six hits.

Tyler Wilson (2-5) took the loss by allowing four runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings. Reliever Jimmy Yacabonis gave up two earned runs for the Tides. Francisco Lindor wants to take Derek Jeter to Chick -fil-A Eddie Matz ESPN Senior Writer For a 23-year-old in just his third big-league season, shortstop Francisco Lindor has accomplished a lot. In 2015, Lindor, a former first-round draft pick, was the runner-up for the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Last year, he was an All-Star, won his first Gold Glove and finished in the top 10 in the MVP balloting. Most important, he helped lead the Cleveland Indians to their first Fall Classic appearance since last millennium. Still, there’s a lot left for Lindor to do -- like learning to carry a tune, meeting Derek Jeter and, of course, winning a World Series. Favorite movie: "'Miracle.' I love that movie. The first time I saw it was when I was 15. I was playing for Team USA in Taiwan, and they played that movie the night before the championship. They put us in a room, and we all watched it together. I was so fired up, and we won. So that stuck in my head. After that, I wasn't saying my name. I was saying USA." Hidden talent: "I like to think I can sing, but I can't. I definitely know I can't. When I let it out, people don't like it. I like salsa, merengue, reggaeton, hip-hop -- whatever's on the radio. I sing everywhere. I don't care. I sing all the time in the shower. I'm always jammin' in the car. I'm not shy when it comes to that." Dream dinner date: "Derek Jeter. I was a rookie in '15, and he retired in '14, so I never had the chance to meet him. I’ve never even seen him in person. I would like to sit down and just talk to him and just see how he is. I think that would be a very cool experience. I'd probably take him to Chick-fil-A, somewhere we could just chill and talk. I love Chick-fil-A. The milkshakes are unreal." Pastime passion: "I like paintball. I got a couple guns and a couple masks. I've got a P4. I've got a Spyder. I have a G3. I play in Orlando, or where I grew up in Clermont, which is like 20 minutes from Orlando. There's a lot of trees and stuff. Whenever I want to be serious, we go to an actual paintball place. It’s me, my cousin and a bunch of minor league friends that I train with. But whenever we just want to waste some paint, then we just go into the trees and let it go." Favorite book: "'The Alchemeist,' by Paulo Coelho. It's like a bible. Every time I read it, it keeps me true to myself. I’ve read it at least three times. I carry it with me in my suitcase. I read it in both languages. I have the Spanish version -- 'El Alchemista' -- but I left it at home. I usually carry the English one." Best advice: "Dustin Pedroia told me once that you never know how long a kid's been saving money to go watch you play when you're coming to their city, so you gotta give it your all every day. That's something that's stuck with me. He told me that before a game in Cleveland, in the dugout. That's one thing I'll never forget." Biggest challenge: "My sister's cervical cancer. That was tough. She tried to keep it away from me, not overload me with stuff. But that was a tough moment in my life. It was last year, around this time. She did chemo and radiation and then surgery. She had to tell me because she was going to go through the process, so she had to let me know. But she kept most of the things away from me. She kept me updated. I found out that she beat it on the day of Game 7 of the World Series, on the way to the field. She called me, and I picked up. She was like, 'Hey, I'm cancer-free.' And I said, 'God, thank you. Today we have one victory. Whatever happens today, whether we win or lose, I'm happy.'"

Nick Cafardo / SUNDAY BASEBALL NOTES / Expect more s upply than demand at baseball’s trade deadline

By Nick Cafardo

There is likely to be more supply than demand as the trade deadline approaches. Expect a lot of teams to be frustrated by the process as they try to move veteran players in exchange for prospects.

Don’t expect the Twins to add anyone of note and disrupt their long-term plan, despite having some success this season. If they’re significantly behind by the trade deadline, they could still move the much-coveted Ervin Santana.

The Brewers have a comfortable lead in the NL Central, but would they disrupt their long-term outlook by trading away prospects for an available starting pitcher? Don’t expect anything major, but the Brewers have a chance to bury the world champion Cubs and owner Mark Attanasio is known to be a very competitive person.

