The Cleveland Guardians and Pittsburgh Pirates will take the field on Tuesday at PNC Park. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ET.
Cleveland (45-48 SU and 45-48 RL) is starting lefty Logan Allen. The 24-year-old is 3-2 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP in 12 outings this season.
Pittsburgh (41-52 SU and 43-50 RL) is expected to hand the game ball to Mitch Keller. The 27-year-old is 9-4 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in 19 outings.
Cleveland has lost four straight, falling 2.5 games out of first in the AL Central. Can it keep pace with Minnesota in the coming weeks?
The Guardians average 4.02 runs (27th) and hit .250 (16th) with a .690 OPS (26th). They've hit 64 home runs (30th) and stolen 75 bases (8th) in 2023. The pitching staff has posted a 3.92 ERA (10th) and a 1.28 WHIP (17th) with 35 quality starts.
Dude is so slick, it's unreal.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/Q0Ctth9IGo
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 16, 2023
Allen will take the hill for Cleveland in game two. The young southpaw held Kansas City scoreless in his last start, with three hits and five strikeouts in 3.2 innings. He also held Oakland scoreless in his previous start (four innings). They were significant bounce-back performances, as the rookie surrendered ten earned runs (nine combined frames) in his mid-June against Houston and San Diego.