Inside The Batter's Box 4.10.15: #Indians vs. #Tigers Preview

By @B_Rock1978

The home opener is here, ladies and gentlemen! After kicking off the season on the road in Houston, the Tribe are back home, on the corner of Carneige and Ontario. This year's opener is a little bit special...why you ask? Well over the winter, the Tribe announced plans of renovating the right field area. The plan, which was a multi-million dollar plan, added more restaurants and family fun and eliminated about 7,000 of those upper deck unused seats you'd see at every game. I'm excited to see the final product on opening day.

Throwing out the first pitch on opening day will be Hall of Famer and Tribe legend, Gaylord Perry. Perry pitched with the Tribe from 1972-1975.

The Indians will face off with their Central Division rivals, the veteran, Detroit Tigers. Last season, the Tigers owned the Indians and took the series 11-8. Victor Martinez, Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander always seemed to be the thorn in the Tribe's side.

* 5 Best In Det./Minn. Series *

- Miguel Cabrera: Cabrera, went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI in game 2.
- Ian Kinsler: Kinsler, went 2 for 4 with 4 RBI in game 2.
- Alex Avila: Avila, wasn't playing around against the Twins in their series together. Avila went 4 for 8, with 1 homerun, 3 RBI and 3 free passes.
- Anthony Gose: Gose, went 6 for 11 and cashed in 3 RBI, in the series.
- Jose Iglesias: Iglesias went 6 for 11 in the series.

* 5 Best In Cle./Hou. Series *

- Carlos Santana: first basemen, Santana, went yard on his birthday, against the Astros, in game 2.
- Mike Aviles: Outfielder, Aviles, had a good game 2, going 2 for 3 with 1 HR and 1 RBI.
- Roberto Perez: Catcher, Perez, is proof that a non-regular starter, can also make a difference in a game. Perez went 2 for 4 with a homerun and 2 RBI, in game 3.
- Jose Ramirez: Shortstop, Ramirez went 2 for 4 with a homerun and 1 RBI, in game 3.
- Jason Kipnis: Second baseman, Kipnis, went 2 for 4 with 1 RBI in game 3.

*** Opening Day Starters ***

Tigers: Alfredo Simon takes the mound in the opening day game for the Tigers. Detroit acquired Simon in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, and recently signed Simon to a one year $5.5 million dollar contract. Last season, Simon started in 32 games with the Reds, went 15-10 with a 3.44 ERA, 127 strikeouts and 56 walks.

Indians: Zach McAllister takes the mound for our Tribe in the opener. Last season, McAllister was used in relief pitching in the back end of the season. McAllister had a great spring and earned a starters job this year. Last season, McAllister was 4-7 with a 5.23 ERA, 47 strikeouts and 28 walks.

*** The Rest Of The Series ***

Tigers: David Price (1-0), who had a great performance in Detroit's opener on Monday, starts Game 2, on Saturday. Price pitched 8 2/3 innings and held the Twins to 5 hits and struck out 5, picking up the win.

Game 3, goes to Justin Verlander. Last season, Verlander didn't look very dominate, like he's been in years past. Verlander finished 15-12 with a 4.54 ERA, 159 strikeouts and 65 walks. But don't sell him short, he's always been an Indian killer. 

Indians: Game 2 of the series goes to T.J. House. House, will make his first start of the 2015 season, after winning one of the last two open spots on the starting rotation. Last season, House pitched in 18 games, went 5-3 with a 3.35 ERA, 80 strikeouts and 22 walks.

Game 3, Indians ace, Corey Kluber (0-1), takes the mound. "Klubot" had a great game on opening day against the Astros, pitching 7 1/3 innings, giving up 3 hits, 2 earned runs, 7 strikeouts and 2 walks. If the Indians bats would have came to life, Klub would have for sure picked up the win instead of an underserving loss.

There is your preview for the Tribe's home opening series. Continue to join me all season, with Inside The Batter's Box. I'll bring you series previews, recaps, videos and pictures, on the Triple Threat CLE Twitter and Facebook pages.

~B~