The Cleveland Indians continue to take an all hands-on-deck approach while moving closer to clinching the American League Central Division.

The Tribe now stands at (86-63) and made big progress last week against the Detroit Tigers (79-70) by lowering the magic number to clinch at seven and enjoy a seven-game lead with 13 games to play.

Kansas City (76-73) is just about eliminated officially from the division race and is 10 games behind the Indians with an elimination number of four. The Indians can eliminate the Royals during the upcoming three-game series that runs September 20-22 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

With Carlos Carrasco suffering a broken finger in his right hand on September 17, the Indians playoff rotation took a major hit, losing the team’s second-best starter. Carrasco finished the season with an 11-8 record and 3.32 ERA in 146.1 innings. He also struck out 150 and walked only 34 batters.

It will be up to Trevor Bauer, Josh Tomlin and even rookie Mike Clevinger to step up to help fill this void in the rotation. The good news for the Indians is the team has one of the best bullpens in the American League, especially noteworthy was the recent 10 innings of shutout baseball hurled against Detroit after Carrasco got hurt.

It’s not absolutely necessary that these three starters go out and pitch eight innings on a nightly basis once the playoffs start when you have as good as a weapon as the Indians bullpen. Just give the team a chance to win and let this scrappy resilient offense have an opportunity to come through. If Bauer, Tomlin and even Clevinger can pitch relatively well, then all is not lost, as some might suggest (no names, please).

What the Carrasco injury does mean is, the Indians margin for error to succeed is greatly reduced and guys who have played well during the regular season will need to continue to do so in the playoffs spotlight. Offensive slumps in a playoff series must be avoided and timely hitting, good base running and solid defense will have to continue.

Another thing in the Tribe’s favor is Corey Kluber, who should be in consideration for his second American League Cy Young Award. Kluber (17-9, 3.12 ERA) has been the glue and dominant force that has helped the Indians avoid any losing streak longer than three this season. His consistency has been impressive and in his last 15 starts, Kluber is 10-2 with a 2.65 ERA and 112 Ks in 102 innings.

After a day off on September 19, the Indians play the Royals for the next three nights with each game scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

Tomlin (12-8, 4.75) takes the hill on September 20 for the Indians. The Royals will counter with Edinson Volquez (10-11, 5.40 ERA). Volquez pitched on September 15 against Oakland and lasted just 3.1 innings to take the loss. He gave up eight runs and seven hits while walking four and striking out three during that appearance. Tomlin last pitched on September 14 and pitched five solid innings and gave up just one run and four hits with no walks and two strikeouts. If he pitches like that in the playoffs, the Indians should be fine.

Kluber gets the start on September 21 for Cleveland. Ian Kennedy (11-9, 3.60 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals. Kennedy appeared last on September 16 against the White Sox and pitched six innings and gave up five hits and two runs while walking three and fanning six in a no-decision. Kluber last pitched on September 16 against Detroit and threw seven innings and gave up five hits and four runs while walking three and striking out seven to earn the win.

Clevinger (2-2, 4.76 ERA) will start for the Indians on September 22. The Royals had not yet announced a starter at the time of this writing. Clevinger last pitched on September 15 against the White Sox and threw four innings. He gave up three hits and one run and one walk while striking out three. The Indians had appeared to have a bullpen role in mind for the rookie in the playoffs, but he might get called to make a start depending on scheduling and how things eventually shake out when the time comes.

Who’s Hot – Who’s Not

Jose Ramirez continues his amazing play this season, especially in the clutch, and has greatly exceeded most expectations. He’s batting 9-for-26 in his last seven games including a walkoff single on September 17. During that span he slashed .346/.376./462.

Roberto Perez has come around at the plate lately and isn’t an automatic out any longer. In his last seven games, he’s 5-for-19 with four RBI and is slashing a respectable .263/.286/.421. With Yan Gomes still on the shelf, it’s important for Perez to be serviceable at the plate.

Francisco Lindor didn’t have a great week on offense and batted 2-for-23 in his last seven games. During that span, he slashed just .087/.214/.130.

Rajai Davis also hasn’t hit well lately with just 3 hits in his last 16 at bats during his last seven games. He slashed .188/.278/.313 during that span, but he did have five stolen bases.