New York Yankees: Aces wild Thursday night in Cleveland

The New York Yankees face off against the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night and it will be aces wild in Ohio as Luis Severino and Corey Kluber take the mound.

A pair of aces square-off Thursday night in the opening game of a four-game set between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians, a rematch of last season’s barn-burning League Division Series taken by the Bombers.

2017 AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber takes the hill for the Tribe against last year’s third-place finisher for the AL Cy Young, Luis Severino. Both are again having Cy Young-type seasons.

Needless to say, if you like pitching, this should be a good one!

So far in 2018, Kluber is 12-4 with a 2.49 ERA and a .879 WHIP for the AL Central-leading Indians. He’s 7-1 with a 1.43 ERA at Progressive Field alone. Last season The Yankees hit a paltry .105 against “Klubot” in two regular-season losses. However, in the LDS, the Yanks hit a chunky .345 and put up nine runs over six innings in two abbreviated starts.

Suffice it to say Mr. Kluber will be looking for some revenge tonight.

Severino, on the other hand, is 14-2 with a 2.12 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 2018. He’s 6-2 with a 2.65 ERA on the road in 2018. Sevy struck out nine and surrendered three runs the last time he faced Cleveland, a win in last year’s LDS.

The Indians are 6-4 over their last 10 games. They’re coming off a 19-4 brutalization of the Cincinnati Reds which saw Yankee-killer and cupcake Jose Ramirez go deep twice. Ramirez has 27 HRs this season, eclipsing Albert Belle’s record for HRs before the All-Star break for an Indian. Francisco Lindor has also been hot, hitting .333 with five HRs in 10 games so far this month.

For the Bronx Bombers, they’re 5-5 in their last 10. They also are coming off a lopsided victory in Baltimore, which they took easily 9-0. Who’s hot for the Bombers? The big guys are with Giancarlo Stanton hitting .362 with three HRs in July and Aaron Judge at .333 with four HRs during the month.

It’s a rematch of last year’s thrilling Division Series and perhaps a preview of a 2018 postseason match-up.  So grab a cold refreshment and strap yourself in for what should be a good one.