Big Joe v Aaron Civale, Lineup & Notes

Game: The match starts at 7:10 and will be aired by AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Adam Frazier 2B, Ke’Bryan Hayes 3B, Colin Moran DH, Josh Bell 1B, Gregory Polanco RF, Bryan Reynolds CF, Erik Gonzalez SS, Jose Osuna LF, Jake Stallings C and Joe Musgrove P. Fraze and Key have been en fuego at the top of the order.

Pitchers: RHP Joe Musgrove (0-5, 4.68) bumps head with RHP Aaron Civale (4-5, 3.99). Big Joe has been fanning guys pretty regularly (12.4/nine innings), but seems like he also has that one brutal inning lurking. Not last outing; he fanned 11 while spinning a six-inning shutout against St. Louis, and another good day should help clean his palate for 2021 (or pump his trade value; he’s an oft-mentioned shiny winter toy). Big Joe hasn’t worked against Cleveland this year.  Civale has had a bumpy second half. In his past six games, he’s 2-4/5.00 with an unlucky .356 BABIP. But he does a complete game win against the Bucs, tossing a five-hitter in a 6-1 mid-August win.

Notes: 

• The final Bucco taxi squad of the season consists of C Andrew Susac, LHP Brandon Waddell, RHP Nick Mears, 1B Will Craig and IF Rodolfo Castro.
• The Indians have won 8-of-9; three of their last four wins have been walkoffs.
• The Pirates clinched the #1 pick in the draft under the current rules with last night’s loss. But Rob Manfred has the right to change the order this year, so it’s not writ in stone yet, although the Commish has given no sign that he’ll change the setup.
• After 14 entertaining MLB seasons, OF Hunter Pence is retiring at age 37.