Right now, the American League’s playoff teams are Boston, New York, Houston, Cleveland, and Kansas City, with Tampa Bay and Minnesota within striking distance. In the National League, Washington, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles lead their divisions and Arizona and Colorado are the wild-card teams, with the Cubs, Braves, and Cardinals on the outskirts.

The small-market Rays have already made a significant move by adding shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, a superb defender who fills a big need. Their offense is finally straightened out and they entered the weekend third in the majors in home runs. Their bullpen still needs reinforcement.

In Miami, an ownership change could occur by October. In the meantime, a debt-laden team — which could lose upward of $70 million this season — needs to shed money and retool. Everyone will be available, including the attractive outfield of Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, and Giancarlo Stanton, as well as second baseman Dee Gordon, power-hitting first baseman Justin Bour, third baseman Martin Prado, and starting pitchers Edinson Volquez and Dan Straily. The Marlins have received a lot of interest in relievers AJ Ramos and David Phelps.

The Blue Jays are looking old, though every so often they perk up. The Jays may go back and forth on whether to give up the ghost, but we know deep down they’d like to sell off and rebuild the way team president Mark Shapiro did with the Indians.

Jays fans have supported the team in a big way, which makes it harder for management to dissolve this group. The big name here is third baseman Josh Donaldson, who would bring the biggest haul. But would it happen before the trade deadline? All-Star first baseman Justin Smoak, second baseman Devon Travis (if healthy), DH Kendrys Morales, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, right fielder Jose Bautista, and starters Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ seem to be the most likely to be dealt. And if you’re rebuilding, why the need for young closer Roberto Osuna?

Everyone on the White Sox has been available for a while, but so far the veterans remain in place. One would think closer David Robertson would be an attractive piece for a contending team such as Washington. But Chicago also wants to move third baseman Todd Frazier, right fielder Avisail Garcia, first baseman Jose Abreu, left fielder Melky Cabrera, and starters Jose Quintana, Derek Holland, and James Shields. The White Sox, who traded Chris Sale and Adam Eaton last offseason, have not been able to get the package they’re seeking for Quintana, who has been pitching well after a poor start.

The Tigers would love for a team like the Dodgers to come along and take their veterans. The most desirable would be right fielder J.D. Martinez. But the Tigers would be open to making a creative deal for Justin Verlander and are willing to take on some of the salary. If anyone wants Jordan Zimmermann, he’s yours. Ian Kinsler, anyone? Shortstop Jose Iglesias, catcher Alex Avila, and lefty reliever Justin Wilson are attractive to other teams.

The Braves brought aboard veterans so they could sell them off at the deadline. Lefty Jaime Garcia will have a market, as will first baseman Matt Adams, left fielder Matt Kemp, and right fielder Nick Markakis. There’s lots of interest in Julio Teheran, too.

The Giants have come to the conclusion — as much as they resisted it — that the time has come to break it up and start from scratch on the next dynasty. Other than Buster Posey, the Giants are open to any deals that might include third baseman Eduardo Nunez, right fielder Hunter Pence, shortstop Brandon Crawford, first baseman Brandon Belt, second baseman Joe Panik, starters Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, and closer Mark Melancon. Belt and Panik will be hard to get.

Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole are the Pirates’ most attractive pieces, and they should be listening. It doesn’t appear they can sign Cole long term when he becomes a free agent after next season. Second baseman Josh Harrison, third baseman David Freese, and first baseman/outfielder John Jaso are useful and productive players.

Billy Beane isn’t afraid to deal anyone. With good, young position players and pitchers coming up, the A’s will be looking to get maximum return on pitcher Sonny Gray. The A’s have a few relievers — lefty Sean Doolittle, righty Ryan Madson — that have generated interest. Switch-hitter Jed Lowrie, capable of playing second and third, will have an audience. First baseman Yonder Alonso is drawing interest.

