Indians balancing rest with home-field quest

DETROIT — As the Indians celebrated on Monday night, bench coach Brad Mills made his way into the mob and found backup catcher Chris Gimenez. It was then, amid the champagne and post-clinch chaos, that Mills informed Gimenez he would be playing third base on Tuesday.

Gimenez answered by dousing Mills in bubbly.

“I just started spraying him with champagne,” Gimenez said with a laugh before Tuesday’s game against the Tigers. “It was just one of those things where it was like, you still weren’t sure if he was joking or not. So, I was just like, ‘All right,’ and started spraying him.”

• Shop for postseason gear

One day after clinching the American League Central — Cleveland’s first division title since 2007 — the Indians rolled out a lineup that lacked most of the Tribe’s regulars. In the immediate wake of Monday’s celebration, manager Terry Francona felt it was a well-earned day off for many of his players. On top of that, Cleveland is now balancing rest with fighting for home-field advantage in the postseason.

In the name of rest, Francona also announced some adjustments for the Indians’ rotation. Reliever Zach McAllister will start on Wednesday and lefty Ryan Merritt (a starter for Triple-A Columbus much of this year) will start on Thursday. Righty Josh Tomlin will either start on Friday or Sunday in Kansas City. Trevor Bauer has been pushed back three days for a Saturday start against the …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com