Preview: Indians Start Four-Game Set in Toronto Against the Jays

The Indians wrapped up a homestand on Wednesday with the Royals with a solid 3-1 win, as Corey Kluber notched his 18th win of the season, dropping the 'magic

The Indians wrapped up a homestand on Wednesday with the Royals with a solid 3-1 win, as Corey Kluber notched his 18th win of the season, dropping the 'magic number' in the AL Central down to nine games.

Thursday the team will head North of the border to Toronto to take on the Jays, a team that they just made a deal with on Friday, as the Indians acquired former AL MVP Josh Donaldson, who hit another homer in a minor league game on Wednesday in Akron for the Rubberducks.

Shane Bieber heads to the mound for the start on Thursday against Sam Gaviglio for the Jays.

Here’s a look at the breakdown for today’s series finale with the Twins.

Date: Thursday, September 6

Time: 7:10 p.m. ET

Location: Rogers Centre, Toronto

Starting Pitchers: Indians – RHP Shane Bieber (8-3, 4.66) vs. Jays - RHP Sam Gaviglio (3-7, 5.02)

TV Channel: SportsTime Ohio

Online Stream: MLB.TV

Radio: ALT 99.1, AM WTAM 1100 and WMMS 100.7

Click the next pages for a preview of tonight’s matchup in Toronto

1. Bieber Looking for His 9th Win of 2018

It will be the first start against the Jays for Indians Thursday starter Shane Bieber, as he enters action tonight with a mark of 8-3 with an ERA of 4.66.

Bieber is coming off a 5-3 loss to the Rays at Progressive Field in which he didn't pitch all that well, allowing four runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings.

As manager Terry Francona said about the rookie, he has a tendency of rolling along, then having running into a couple hitters in which he either loses command or can't find the zone.

The Jays are a team that likes to be aggressive at the plate, so Bieber if he has his good stuff, might have a night in which he can pile up some strikeouts.

will face the Blue Jays for the first time in his career. He is 4-0 with a 4.44 ERA in eight road starts this season. Gaviglio has never faced the Indians. He is 2-1 with a 2.68 ERA in 11 appearances (nine starts) at home in 2018.

2. The Lowdown on Sam Gaviglio

Jays pitcher Sam Gaviglio enters play on Thursday with a mark of 3-7, with an ERA over five. His last two starts against the Orioles, one good (which was at home), and one not so good (on the road).

In the home start, he lasted seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits with a walk and seven K's. In Camden Yards, he went 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits in a loss.

He has been good at home, going 2-1 with a 2.68 ERA in 11 appearances (nine starts) in 2018. He's never faced the Tribe in his two-year MLB career.

3. Small Sample Size

The Indians and Jays haven't went at it much at all this season, as the The Jays won the only game in the scheduled series 8-4 on April 13th and then split the makeup doubleheader on an off-day, May 3rd.

The Jays have been outscored by the Indians 28-25 in the three games this year.

Lat season the Indians lost two of three against the Jays in Toronto, but swept them in Cleveland, going 4-2 overall in the season series.

The doubleheader back on May 3rd was a was marathon, as the day started off with a two-hour rain delay, and then Indians lost the first game 13-11, but in the second game they got a 13-4 win for the split.