Just what are the Orioles up to? Since their owners won’t make a financial commitment to acquire the pitching they need, they might as well sell off. Adam Jones has 10/5 status so he may not want to move, but he’d be an excellent veteran leader for some team. It appears the Orioles will go the distance with Manny Machado (free agent in 2019).

The Mets are having a disastrous season and they’d like to get something for their pain. Reliever Addison Reed, infielder Jose Reyes, outfielders Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce, and first baseman Lucas Duda are among those the Mets would deal.

The Reds have to decide what to do with shortstop Zack Cozart, a fine player, but the market for shortstops isn’t good. Righty Scott Feldman will also be in demand. The Padres have a few players — infielder Yangervis Solarte (currently on DL), lefty reliever Brad Hand, and starter Trevor Cahill — who would be attractive to teams.

The Phillies are interesting in that they have a top-notch farm system, money to spend, and players to trade. That trifecta is rare. First baseman Tommy Joseph is likely available because prospect Rhys Hoskins will take over the position next season, if not this year. Third baseman Maikel Franco, starter Jeremy Hellickson, and reliever Joaquin Benoit will be available. They also have an eye on setting up for the future, which is why acquiring Stanton and Yelich from Miami isn’t out of the question.

What we can glean from all this is that there will be a market for top-of-the-rotation pitchers. The Astros, Yankees, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Cubs all have such a need.

Last week, the Nationals bullpen allowed 18 runs over 19⅓ innings. Robertson, Wilson, Reed, Doolittle, and Madson are on their radar.

The Yankees are weak at the infield corners and could target Abreu, Alonso, Bour, Adams, Frazier, or Prado.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has to weigh the benefits of trading away prospects to acquire a frontline starter. In a truthful moment Cashman would tell you he wouldn’t want to do it, but the Yankees are compelling and it’s hard to not go for it when you have young superstars Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez.

The Royals were expected to be the biggest sellers but that has changed. They are back in the hunt for the AL Central and a wild card. Their top five free agents — Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Jason Vargas, and Alcides Escobar — won’t be sold off. Royals scouts have been told to find a starting pitcher, another back-end bullpen piece, and possibly a second baseman.

Apropos of nothing

1. Maybe there’s no proven correlation between taking part in the Home Run Derby and slumping in the second half, but if I were the Yankees and Dodgers I’d be very afraid of Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger taking part in Monday’s derby.

2. The Red Sox said the David Price/Dennis Eckersley situation was handled internally. How? Price didn’t even apologize to Eckersley for his dressing down of a Hall of Fame pitcher aboard the team charter. Apparently there were no repercussions. There seems to be better ways to be “a good teammate” other than going after Eckersley, who went through so much in his own life and in his career to be able to comment freely about the pros and cons of a player and a team.

3. The Pawtucket Red Sox let it be known that while they’re hoping for the best when the Rhode Island legislature reconvenes in the fall and there’s discussion about their Slater Mill stadium site in Pawtucket (which would require some financial outlay by taxpayers), they will pursue interest by other cities, some in Massachusetts.

4. Yes, I know there will be a 30-second pitch clock next season in MLB, but have you noticed times when the pitcher is ready to throw and the batter is still not in the box? Happens all the time. There has to be more reinforcement of the rule for the batter. Red Sox players have said they receive warning letters and fines, but they obviously have not been a deterrent.

5. MLB would love to see Derek Jeter be part of an ownership group to buy the Marlins. But to ask for complete control when you’ve invested only 10 percent of the $1 billion-$1.3 billion asking price? Where else does that happen?

6. Umpire Angel Hernandez filed a racial discrimination suit against MLB and now he’s working the All-Star Game at first base. The Cuban-born umpire alleges he hasn’t been selected to work big events such as the World Series and has never been assigned as a crew chief despite good performance ratings.

Updates on nine

1. Alex Cobb, RHP, Rays — There’s a feeling among baseball people that the Rays would seek to move Cobb at the deadline because he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season. Cobb was 6-6 with a 4.01 ERA entering his scheduled start Saturday. But one Rays official said, “If we’re in it, I don’t think Alex Cobb is going anywhere.”

