CLEVELAND — All eyes will not be on the Indians tonight when they entertain the Royals in the second game of a day-night doubleheader at 7:05 — at least not in the Cleveland area.
With Ohio State and USC clashing in a major college football showdown (8 p.m.) on the same night, local fans are expected to turn their attention to the Buckeyes.
That figures to make for a sparse crowd at Progressive Field, probably the smallest of the season.
“We’ve been there before,” said manager Eric Wedge. “It’s that time of year. Obviously, there’s a lot of hype for the football game, rightfully so. We’ll be hopeful that as many people come out here as possible, but it’s not going to change the way we play the game.”
The Indians have not drawn well all season, ranking near the bottom of the majors in attendance with an average of 26,925 fans through 70 home dates.
A club that once boasted a big-league record 455 consecutive sellout streak has sold out just one game outside of the home opener.
Cleveland’s smallest home crowd of the season — 13,827 — took in a 7-2 loss to the Mariners on April 29. Actual attendance (not tickets sold) is expected to be much lower than that in the nightcap, possibly the smallest crowd since Jacobs Field was opened in 1994.

Reyes rap

The Indians are still holding out hope that Anthony Reyes will be able to return to the rotation before the season is complete. The right-hander has missed his last two starts with elbow soreness but is scheduled to throw a bullpen session early next week, with the Indians tentatively tabbing Sept. 20 as his return date.
“If (the bullpen session) goes well, he’ll make the start,” Wedge said. “If not, we’ll shut him down.”
Reyes has pitched well since being acquired in a trade with
St. Louis, going 2-1 with a 1.83 ERA in six starts for the Indians.

Not yet

The Indians may be considering moving shortstop Jhonny Peralta to third base, but Wedge said it would be unlikely that he would play there this year. “That’s really not something I want to get into right now,” he said.
If the Indians do make the move, Wedge feels there is plenty of time for Peralta to learn the position in spring training next year.
Peralta has appeared in two career big league games at third, playing there a handful of times in the minors as well.

Silver lining

It’s been a disappointing season, but the Indians still have a goal to achieve before the end of the year — to finish above .500. Cleveland is now 72-74 after Friday night’s big win for Cliff Lee.
“That would be something, obviously, that we’d like to be able to do,” Wedge said.

Roundin’ third

Neither Travis Hafner nor Victor Martinez was in the lineup for the series opener with Kansas City. Martinez is batting .242 (8-for-33) with a homer and six RBIs in 10 games since leaving the disabled list after elbow surgery. Hafner is 3-for-8 with a run in two games since being activated.
• Ben Francisco entered Friday ranked fourth in the AL with 11 outfield assists.
• Former television broadcast team, Joe Tait and Bruce Drennan, will call the second game of today’s doubleheader on STO.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

 

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