Preview: Indians Look to Bounce Back and Win the Series Over the Orioles in Afternoon Affair

CLEVELAND - The Indians will look Sunday to win a series that they have no business losing against the worst team in all of baseball, the Baltimore Orioles.

CLEVELAND - The Indians will look Sunday to win a series that they have no business losing against the worst team in all of baseball, the Baltimore Orioles.

Saturday the Indians dropped a 4-2 decision to the O's as Alex Cobb, a former Tampa Bay Rays hurler who was 3-15 entering play on Saturday,

Cobb stopped them to the tune of two runs on five hits with a walk and three K's. He kept the Indians offense off guard, and after Jonathan Villar hit a three-run homer off starter Adam Plutko, the latest loss was set in place for the Tribe, stopping their six-game winning streak.

Today it's Mike Clevinger going for the Indians against Yefry Ramirez as the Indians look to start a new win streak before they head to Beantown for the Red Sox Monday.

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

Time: 1:10 p.m.

Starting Pitchers: RHP Yefry Ramirez (1-4, 5.40) vs. RHP Mike Clevinger (8-7, 3.38)

TV: SportsTime Ohio

Online: MLB.TV

Radio: WTAM 1100am, Indians Radio Network

1. Clevinger Looking to Carve Up the O's

Mike Clevinger takes the hill for the Indians Sunday, looking to earn his 9th win of the season against seven losses.

Clevinger is coming off a win, his first in a more than a month, in his last start against the Reds last week. He wasn't great in the start by any means, allowing two runs in five innings, but it was enough as he threw 101 pitches in the eventual win.

In that start he had six walks to go along with four strikeouts, and will need better control to make sure the Indians don't lose a series to the awful O's.

2. Better Patience at the Plate

Saturday was not a day to remember for the Indians offense against O's starter Alex Cobb. The former Rays pitcher had just three wins against 15 losses, but all he did was handcuff the Indians to the tune of two runs on five hits in a complete game.

The Indians were very aggressive at the plate all afternoon, and that was a huge reason why by the time Cobb looked up in the 7th inning, he had thrown less than 80 pitches.

Sunday against Orioles starter Yefry Ramirez, the Indians need to make him throw pitches early and work the count, not look to jump on pitches as aggressive as they were on Saturday.

3. Four Big Ones After Sunday

The Indians after Sunday's game against the O's will pack their bags for four games that most will look at as a huge measuring stick, as they head to Boston to take on the Red Sox.

Boston has the best record in all of baseball at 88-36 with a whopping 10.5 game lead over the Yankees in the AL East, and they will have the #1 seed in the AL unless there's a monumental collapse in the final six weeks of the season.

Again it may be four regular season games, but it's very very likely that if the Indians want to get to their second World Series in three seasons they are going to have to go through Boston to do it, and it will start on Monday with Corey Kluber on the mound.