CLEVELAND: The Indians have plenty of moving parts in their lineup, particularly in the outfield until Michael Brantley and Lonnie Chisenhall return from the disabled list.
In the season opener against Boston Red Sox, left-handed ace David Price, Rajai Davis received the start in center field, Marlon Byrd was in left field and Collin Cowgill in right field, allowing for an all-right-handed outfield to be in the lineup.
On Wednesday, against right-handed starter Clay Buchholz, Byrd moved to right field and left-handed Tyler Naquin and switch-hitter Jose Ramirez were inserted into the lineup in center and left field, respectively.
It’s the same lineup manager Terry Francona planned to go with on Thursday against right-hander Joe Kelly, perhaps setting a precedent, with a focus on Davis.
But Francona said that isn’t the case. Davis and others aren’t in a strict platoon and won’t be switching in and out of the lineup dependent solely on the opposing starting pitcher.
In this instance, it’s more about balancing the upcoming schedule — the Indians are slated to play three left-handers in their upcoming weekend series against the Chicago White Sox — and making sure hitters aren’t spending multiple days in a row on the bench.
“It’s just trying to balance out everything and hopefully through this weather and things like that, keep guys feeling good and healthy and also productive,” Francona said Thursday. “But no, it’s not a platoon.”
Chisenhall (left wrist impingement) could come off the disabled list on April 12 and join the team in Tampa Bay. He was expected to play in a rehab assignment for Triple-A Columbus Thursday night, weather permitting. Brantley is with the team in Cleveland until the Indians travel to Chicago, in which case he’ll also go to Columbus to continue to work toward returning to the lineup.
Extra gear
The Indians are only two games into their season, but Carlos Santana is off to a good start. He’s reached base in five of his six at-bats, including Wednesday night’s three-run home run. He’s also displayed aggressiveness on the base paths, taking an extra base in Tuesday’s loss that set up a run on a sacrifice fly.
“I’m thrilled,” Francona said. “He’s had a good spring, as far as work, and you’ve seen the first two games — his base running has been terrific. He seems to have found another gear, which is good. … Going to third, that wasn’t just reckless, being aggressive. That was being smart and aggressive. It’s really helpful. We need to be that type of team.”
No baseball
Thursday’s game between the Indians and Red Sox was postponed because of inclement weather. No makeup date has been announced, and fans are encouraged to hold onto their tickets.
The Indians now travel to Chicago for a three-game series against the White Sox. The club is pushing Danny Salazar, Cody Anderson and Josh Tomlin all back a day instead of skipping Tomlin to give Corey Kluber an extra start. Kluber will get an extra day of rest and pitch the first game against Tampa Bay.
“I think we believe in all of our starters,” pitching coach Mickey Callaway said. “Anytime you have that fifth starter and he’s getting 14 days off or something, we want them all to pitch good, and Tomlin will have to pitch good for us. We don’t want to mess him up. … And Kluber was right on board with that.”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