Indians: Cleveland is playing so well right now it can get by without All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez in the lineup every day. Ramirez injured his right wrist early in the week while swinging a bat, and when it continued to bother him he was held out of the lineup on Thursday when the Indians won 11-2 for their franchise record 15th consecutive win. He's was expected to play by the end of the weekend.
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Royals: Third baseman Mike Moustakas is trying to keep his team in the postseason race while setting a single-season record for home runs. But he could only DH on Thursday and was not in the starting lineup on Friday because of a sore left knee. It didn't help that Kyle Gibson hit him above the knee with a pitch on Thursday.
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Tigers: Detroit's tumble took place even before Justin Verlander was traded. The Tigers entered the weekend giving up a league-high 5.92 runs a game. And that looks to either maintain or get even worse, as the Tigers are patching together their rotation or taking a look at young arms during the rest of the season. They have allowed double-digit runs in 11 of 52 games since the All-Star break.
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White Sox: Well, Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech made it to the bigs, sort of. In an unusual move, Chicago flew its No. 2- and No. 3-ranked prospects, outfielder Jimenez and righthander Kopech, to Chicago last week. They didn't play. They just checked out the facilities, met the staff and future teammates and also did interviews. Preparation for the future.
