Preview: Indians Look for 6th Straight Win in Matchup Against Detroit

CLEVELAND - The Indians are feasting right now on the American League Central, having overcome some early issues in losing the first two games of their latest

CLEVELAND - The Indians are feasting right now on the American League Central, having overcome some early issues in losing the first two games of their latest homestand against the Minnesota Twins.

Helped out by two wins for rookie Shane Beiber, the Indians have quickly built a five-game winning streak, and will look for six straight tonight when they host the Tigers in game two of their three-game weekend set.

Trevor Bauer, coming off another impressive home start this past week on Monday against the White Sox, will go for the Indians looking for his 7th win of 2018.

Here's a look at tonight's game with a quick preview.

Time: 6:10 p.m.

Starting Pitchers: RHP Francisco Liriano (3-2, 3.90) vs. RHP Trevor Bauer (6-5, 2.50)

TV: SportsTime Ohio

Online: MLB.TV

Radio: WTAM 1100am, Indians Radio Network

1. Bet on Bauer

Indians hurler Trevor Bauer looks like an All-Star, as he's easily having his best season in the Majors. Monday was another solid outing for Bauer, gaining a win against the White Sox.

Consider the fact that Bauer has allowed 28 runs this season in just over 100 innings, and he's already struck out 129 batters, blowing batters away at a rapid pace.

Against the White Sox, Bauer went 7.0 shutout innings and gave up just 3 hits while walking 2 and striking out 8 in the Indians victory.

Bauer might be just 6-5 this season, but with a 2.50 ERA it's hard to think of another pitcher throwing as well as him right now.

2. Taming the Tigers

The Indians are on a roll against the Tigers this season at Progressive Field, winning their first five games against them at home.

All the Indians have done in those first five home wins against Detroit is outscore them 30-5, (some quick math equates that to an average of 6-1 Indians per win), and with Trevor Bauer going in game six that number could get even more lopsided.

Indians pitchers are having their way with the Tigers thus far, and with the way Bauer is going, it would almost be considered a major upset should the Indians find themselves on the losing end of this one.

With that being said, getting off to an early lead would be a nice way to keep the one-sided stats in the Tribe's favor.

1. A Hamstrung Tiger on the Mound

Detroit Saturday starter Francisco Liriano is going to have a tough task ahead of him on Saturday, trying to slow down a hot Tribe offense and doing it likely less than 100 percent.

Liriano suffered a strained right hamstring against the White Sox back on May 26th, and Ron Gardenhire, Tigers manager, has stated that he will only throw 75-80 pitches in his first start back.

The 34-year-old allowed five runs on five runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings back on May 15th against the Tribe. He's 3-2 this year but the team is just 4-6 when he takes the mound.

If he gets in trouble early, the Tigers may pull the plug on his return and go to the pen early against the Indians.