Return to AL rules boosts Tribe’s lineup, defense

CLEVELAND — With the Indians returning to Cleveland for Game 6 of the World Series on Tuesday, manager Terry Francona will have one less issue on his mind, thanks to a return to the American League rules.

Without a designated hitter for Games 3-5 in Chicago, Francona had to get creative. Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli led the team with 34 homers apiece — Jason Kipnis (23) was the only other to collect more that 15 — but only one could play first base, and neither played another position in the field all season.

• Game 6: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET air time | 8 ET game time on FOX

Francona started Santana in left field in Games 3 and 5, but sat Napoli in Game 4 to move Santana back to first and improve the outfield defense. Now he’ll be able to have both sluggers in the lineup — the lineup that helped the Tribe win 94 regular-season games and the AL pennant — without worrying about his defense as the Indians try to clinch their first World Series title since 1948.

Game Date Time (air time/game time) Matchup TV Gm 1 Oct. 25   CLE 6, CHC 0 Gm 2 Oct. 26   CHC 5, CLE 1 Gm 3 Oct. 28   CLE 1, CHC 0 Gm 4 Oct. 29   CLE 7, CHC 2 Gm 5 Oct. 30   CHC 3, CLE 2 Gm 6 Nov. 1 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX *Gm 7 Nov. 2 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX * If necessary | All times listed …

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