Tribe vs. Reds: LHP T.J. House vs. RHP Homer Bailey

Cleveland Indians (57-57) vs. Cincinnati Reds (58-56)

 
LHP T.J. House (1-2, 4.09 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, .299 OAV) vs. RHP Homer Bailey (8-5, 3.89 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, .251 OAV)

 
Thursday, August 7, 2014: 7:10 p.m. at Great American Ball Park

Having made his Major League debut back on May 17, House has been the beneficiary of the Indians recent trade to send away Justin Masterson. He has made 10 starts on the year, but oddly only received a decision on three occasions.

 
House is actually quite stingy when it comes to allowing runs, giving up more than three in any single start only twice. Where he falters is in his pitch effectiveness. His season-high in pitches came in his last start just five days ago against Texas where he threw 97; but still, he would only make it through five innings.

 
In a relatively small sample size, House has been far less efficient on the road. In six starts, he is yet to pick up a win, and has posted a 4.78 ERA. Where he has proven quite stealthy is in crucial situations. With runners in scoring position and there being two outs in the inning, hitters are hitting only .048 (1-for-21) against the left-hander.

 
Here is the lineup he will be facing via the Reds’ Twitter account: (obviously, none of the batters has faced House before, having made his debut just earlier this season)

 
CF – Billy Hamilton
RF – Jay Bruce
1B – Todd Frazier
C – Devin Mesoraco
LF – Ryan Ludwick
2B – Kristopher Negron
3B – Ramon Santiago
SS – Zack Cozart
P – Homer Bailey

Having delivered a quality start in five of his last six outings, it seems that Homer Bailey may have finally turned the corner. Bothered by an assortment of injuries throughout the first half, Bailey has begun to show the potential for what will be in store over the next half-dozen years.

 
For lack of a better term, Bailey has been horrific against the Tribe in his career. Having made seven starts, his ERA is a ballooned 6.55, allowing 25 earned runs in just 34.1 innings of work. While his 34 hits in 34.1 innings is not exactly desirable, his 20 walks in that same time span has been what has done him in.

 
When Bailey gets two runs of support or less, his record is quite obviously not very endearing (4-29), but his ERA spikes to 4.42, opposed to the tidy 3.79 it sits at when getting three-to-five runs of support. With Bailey not having pitched very well against Cleveland in the past, scoring early against the Indians’ rookie pitcher will be as important as ever.

 
Here is the lineup he will face via the Indians’ Twitter account:

 
2B – Jason Kipnis (1-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 K)
RF – David Murphy (yet to face Bailey)
CF – Michael Brantley (2-for-9, 1 HR, 4 RBI)
1B – Carlos Santana (2-for-8, 1 2B, 4 K’s)
C – Yan Gomes (2-for-2, 1 RBI)
3B – Lonnie Chisenhall (1-for-3)
LF – Nick Swisher (1-for-7, 2 K’s)
SS – Jose Ramirez (yet to face Bailey)
P – T.J. House (yet to face Bailey)

Having perpetually hung around the Postseason race for as long as they have, the Redlegs have put themselves in a position to make one last final push. Sending the blisteringly hot Bailey to the mound opposing a rookie makes for a game that almost needs to end in a Cincinnati victory.