GDT40: 5/19/14 - DET (27-12) AT CLE (19-25) - 7:05 p.m. ET

Tigers: LHP Drew Smyly (2-2, 2.70 ERA)

Smyly's last outing wasn't pretty, but effective, with six innings of one-run ball in a no-decision last Tuesday at Baltimore. He struggled to retire right-handed hitters, but limited the damage to Adam Jones' home run.



Indians: RHP Corey Kluber (4-3, 3.38 ERA)

Kluber was solid Wednesday, holding Toronto to two runs with nine strikeouts and one walk in seven innings. Over his past five, the righty is 3-1 with a 2.04 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings.





Tigers, Tribe headed in opposite directions
Detroit is flying high in standings, while Cleveland is struggling

By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com | 5/18/2014 5:15 PM ET

Any thought that the Indians had begun to close the gap on the Tigers when they finished just a game behind Detroit in the American League Central standings last season has been affronted early in this 2014 season.

The Tigers, despite some notable reconfigurations in their lineup, remain a force, entering Sunday with the best record -- not just in the AL Central, but in all of baseball.

The Indians, on the other hand, have seen their efforts to repeat as postseason entrants betrayed by struggles in the clutch, inconsistency in the rotation and a bewilderingly poor defensive showing. Those issues have snowballed in the Tribe's current four-game losing streak, which left them a full 10 games behind the Tigers -- and last in their division -- after Sunday's loss to the A's.

In other words, it has gotten late early in the '14 installment of the Tigers-Indians rivalry, which is why the onus is on the Indians to climb back into relevance this week.

"Everybody here is aware of the fact that [the Tigers] are playing well," said Corey Kluber, who will start Monday's series opener at Progressive Field. "But it doesn't do us any good to compare ourselves to them, at this point."

All the Tribe can do is take care of business in-house, and Kluber, who has clearly been their most consistent starter this season, is their best possible option to get this series started off on the right foot.

Kluber (4-3, 3.38 ERA) has succeeded this season largely on the might of one of the best strikeout-to-walk ratios (5.08) in the league. He's struck out 10.1 batters per nine, while walking just two per nine -- and he fanned a career-high 13 batters in his last outing in Chicago.

The Tigers have roughed Kluber up to the tune of 23 earned runs in 37 2/3 innings in seven previous meetings, and, in the wake of the Prince Fielder trade, they present a different dynamic this year than last. They are much more oriented toward an aggressive mindset on the basepaths. In fact, they've already surpassed last year's stolen-base total.

"They're playing more small ball than in years past," Kluber said. "So in that sense, it is different. But, at the same time, they've got those guys in the middle of the lineup that are dangerous. So it's not an easier lineup to face, by any means."

Indeed, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez have been red hot in the month of May. Now, they'll come to Cleveland with an opportunity to put the Indians deeper in a hole that will be difficult to escape.

The calendar might claim it's early in the 2014 season. But the standings insist this is a big series for the Indians.

Tigers: Martinez mashing in May

• The Indians are obviously quite familiar with what a locked-in Martinez can do to a lineup, and he is as locked in now as he's ever been.

Martinez entered Sunday night's game in Boston with a .390/.446/.746 slash line, six doubles, five homers and 10 RBIs in 15 games in May -- leading all AL players in average and ranking second in slugging and third in on-base percentage.

But the real testament to Martinez's strong start this season was that he had hit a home run exactly as many times (nine) as he had struck out.

Only 25 times has a player with at least 30 home runs struck out fewer times than he went deep, and Martinez has given himself an early opportunity to join that short list.

Indians: Shuffled lineup tries to deal with lefties

• Certainly, Cy Young winners Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, who will pitch on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, carry considerable clout.

But Drew Smyly might present the biggest matchup issue of this series for the Indians, simply because they've struggled so mightily against left-handed starters. They are 4-11 in games in which a southpaw starts for the opposition.

"A lot of it has to do with that guy on the mound," Ryan Raburn said after one such recent loss. "Unfortunately for us, we're not getting much going -- especially against lefties."

• The continuing struggles of Nick Swisher and Carlos Santana finally prompted a lineup change by Terry Francona on Sunday, when he batted the pair sixth and seventh, respectively. Francona did not think that change would be a long-term one, but it could carry over into Monday's series opener.

Worth noting

• The Tigers' Martinez (.351) and the Indians' David Murphy (.339) entered the week with the two highest batting averages with two strikes in the Majors.

• Detroit has a 16-12 record at Progressive Field, dating back to the beginning of the 2012 season. The Tigers were 9-1 in Cleveland last year.

• Michael Brantley has hit safely in 15 consecutive games at Progressive Field. That's tied with the Mets' Daniel Murphy (whose streak is also active) for the longest such streak this season.

Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his columns and his blog, CastroTurf, and follow him on Twitter at @Castrovince. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.





