New York @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 10, 2014 ) Cleveland 4, NY Yankees 1

Luis Severino seeks his first victory when he takes the mound for the visiting New York Yankees on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series at the Cleveland Indians. The rookie right-hander may feel heightened pressure in his second career start after the Yankees were swept at home by Toronto over the weekend to cut their lead in the American League East to 1 1/2 games.

"We definitely took a punch this weekend, and good teams punch back,” Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez said. "This is no time for panic for us. We’re in first place for a reason. We like our team. We trust our team.” Severino, the top-ranked prospect for the Yankees, turned in an impressive major-league debut in a hard-luck loss to Boston on Wednesday, becoming the first pitcher in AL history to give up two hits or fewer while striking out at least seven and not walking a batter in his debut. Cleveland has won two straight behind a revived offense that amassed 34 runs in a three-game set against Minnesota over the weekend. Indians starter Carlos Carrasco has yielded a miserly one run and three hits combined over 18 innings in his last two starts.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, YES (New York), SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Luis Severino (0-1, 1.80 ERA) vs. Indians RH Carlos Carrasco (11-8, 3.76)

Severino needed 94 pitches to get through five innings, but that inefficiency was one of his few blemishes against the Red Sox on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Dominican, who gave up two runs (one earned) in the outing, was dominant prior to his promotion, going a combined 9-2 with a 2.45 ERA across 19 starts while holding opponents to a .201 batting average. Severino also struck out 98 batters in 99 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season.
Carrasco feared he was "tipping his pitches" after he was shelled by the Chicago White Sox on July 25 and decided to make an adjustment to his delivery - with spectacular results. He went nine innings for the second straight start last time out, allowing only a fifth-inning single in an eventual 12-inning win over the Los Angeles Angels. That followed a two-hitter in a 3-1 complete-game victory at Oakland on July 30.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Yankees had gone a span of 2,665 games, dating to May 1999, without getting blanked in consecutive games.
2. The Indians have won only two of 22 series against New York since 1993.
3. Yankees LF Brett Gardner is 4-for-29 over his last nine games.

PREDICTION: Yankees 5, Indians 3