Reminder: Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports that righthander Vicente Padilla has returned to Nicaragua to attend to a family matter. The club is pushing his Monday start against Cleveland back a day to Tuesday. If he's not back in time, lefthander A.J. Murray will likely come up from Oklahoma for a spot start.
Jake Westbrook has ten career starts agains the Rangers, going 5-1 with a 4.76 ERA. This season, he is 1-2 with a 3.12 ERA... and the Tribe is 1-4 when he starts, which should be promising to the Rangers.
Rangers to Watch:
- Michael Young: 11-27 (407 BA); 2 doubles, 1 HR, and 4 RBIs
- Frank Catalanotto: 5-15 (333 BA); 1 double
The current Ranger roster is 33-97 with a .304 batting average. Rangers sport 7 doubles, 1 triple, two HRs, and 9 RBIs. Westbrook is 3-0 over his last four starts against the Rangers. He is also has a career 3-1 record at the Rangers Ballpark.
Padilla, should he return in time, is just on a tear. Hopefully, he will continue that against the Tribe. He has a 7-2 record and a 3.67 ERA. The Rangers have won their last seven when he starts, which is a reflection of what Padilla does for this team when he takes the hill. He is still holding at four beanballs, so I will have to check to see who is a likely target today:
Indians to Watch:
- Victor Martinez: 4-11 (364 BA); 3 doubles and 3 RBIs
- Jhonny Peralta: 4-10 (400 BA); 1 double, 1 HR, and 5 RBIs
- Grady Sizemore: 4-10 (400 BA); 1 double, 1 triple, 1 HR, and 2 RBIs
As a team, the Indians are 24-82 on Padilla, with 6 doubles, 2 triples, and 3 HRs. The 19 RBIs are seemingly huge... maybe because they are huge. Martinez does have some health issues concerning a hamstring. Maybe a bean to the leg to give the guy some rest the few days? Padilla is your guy for that. Just saying.
I just got word that Padilla is on the bereavement list and will miss this start. AJ Murray is taking his place. He made his ML debut last year in May. He's made one spot start this season and grabbed a win in 5.1 innings against the A's on May 3rd. His debut was against Tampa Bay on May 16th, 2007. He has two appearances against Cleveland last year for a grand total of one inning of perfect baseball. He threw 28 innings last season, two starts at the end of the season and has a career 2-2 record. Two current Indian batters have faced Murray and both are a surprising 0-1. After all, I did say that he had a perfect inning against the Tribe.
Forecast: I have to say that I find it tempting to pick Westbrook... even though I don't really believe the Indians will win this game. My gut tells me to pick the Rangers for this one. And I say, "OK." Score: 6-2, Rangers.
A Change in the Weather: With Padilla being out and Murray taking over, I am a not as confident as I was before. My gut is telling me that the Tribe's chances just got better, and of course, you would always want Padilla pitching the way he has to always be on the mound. I am thinking that it is going to be more of something like this... Score: 4-3, Rangers.
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