Indians, Blue Jays kick off ALCS tonight
Cleveland’s Corey Kluber hasn’t had much success against Toronto. Yet manager Terry Francona couldn’t be more confident in his No. 1 hurler entering Game 1 of the ALCS.
The Indians and Blue Jays meet tonight, with an 8:05 p.m. ET first pitch at Progressive Field. Online sports book Bovada.lv gives the hosts odds of -130 to draw first blood, whereas John Gibbons’ club represents a + 120 underdog. The over/under run total rests at 7.5.
After exiting a late-September assignment with groin tightness, Kluber headed into the postseason as a bit of a question mark. Yet the 2014 Cy Young winner quickly moved to dispel any reservations, twirling seven scoreless innings against Boston in the Division Series. The 30-year-old allowed three hits while striking out seven in that 6-0 triumph last week.
In roughly 10 hours, he’ll try to take down an all-too-frequent nemesis. Kluber holds a1-3 record with a 5.34 ERA in five career starts against Toronto. On July 3, Jose Bautista & Co. tagged him for five runs in 3 1/3 innings.
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Gibbons counters with Marco Estrada, who’s coming off a scintillating performance at Globe Life Park. In truth, the first-time All-Star has dazzled on a lot of occasions in 2016. Iffy offensive support, though, accounted for an unspectacular 9-9 record during the regular season.
The Tribe went 53-28 at home this year. Yet both teams’ lengthy layoff makes it difficult to gauge an early response here. Bank on some erratic control from Kluber and Estrada before they settle in.
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