Cleveland @ Cincinnati Game Overview

In seven weeks as the Cincinnati Reds' manager, Francona has earned just 21 wins as his talented squad has yet to live up to its potential. The Reds have been shut out seven times, lost each of their past four series and are three games under .500, in fourth place in the National League Central.

But those struggles take a back seat for a bit because it's Rivalry Weekend -- and Francona gets to manage against his former longtime employer. The Reds host the Guardians on Friday to start a three-game series.

Francona will ask his pitching staff to attempt to slow Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez. The 32-year-old veteran arrives in Cincinnati on a nine-game hitting streak, during which he has batted .406 (13-for-32) with three home runs, three doubles and seven RBIs.

He has been held without a hit just four times in his past 24 games.

"For Hosey ... you've run out of ways to describe him, and Hosey always steps up for us," manager Stephen Vogt said.

Just under a month ago, Ramirez claimed sole possession of second place in Guardians history for extra-base hits. He owns 675 -- 372 doubles, 40 triples and 263 homers -- in 1,492 career games. All but the last 96 of Ramirez's extra-base hits came with Francona at the helm.

In 2013, near the end of Francona's first season manning the Cleveland dugout, Ramirez made his major league debut as a 20-year-old rookie from the Dominican Republic.

Now Francona manages another Dominican prodigy, 23-year-old shortstop Elly De La Cruz. While De La Cruz hasn't been on the same pace as last year -- when he piled up 25 homers and 67 steals in 160 games -- he has hit three homers in the last five games. That includes a 395-foot opposite-field blast on Thursday in Cincinnati's 7-1 win over the Chicago White Sox, giving him to eight homers in 45 games this year.

"That was really pretty," Francona said. "When you hit the ball -- and you've heard me say this -- when you hit the ball the other way with authority, you're doing something really right. But a lot of guys, like myself, you can hit that ball and (it's) a nice little flyout and everybody comes in saying, 'nice swing.' He gets rewarded for it because there's so much leverage behind that swing."

Brady Singer (4-2, 4.97 ERA) will start for the Reds in the series opener. The right-hander is 2-3 with a 4.84 ERA in 14 career appearances (13 starts) against Cleveland. Singer had his worst outing of the year on Saturday, when he was tagged for seven runs on nine hits in 2 1/3 innings against the Houston Astros.

The Guardians, meanwhile, are launching a 10-game road trip that includes their first trip to Minnesota and their first encounter with the Detroit Tigers.

Tanner Bibee (3-3, 3.80 ERA) will get the nod for Cleveland. He is 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA in two career starts against the Reds. Bibee took a tough-luck loss against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday when he threw seven innings of one-run ball.

--Field Level Media