2. Martin Prado, 3B, Marlins — The Yankees and Red Sox have inquired about him, but both teams have the same concern: he’s owed about $34 million. Both superpowers want to stay under the luxury tax threshold of $197 million, so they’re inquiring about how much the Marlins would be willing to eat of the contract. Both teams like Prado’s leadership, hustle, and devotion to the game.

3. Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations, Cubs — Epstein declared last week that “Our biggest fixes are inside the clubhouse.” But we all know Epstein will act if the fixes don’t occur. The Cubs have the prospects to land any of big-name starter available. Both Sonny Gray and Jose Quintana fit the bill. Quintana makes sense for the Cubs and he has no desire to leave Chicago.

4. R.A. Dickey, RHP, Braves — In his last five starts, Dickey is 3-1 with 3.09 ERA, and eight of his 11 earned runs came June 13 against the Nationals. OK, it’s tough to trade for a knuckleballer at midseason, but this is precisely why the Braves obtained him. When you look for pitchers who are peaking, Dickey fits that criteria.

5. Ricky Nolasco, RHP, Angels — Nolasco has pitched the most innings (1,806⅓) of any active pitcher who hasn’t made an All-Star team, according to MLB Network researcher Elliott Kalb.

6. Scott Feldman, RHP, Reds — Three scouts who have watched him recently think Feldman can fortify the back end of a rotation. He’s started an NL-high 18 games this year. He’s pitched in both leagues. Some think he could be a good fit for the Royals and for the Rockies, who need a veteran presence to go along with their talented young starters.

7. Pat Neshek, RHP, Phillies — Neshek, an NL All-Star, has been scouted by a number of teams, including the Royals, Red Sox, and Yankees. The sidearming 36-year-old has been effective against both lefties (.188) and righties (.233) this season.

8. Ian Kinsler, 2B, Tigers — The Royals are searching for a second baseman and Kinsler’s name has come up. He has an option for 2018. In the past, Kinsler has demanded that the 2018 option be picked up if he’s to move. The Royals won’t do that, but Kinsler would be a nice addition if he’d be willing to waive that to play for a contending team.

9. Cole Hamels, LHP, Rangers — It doesn’t look as if Hamels will have his 2019 option vested since it’s unlikely he’ll meet contract requirements of “400 innings pitched in 2017-18, including 200 innings pitched in 2018 and staying off the disabled list with a shoulder or elbow injury at the end of the 2018 season.” Hamels has pitched only 43⅔ innings this season. The Rangers are on the hook for his $22.5 million salary next season and he does have a $6 million buyout of the 2019 option. Verlander raises trade stock, Tigers shut out

Chris McCosky ,

Cleveland — There was a large throng of big-league scouts in attendance Saturday and the guy many came to see, right-hander Justin Verlander, gave them plenty to chew on.

“It reminded me of college,” he said.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, it was just another loss — 4-0 in front of a sold-out crowd at Progressive Field. They drop to 10 games under .500 (38-48) and nine games behind the Indians in the American League Central.

With one game left before the All-Star break, any lingering pretense about clawing back into contention is getting thinner by the day.

“I’m a firm believer we can turn it around; whether it’s too late or not, I don’t know,” Verlander said. “I do think we can turn it around, but it’s not looking great.”

It truly is not, especially with general manager Al Avila already putting teams around the league on notice that he’s willing to listen to any and all potential deals.

“Al’s put it out there that some of the guys are on the block,” Verlander said. “We probably have to peel off 10 or 12 straight to turn that tide.”

Verlander, already rumored to have drawn interest from the Cubs and Dodgers, put himself closer to the top of team’s trade deadline shopping list with his bounce-back performance Saturday.

Coming off a horrific seven-run outing against the Indians six days ago, Verlander showed he’s still more than capable of providing a sizeable boost to a contending team’s rotation. He went 6⅔ strong innings, giving up just one run and six hits with six strikeouts.