INJURY UPDATE:


• Dirks, Andy (LF) (Recovering from March 2014 back surgery, on the 60-day disabled list, Due Back: Possibly June)

• Hanrahan, Joel (P) (Recovery from 2013 Tommy John surgery, Placed on 15-day DL on May 2, Due Back: Possibly June)

• Iglesias, Jose (SS) (Stress fractures in both shins, 60-day disabled list, Due Back: Possibly late 2014)

• Putkonen, Luke (P) (Right elbow inflammation, Placed on 15-day DL on April 21, retroactive to April 19, Due Back: Possibly week of May 5)

• Rondon, Bruce (P) (Tommy John surgery-Right elbow, 60-day disabled list, Due Back: 2015)





On the Internet

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•  Official Press Pass game notes


On television

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On radio

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• Tuesday, May 20:
TIGERS: (RHP Justin Verlander (5-2, 3.15 ERA)) AT
INDIANS: (RHP Trevor Bauer (0-1, 1.50 ERA))
7:05p  p.m. ET (FS-D, FM 97.1)


• Wednesday, May 21:
TIGERS: (RHP Max Scherzer (6-1, 1.83 ERA)) AT
INDIANS: (RHP Zach McAllister (3-4, 5.36 ERA))
12:05p  p.m. ET (FS-D, FM 97.1)


• Thursday, May 22:
TIGERS: (LHP Robbie Ray (1-0, 0.75 ERA)) VS
RANGERS: (RHP Yu Darvish (3-2, 2.32 ERA))
1:08p  p.m. ET (FS-D, MLBN, FM 97.1)


• Friday, May 23:
TIGERS: (RHP Anibal Sanchez (TBA ERA)) VS
RANGERS: (LHP Robbie Ross Jr. (1-4, 4.78 ERA))
7:08p  p.m. ET (FS-D, MLBN, FM 97.1)


• Saturday, May 24:
TIGERS: (RHP Rick Porcello (7-1, 2.91 ERA)) VS
RANGERS: (?HP TBA (TBA ERA))
4:08p  p.m. ET (FS1, FM 97.1)


• Sunday, May 25:
TIGERS: (RHP Justin Verlander (TBA ERA)) VS
RANGERS: (?HP TBA (TBA ERA))
1:08p  p.m. ET (FS-D, FM 97.1)

STARTING LINEUPS:

Detroit Tigers Lineup

2B: Kinsler,
RF: Hunter,
1B: Cabrera,
DH: Martinez,
CF: Kelly,
3B: Castellanos,
C: Avila,
SS: Romine,
LF :Davis,

Cleveland Indians Lineup

   CF: Michael Bourn
   SS: Asdrubal Cabrera
   LF: Michael Brantley
   RF: Ryan Raburn
   3B: Carlos Santana
   C: Yan Gomes
   DH: Nick Swisher
   1B: Jesus Aguilar
   2B: Mike Aviles
   SP: Corey Kluber

Top 10

• Lonnie Chisenhall remains in the game as the first baseman.
  
• Pitching Change: Scott Atchison replaces Cody Allen.
  
• 1. Miguel Cabrera lines out to second baseman Jose Ramirez.
  
• 2. Victor Martinez grounds out, third baseman Mike Aviles to first baseman Lonnie Chisenhall.
  
• 3. Don Kelly grounds out to first baseman Lonnie Chisenhall.
  

Bottom 10

• Pitching Change: Al Alburquerque replaces Joba Chamberlain.
  
• 1. Michael Bourn grounds out, pitcher Al Alburquerque to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.
  
• 2. Asdrubal Cabrera strikes out swinging.
  
• 3. Michael Brantley homers (9) on a line drive to right field.
  

TIGERS LOSE 4-5

BOX SCORE

W: Atchison (1-0)
L: Alburquerque (1-1)

Kluber pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

WP: Smyly, Kluber.
IBB: Martinez, V (by Kluber).
HBP: Brantley (by Krol).
Pitches-strikes: Smyly 110-63, Coke 33-22, Krol 19-12, Chamberlain 14-10, Alburquerque 18-10, Kluber 94-67, Shaw 17-11, Allen 14-10, Atchison 8-5.
Groundouts-flyouts: Smyly 4-3, Coke 2-1, Krol 1-0, Chamberlain 1-0, Alburquerque 1-0, Kluber 5-1, Shaw 1-0, Allen 2-0, Atchison 2-0.
Batters faced: Smyly 27, Coke 9, Krol 5, Chamberlain 4, Alburquerque 3, Kluber 30, Shaw 3, Allen 5, Atchison 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Shaw 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Todd Tichenor. 1B: Gabe Morales. 2B: Tim Timmons. 3B: Tim Welke.
Weather: 60 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 9 mph, In from RF.
T: 3:51.
Att: 12,709.
Venue: Progressive Field.
May 19, 2014