KC-CLE postponed; Bieber back Friday
CLEVELAND -- The Indians’ last home game of the season will come a day later than originally planned.
Wednesday’s series finale between the Indians and Royals was postponed due to inclement weather and has been rescheduled for Monday at 1:10 p.m. ET at Progressive Field. Fans with tickets to Wednesday’s game will be able to enter the ballpark on Monday with their original ticket.
Logan Allen, who was slated to start against Kansas City, will now be moved into the bullpen, as the Indians plan to stay on schedule with the rest of their rotation, including adding Shane Bieber to the mix.
Bieber has been on the injured list since the middle of June with a right shoulder sprain. He originally was given a two-week timeline of not picking up a baseball, but that ended up extending to more than a month. His progression back to game activity was slow, but the team wanted to assure there were no setbacks with its ace. And after two Minor League rehab starts, Bieber has been cleared to get the ball on Friday against the White Sox.
“We’ll definitely have a pitch count on him,” acting manager DeMarlo Hale said. “We haven’t established that yet, but it won’t be too big of a jump from the rehab game there in the Minor Leagues to the big leagues. I wouldn’t expect it to be a 20- to 25-pitch jump. Twelve to 15 at the most. We’re gonna see how the game unfolds anyway through the first three or four innings.”
Aaron Civale will open the five-game series against Chicago in the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader, while Zach Plesac will handle the nightcap. Eli Morgan is slated to follow Bieber’s performance on Friday by getting the ball on Saturday, then Triston McKenzie will work the series finale on Sunday before Cleveland hosts one more game at Progressive Field for the 2021 season in the makeup game on Monday.
Wednesday ticketholders who will not be able to attend Monday’s game will be given the option to exchange their ticket for any of the remaining home games this weekend. All tickets must be exchanged by Sunday at noon ET. Fans with parking in the Gateway East Garage will automatically have their parking transferred to Monday’s contest only.