“Everything felt better,” Verlander said. “I made some major adjustments on quite a few things in my last bullpen and I really feel like it carried over into the game. Overall, it felt really good to see the results in the game that allowed me to pitch the way I can.”

His fastball was more lively than it’s been in recent starts. Not just in terms of velocity (96-98 mph) but with late movement, as well. He got 12 called strikes with it. He also dusted off his change-up, throwing eight of them, two to get left-handed hitter Lonnie Chisenhall out (ground out and swing-and-miss strikeout).

“These guys (Indians) battle,” Verlander said. “The last couple of years, I don’t know if there’s ever been a team that’s battled me as hard as they have, and it’s gone both ways. Either I have a decent game or they get the best of me.

“Unfortunately, one run is all it took today.”

The one blemish on his line beat him.

After he struck out Yan Gomes and Erik Gonzalez to start the fifth inning, he gave up a single to Francisco Lindor on a 2-0 fastball. Then he engaged in a nine-pitch battle with Michael Brantley.

Brantley fell behind 1-2, then fouled off three pitches and worked the count full. Verlander tried to beat him with a curveball and Brantley spanked it into the gap in right-center field, scoring Lindor from first.

“I thought that was a decent curve ball in a decent spot,” Verlander said. “But I ran away from it a little. It gave him just enough time to say, ‘Oh, it’s curveball.’ Because it came out (of his hand) just a hair early, as opposed to staying on it.”

Cabrera going back to his old hitting style, circa 2013

He was lifted in the seventh inning with runners at first and second and two out. He was at 115 pitches. Shane Greene cleaned up the mess, getting Edwin Encarnacion to ground out.

“I really wanted Encarnacion,” Verlander said. “But that is out of my control.”

So is the lack of run support. For the fifth time in 18 of his starts, the Tigers were limited to two runs or less.

“There have been times when I’ve given up five or six runs and gotten the win,” he said. “It’s a lot easier to dwell on the good ones when you get run support, but you can’t do that. You just keep plugging along and go about your business.

“This felt like a huge step in the right direction for me, mechanics-wise, stuff-wise, everything.”

The offense was suppressed again by Indians’ right-hander Mike Clevinger. They managed two hits and a run over six innings against him in Detroit last Sunday. And on Saturday, he shut them out on three hits in six innings.

“We’ve got to find a way to scrape out a couple of runs,” manager Brad Ausmus said. “Somehow we’ve got to find a way. We just didn’t do a lot offensively.”

The Tigers only got one runner as far as second base all night, J.D. Martinez, who led off the second inning with a double. He went no further.

Things didn’t get any easier or better when the Indians went to the bullpen. Andrew Miller got six straight outs, striking out two and getting four ground-ball outs. And Cody Allen pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing only a two-out single to Miguel Cabrera.

It was the seventh time the club has been shutout this season.

“Just not getting hits, not getting the big hit,” Ausmus said. “It’s not every night, but it’s happened more frequently than we would’ve thought.”

The Indians put it out of reach scoring three runs in the eighth off reliever Bruce Rondon, highlighted by an RBI double by Carlos Santana and an RBI triple by Bradley Zimmer.

“Personal-wise, a win,” Verlander said. “Team-wise, not a win. And this is a team sport, not a personal sport. So you walk away with a bitter taste in your mouth.”

Detroit News LOADED: 07.09.2017

Tigers' chances to get in race dwindle with another loss to Indians, 4-0

Anthony Fenech ,

CLEVELAND – It’s been the Detroit Tigers’ last stand for more than a month.

First, after that horrible late May road trip. Then, over a hearty home schedule for the better part of a month. Back on the West Coast. Last Sunday against the Indians.

But the two nights that began with a first pitch at 7:15 p.m. Saturday represented the team’s final last stand. They weren’t dead yet, though their play a night earlier certainly made a compelling argument.

