Clan-Members » Ohio State came in 1987.The Hoosiers do

CLEVELAND -- After their last off day of the regular season Monday, the Cleveland Indians are ready for the sprint to the finish.The Indians will play 13 games in 13 days to finish the season, all of them against American League Central rivals: the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers.It starts Tuesday at Progressive Field with the first game of a three-game series against Kansas City. Cleveland is fresh off winning two of three games at home against Detroit, giving the AL Central Division-leading Indians a seven-game lead over the second-place Tigers.The biggest concern for the Indians is the composition of their rotation after Carlos Carrasco sustained a season-ending broken right hand when he was hit by a line drive in his Saturday start.Carrascos injury came just days after Danny Salazar was shut down, probably for the rest of the year, with a strained muscle in his right forearm. So with the start of the postseason two weeks away, Clevelands rotation is Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and three question marks.Josh Tomlin (12-8, 4.75 ERA) will start Tuesday night against the Royals. Barring injury, Tomlin, who was taken out of the rotation for two turns after a horrendous August in which he went 0-5 with an 11.48 ERA, likely will be the No. 3 starter in the postseason.The No. 4 spot probably will go to rookie Mike Clevinger, who will pitch Thursday against the Royals. Cody Anderson is another candidate. He will pitch Saturday in the No. 5 spot in the rotation.At this point, however, nothing is certain except manager Terry Franconas confidence that the rotation isnt in as dire straits as it might appear.(Losing Carrasco and Salazar) makes it more challenging, but that doesnt mean we cant get it done, Francona said.The manager described the Carrasco injury as a kick in the stomach, but he quickly added that the Indians are prepared to handle whatever is thrown at them the rest of the way.If you look ahead too far, it seems daunting, but were looking at it in smaller terms, Francona said. We just need to be one run better than the team were playing that day.On Tuesday, that team is Kansas City. The Royals are out of picture in the AL Central race, and they are longshots, at best, in the wild-card race. However, they are still the defending World Series champions. They sit five games behind the two teams tied for the two AL wild cards, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles.The Royals are coming off a 3-4 homestand that began with them getting swept by the Oakland As in a four-game series. Kansas City then swept a three-game series from the White Sox, including an 8-3 win Monday.It ended strong, Royals manager Ned Yost told MLB.com. It is what it is. Coming off a real good series in Chicago last week, I felt like we had some momentum, and Oakland just stomped on that momentum. But we gathered back up.The Royals are 5-8 against Cleveland this year and have been outscored 65-46.Edinson Volquez (10-11, 5.40 ERA) will start for the Royals on Tuesday night. In four starts against Cleveland this year, he is 1-2 with a 4.38 ERA. In 11 career starts against the Indians, he is 3-6 with a 6.38 ERA.Tomlin has started three times against the Royals this year, going 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA. In 19 career appearances, 15 of them starts, against Kansas City, he is 8-4 with a 4.66 ERA. Lauri Markkanen Jersey . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Antonio Blakeney Jersey . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. http://www.officialbullsfanstore.com/ . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Antonio Blakeney Bulls Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. Robin Lopez Bulls Jersey . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. The numbers are pure fantasy.Four games into the season, second-ranked Ohio State is 4-0 and has looked absolutely dominant.The Buckeyes (1-0 Big Ten) are averaging 57.0 points per game (third in the nation). Their 228 points are a school record for the first four games in a season.Ohio State is averaging 332 yards per game on the ground (third best in the nation) after churning out 410 yards last week in the 58-0 rout at home against Rutgers.Quarterback J.T. Barrett is the catalyst for the prolific offense. The Heisman Trophy candidate threw four touchdown passes last Saturday and set an Ohio State record with 59 for his career in only 2 1/2 years as a starter.Barrett is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes and has 14 touchdown passes and also three rushing touchdowns already this year. Thats more than enough to draw the attention of offensive-minded Indiana coach Kevin Wilson, whose team comes to Ohio Stadium on Saturday.I think one of the premier players in college football is J.T. Barrett, Wilson said.Ohio State freshman running back Mike Weber is averaging a Big Ten-best 123.8 yards rushing per game in his first year as the starter after replacing current Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. Weber powered for a career-best 144 yards against Rutgers.The defense is just as good -- and maybe even better, though thats hard to believe.Ohio State ranks No. 1 nationally in scoring defense at 9.3 points per game and No. 3 in total defense. Last week, Rutgers managed just 116 total yards (33 passing) and was completely overmatched.The defense has not allowed a rushing touchdown -- the only team in the nation to stake that claim -- and has returned four interceptions for touchdowns. A plus-eight turnover margin (nine interceptions, two fumble recoveries) puts the Buckeyes at No. 2 among FBS teams in that category.Coach Urban Meyer points to the defense and Barrett as the driving forces behind the Buckeyes hot start this year. He named the entire defense as the player of the game against Rutgers.You know, any time you have great defense, thats -- just the way the game of football is, you have great defense, things are going to get usually rolling for you at some point, Meyer said. Even if you struggle a little bit.Then the fact that you haave J.ddddddddddddT. Barrett running the show, its pretty smooth. Even when he makes a mistake its usually not an awful one and we can rally right back up. But it starts with defense.Lets just say Meyer is able to grin and Barrett this year when his offense is on the field.Barretts 84 touchdowns responsible for (rushing and passing) are five away from the school record set by Braxton Miller. Since the 2014 season, Barrett is tied with Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes in that category at the FBS level, with four more than heralded Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.Its just a great honor, Barrett said of the school record for touchdown passes. The tradition here at Ohio State is so rich. Its just in everything we do. Despite everything Ive been through it feels surreal. Thats crazy that I was just trying to do my part and do my best for the team and then broke the record. Im truly grateful for it.Next for Ohio State is a second straight Big Ten home game against Indiana on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Hoosiers (3-1, 1-0) are coming off the biggest win in Wilsons six seasons after upending Michigan State 24-21 in overtime last Saturday.But the Buckeyes are an infinitely bigger challenge this week for the up-and-coming Hoosiers, especially on the road. Indianas last win at Ohio State came in 1987.The Hoosiers do have some momentum, having won three straight Big Ten games, stretching back to last year, for the first time since 1993. They lead the Big Ten in passing offense (320.8 yards per game) and rank second in total offense (496.8) behind the Buckeyes.But Wilson respect what Ohio State has accomplished so far.They got players, got a great program, and theyre playing about as good as anybody in college ball right now, Wilson said. Theyre first basically in every offensive and defensive stat in the conference.Meyers teams have never lost to Indiana, but several matchups have been close, including last years 34-27 victory.For four years in a row its been swing as hard as you can, Meyer said. This is by far their best team. ... Their game Saturday (against Michigan State), that was a great win for that program. ' ' '