Indians take on Blue Jays. Magic number sits at 7

Toronto- The Cleveland Indians (80-60) and Toronto Blue (63-77) meet Friday night in second game of their four game weekend series across the border. The Indians saw Francisco Lindor lead the way Thursday night, when the shortstop went (4-5, 3R, 2HR, 4 RBIs) to lead the Tribe to a 9-4 win. Friday's match-up features Carlos Carrasco (16-8 3.52) facing off against Marco Estrada (7-11 5.43) of the Blue Jays, the two teams have split the season series with two wins apiece so far. While there is quite the contrast in records between the two clubs, these two teams have played each other tough over the years, including the 2016 ALCS.

Check out the keys to Friday nights match-up with the Blue Jays, as the Tribe tries to shrink their magic number down from seven. First pitch is set for 7:07.

1) No Wahoo? No problem.

The big story Friday morning surrounding the Indians isn't the recent streak of great baseball. Or even the division crown being in their sights. But rather the new look uniforms the Indians are wearing this weekend. Mind you, some fans may not even notice the subtle difference, while others probably immediately noticed the change. Of course the uniform update is simply the removal of the infamous "Chief Wahoo" from the uniforms.

At the beginning of the season, the franchise announced plans to move on from the storied logo following this season. The change was announced as reports began to surface that the MLB would not allow the Indians to host the 2019 All- Star Game, unless the logo was removed. Of course many Indians fans were upset with this news, considering the logo has been such a staple for the franchise for so long, but most fans are smart enough to see why the change was needed.

Which brings us back to the new look this weekend in Toronto.

In 2016 when the Indians and Blue Jays met in the American League Championship series, a leagal challenge was filed against the use of the Wahoo logo in Canada. The premise being that is is illegal to display racist symbols on Canadian TV. While this particular case failed, it still is very clear that the franchise had this lawsuit on their mind this weekend, hence the subtle uniform change.

While there have not been any reports of a complete uniform update for the Tribe, it is expected that Cleveland's road uniforms will look much like the ones being worn this weekend. Some may call the uniforms boring or plain, but nonetheless their may be a more creative option in the works.

2) Two MVP candidates

The 2018 season has been an interesting one for the Cleveland Indians. They've gone through various injuries this season across both the pitching staff and position players, yet they still hold a magic number of seven in the second weekend of September. The biggest reason why? That is simple. The are fortunate enough to feature not one but two legitimate MVP candidates in their lineup.

Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor don't get the same level of publicity some of the other candidats do, but don't let that distract you from the stellar play of two infielders.Starting with Ramirez who already has surpassed his career highs in home runs. stolen bases, walks and RBIs while also on pace to set highs in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and OPS (combination of the two.) Ramirez has served as a strong force in the line-up for the past few seasons, but this year he has truly elevated his own stardom.

Lindor on the other hand made some history all his own Thursday night. Not only did the shortstop tie Grady Sizemore with his seventh career lead-off home run for the most in franchise history, but his second home run put him in a class all his own, as Lindor now holds the MLB record for most multi-home run games(6) from the lead-off spot. Lindor over the last seven games is hitting (.320) with four home runs and six RBIs, and while their are numerous weapons in the Tribe line-up the overall success starts with these two young emerging superstars.

 3) Underrated Ace

Not all clubs are lucky enough to have a Corey Kluber at the top of their rotation. Those clubs who are lucky enough don't often feature two other aces behind him in the rotation, the Cleveland Indians are the exception. While Corey Kluber gets most of the notarity and rightfully so, considering the the two time Cy-Young winner is again having another great season, Trevor Bauer was right there with him and Chris Sale in terms of this seasons Cy-Young race. Unfortunately for Bauer his time missed due to injury has most likely halted his Cy-Young candidacy, but luckily for Indians fans Carlos Carrasco was ready to pick up the slack down the stretch.

A big reason for Carrasco's success this season is his reliance on breaking balls, preferably the slider or curve ball. His use of those two pitches is up (38.5%) 3.5% this season, and while that make not seem like a lot the increase has helped him boost his highest Whiff % of his career thus far (14.6.) That means Carrasco has used the success of Kluber and Bauer to help grow his own career as the three of them are playing into the narrative that everyone either strikes out or hits a home run in baseball now.

Carrasco is on the wrong side of 30 and has experienced a decrease in velocity the last few seasons, yet is probably as dominate as he has ever been. Here's to hoping his success continues on into the postseason, so the Tribe is able to have three top end starters pitching in a playoff series.