(SportsNetwork.com) - The Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds are headed in opposite directions and will wrap up a three-game series Sunday at Progressive Field.
The Indians have won five in a row and the Reds are mired in a seven-game slide.
Cleveland goes for the sweep Sunday and recorded a 2-1 win in the middle portion of this series behind a strong start from Corey Kluber and a clutch hit by Jason Kipnis. Kluber, the AL's reigning Cy Young Award winner, struck out seven and allowed one run in eight innings.
Indians manager Terry Francona was going to let Kluber go for the complete game, but proceeded with caution when the hurler's hamstring tightened up.
"There's no way I'm going to let him go out there. It didn't seem to make any sense to me," Francona said.
Kipnis stroked the game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning for the Indians, who have won seven of their last nine games.
The Indians will host the Texas Rangers next for three games.
The Tribe turns to Trevor Bauer on Sunday and the righty is 3-1 with a 3.31 earned run average in eight starts. Bauer won for the first time in more than a month his last time out in Tuesday's 3-1 win at the Chicago White Sox and he held the home team to just a run and four hits in 7 1/3 innings.
Bauer, who reached the win column for the first time since April 15 against the White Sox, has allowed one run in each of his last two appearances. He gave up 11 total in two starts on May 3 and May 8. Bauer lost his only career start against the Reds, charged with four runs (3 earned) in three innings.
Cincinnati fell to 3-10 in the last 13 games and played well Saturday.
Anthony DeSclafani threw seven innings of one-run ball, but Tony Cingrani gave up Kipnis' big hit in the eighth inning to take the loss.
"I was just really happy to keep my team in the game," DeSclafani said. "Also, the defense played outstanding."
Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto and Jay Bruce all finished with two hits, while Bruce scored on a sacrifice fly by Zack Cozart in the second inning for a short-lived 1-0 lead. Cleveland then tied it in the sixth on David Murphy's run-scoring single that plated Kipnis.
The Reds will start a six-game homestand Monday versus Colorado and Washington, and are scheduled to send Raisel Iglesias to the mound Sunday in place of Johnny Cueto (elbow stiffness). Iglesias is 1-0 with a 3.94 earned run average in four games (2 starts) and will face Cleveland for the first time.
Iglesias had his best outing of the season on May 13, when he fired eight innings of one-run ball in a 5-1 win over Atlanta.
Cincinnati won three of four matchups versus the Tribe last season.
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