The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Encarnacion returns for Indians
Slugger missed past two games with sprained ankle.
The Cleveland Indians’ lineup is at full power for Game 5. Edwin Encarnacion is back.
After missing two games with a sprained right ankle, Cleveland’s cleanup hitter was in the lineup Wednesday night as the defending AL champions met the New York Yankees in a decisive finale of the AL Division Series.
Encarnacion sat out the Indians’ two losses in New York after injuring his ankle while scrambling back to second base in the first inning of Game 2. But after testing it out by running and taking some swings in the batting cage on Tuesday, Encarnacion was cleared.
Encarnacion’s power and presence changes Cleveland’s lineup. He hit 38 homers and drove in 107 runs during his first regular season with Cleveland, and without him in the lineup the Indians lack a big, game-changing bat.
Cleveland entered Game 5 batting just .173 in the first four games.
Astros: Manager A.J. Hinch said Dallas Keuchel will start Game 1 of the ALCS on Friday night and Justin Verlander will take the mound in Saturday’s Game 2.
Houston will play the winner of the Yankees-Indians series.
If the Indians win, the ALCS will start in Cleveland. If the wild-card Yankees win, the series will start in Houston.
“Keuchel and Verlander are going to go one and two in that order,” Hinch said. “I don’t really care who we’re facing, it’s going to be that order.
“Then after that is where it gets a little thought-provoking, I guess.”
Angels: Right-handed reliever Felix Pena was acquired from the Cubs for cash or a player to be named. Pena had a 4.98 ERA in 36 appearances with the Cubs the past two seasons.
Rangers: Infielders Phil Gosselin and Will Middlebrooks are free agents after declining outright assignments to Triple-A Round Rock. Gosselin, acquired from Pittsburgh on a waiver claim Aug. 12, hit .125 in 12 games. Middlebrooks led Round Rock with 23 homers and 64 RBIs before being called up by the Rangers on Sept. 1, and then hit .211 in 22 games.
Cubs: A man who was left blind in one eye — at least temporarily — and may ultimately lose the eye after a foul ball struck him in the face at Wrigley Field in an Aug. 29 game against the Pirates filed a lawsuit against the Cubs and MLB, alleging they failed to install enough safety netting to protect him and other fans.
John “Jay” Loos, 60, said he has undergone three surgeries to repair his damaged left eye and the five bones in his face shattered by the foul ball that struck him as he sat down the first-base line.
Noteworthy: Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani, 23, will have right ankle surgery today. The reigning Pacific League MVP, in his fifth season with the Nippon Ham Fighters, is prized as both a pitcher and hitter. He is likely to leave Japan and sign with an MLB team through the posting system in the offseason.