Indians @ Yankees

Who will WIN this matchup?

Cleveland Indians (73-49)

@ New York Yankees (81-42)

Starting Pitchers:

Civale (CLE): 1-1; 1.00 ERA

Tanaka (NYY) 8-6; 4.64 ERA

Last 10 Games Played:

Cleveland Indians: 7-3

New York Yankees: 7-3

Current odds:

Cleveland Indians: (+140)

New York Yankees: (-155)

• Carlos Santana continues to be make a strong case that he should be part of the American League MVP discussion, and the slugger looks to stay hot Friday when his Cleveland Indians visit the New York Yankees for the second of a four-game series. Santana went deep twice as the Indians routed the Yankees 19-5 in the series opener Thursday and needs one homer to reach 30 in a season for the second time in his career.  Santana is 12-for-27 with five blasts, 11 RBIs and 12 runs scored over his last seven contests, while teammate Jose Ramirez also had two of Cleveland’s seven homers in Thursday’s triumph as the Indians won for the third time in four matchups against the Yankees in 2019. Rookie Aaron Civale hopes to match the performances from his first three major-league starts when he takes the ball for the Indians on Friday, while the American League-best Yankees counter with fellow right-hander Masahiro Tanaka.

• New York saw its five-game winning streak come to an end and lost for just the third time in 17 contests despite launching three homers and recording nine hits in the series opener. Gary Sanchez had one of the blasts Thursday for the Yankees and is 6-for-11 in his last three games with two homers, while teammate Gleyber Torres went deep for the fourth time in his past five contests.

• Civale has completed exactly six innings in each of his first three major-league starts, allowing a total of two runs on nine hits and four walks with 18 strikeouts. The 24-year-old Connecticut native permitted one run and four hits Sunday at Minnesota but did not factor into the decision of his first big-league road game. The Northeastern product is 7-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 13 starts at two levels in the minor leagues this season.

• Tanaka ended a rough four-game stretch Sunday by limiting Toronto to three hits over eight scoreless innings with four strikeouts and zero walks during a 6-0 win. The 30-year-old Japan native went 1-1 despite yielding 24 runs on 34 hits over 18 2/3 innings in his previous four trips to the mound. Ramirez is 6-for-11 with a triple against Tanaka, who is 6-2 with a 3.29 ERA at home compared to 2-4 with a 6.48 mark on the road this year.

• New York SS Didi Gregorius homered Thursday and is 6-for-16 with two blasts and six RBIs during a four-game hit streak.

• Cleveland OF Yasiel Puig returned after serving a three-game suspension and had two hits, improving to 17-for-47 since being acquired from Cincinnati at the trade deadline.

• Yankees 3B Gio Urshela has reached base safely in 21 straight games after going 2-for-4 with two RBIs in Thursday’s setback.