Preview: Tribe Magic Number Sits at Three

The Cleveland Indians take on the Tampa Bay Rays for the last time this season. Wednesday afternoon when Carlos Carrasco (16-8, 3.41) takes the mound against Blake Snell (18-5. 2.06.) The Indians and Ray have split the early week series, with the Rays winning Monday night and the Tribe rallying back last night in Josh Donaldson's debut.

Monday was supposed to an easy win as Corey Kluber was on the mound, but the Rays offense quickly got after it and forced him to leave the game in second inning. The Indians offense came back from 4-0 deficit to only lose in dramatic fashion in the 9th inning.

Tuesday night was one to remember as well as, because Josh Donaldson made his debut for the Tribe. While the game itself was a closely fought 2-0 win for Cleveland, the starting line-up the Tribe trotted out their featured an all-star at every position. This is the most firepower and Indians offense has had since 1999, when they still had Manny Ramierz, Kenny Lofton and company. While the offense only managed two runs, it was a good preview of the type of line-ups Cleveland can use as Terry Francona and company get ready for the postseason.

Tuesday's win for the Indians ended the Rays 12-game home winning streak and moved Tampa Bay a step closer to postseason elimination as the Indians moved a step closer to clinching the American League Central.

Continue reading for keys to today's game against Tampa Bay...

1) Pitchers Duel

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco looks for his 17th win this season Wednesday afternoon.

Carlos Carrasco is coming off a 14-strikeout game in his last start and comes into this one 16-8 with a 3.41 ERA. He lost to the Rays on Sept. 2, yielding five runs on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings and is 4-4 with a 3.21 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) against Tampa Bay in his career.However, while Snell loves pitching at Tropicana, so does Carrasco, who comes into this start 4-0 with a 1.11 ERA in five games (four starts) at Tropicana Field. Snell last faced the Tribe on Sept. 1 and he beat the Indians, working 6 2/3 innings while the Tribe managed 8 hits but only scored one run. The victory was Snell's first against Cleveland, as his record vs the Tribe is (1-1) with a 1.83 ERA in three career starts against Cleveland.

 2) New look Tribe

Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Andrew Miller hopes to be healthy for the Indians as they push towards October baseball.

The Cleveland Indians have battled injuries all season and as the season winds down they are finally healthy. Now healthy is a loose term, considering the Tribe will be without pieces in the postseason, but the front office has done a great job to negate some of the open spots. First things first is the return/ debut of Josh Donaldson, while 0-4 is less than ideal for a first game his presence was still felt in the Tribe offense.

The most important piece returning is Andrew Miller, since being traded for in 2016 Miller has been one of the most important pieces of the Tribe bullpen. This season has been a difficult one for both the Indians bullpen as well as for Miller, as he has bee on and off the DL throughout most of the season. Reports are that Miller is finally healthy, so look for him to get action in a few games as the season winds down over the next few weeks.

 3) Magic Number Update

Heading into Wednesday afternoon's game the Indians magic number currently sits at three, meaning any combination of Indians wins and Twins losses gets the Tribe their third straight AL Central crown. This weekend begins the last home-stand of the season for Cleveland as the Tigers, White Sox and Red Sox come to progressive field, The Indians should be lucky enough to celebrate a division title in front of the home fans, so make sure you get out to the ballpark to join the party.