Their chances on life support, the Tigers had one last opportunity over two nights at Progressive Field to head into the All-Star break with a series win and perhaps, maybe, as improbable as it sounds, a chance to hit the reset button and roar back into the race as general manager Al Avila sorts out his trade deadline sell plan.

Such was the thought as Justin Verlander took the mound against his longtime nemesis. Verlander pitched his butt off. The Tigers’ offense backed him with three hits while he was in the game. They lost, 4-0, to the Indians, ensuring they will be no better than nine games below the .500 mark and no closer than eight games back in the American League Central Division as play pauses on Monday.

“I do think we can turn it around,” Verlander said. “But it’s not looking great.

“We don’t have long to turn it around. Obviously, Al has already put out there some of the guys that are on the block and we’d probably have to peel off 10 or 12 straight to turn that tide a little bit but I’m not saying it’s not possible.”

Verlander, his teammates and manager Brad Ausmus can’t say anything to the contrary. As competitors, it’s simply not in their nature. But they have slowly been slipping to the point of no return and if it hadn’t come already, then it came in their seventh shutout loss of the season.

“Three hits generally doesn’t cut it,” manager Brad Ausmus said, though the Tigers technically totaled four after Miguel Cabrera's single in the ninth. “We gotta find a way to scrape out a couple of runs, to be honest with you. We gotta find a way to scrape out some runs. We just didn’t do a lot offensively.”

It was the same story too often told this season: The Tigers, with loads of veteran talent offensively, tipping their cap. This loss fell squarely on their shoulders.

Verlander shook off his latest struggle against the Indians on July 2 to pitch six-plus innings of strong baseball, showing better command but not enough for him to be considered around the corner of his inconsistent pitching this season.

The game was won in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Verlander jumped ahead of Michael Brantley, one ball and two strikes. Then, the issues which have plagued his pitch count, inflated his walk rate and resulted in foul ball after foul ball, cropped up once again. Verlander threw Brantley everything to get a strikeout – “Even the kitchen sink,” he said. – one that with two outs, he didn’t necessarily need. On the ninth pitch of the at-bat, Brantley jumped on a full count curveball for an RBI double to right-centerfield.

It was the only blemish of Verlander’s night: He threw 6 2/3 innings, allowing six hits with four walks and six strikeouts. Two of those walks were intentional. Five of the six hits he allowed were doubles.

“This felt like a huge step in the right direction for me,” he said. “Everything felt better. I made a few major adjustments on quite a few things in my last bullpen and it really felt like it carried over in the game.

“Overall, personally, a win. Team-wise, not a win. And this is a team sport, this isn’t a personal sport, so you kind of walk away with a bitter taste in your mouth.”

The Tigers’ offense came into the game like an injured insect, paralyzed by pain and hoping for it to stop. In this game which further sunk the team’s chances, Indians right-hander Mike Clevinger stomped them away. For the second time in as many starts, Clevinger was impressive, throwing six scoreless innings. He allowed only three hits.

Though Clevinger has good stuff, it remains wholly perplexing how a Tigers lineup comprised of veteran professional hitters failed to make adjustments.

“We’re just not getting hits,” Ausmus said. “We’re not getting big hits. It’s not every night, although it’s happened more frequently than we would have thought.”

Left-hander Andrew Miller relieved Clevinger and was dominant, throwing two perfect innings.

Against Bruce Rondon in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Indians scored three times. Rondon walked Lonnie Chisenhall before allowing a double to Carlos Santana and a triple to Bradley Zimmer. Yan Gomes provided the final score with a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

And so it went, the Tigers, losers of another series, lifeless offensively once again, any fantasy they could climb back into the race with a couple big wins overshadowed by the reality that this team is officially done.

“It’s a 162-game season,” Ausmus said. “A team is built for 162 games. The guys that are kind of performing below their career norms, they’ll bounce back. I believe that. I really do. It remains to be seen how that shapes up.”

No, the Tigers can see it. They just can’t say it.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 07.09.2017