CUBS
Schwarber on his way
Chicago Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber is traveling to Cleveland ahead of Game 1 of the World Series.
A person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Schwarber would join the team in Ohio, but the person did not know yet if the slugger would be on the active roster.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the roster won’t be announced until today.
Schwarber is coming back from major left knee surgery in April. He went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk in Mesa’s 7-2 victory over Surprise in the Arizona Fall League on Monday.
INDIANS
Salazar makes roster
Danny Salazar’s only chance to pitch in the postseason was if the Cleveland Indians made the World Series.
They both met their goals.
Salazar, who hasn’t pitched since Sept. 9 because of tightness in his right forearm, will be on Cleveland’s roster and is expected to pitch against the Chicago Cubs. Salazar’s 2016 looked to be over when the All-Star was shelved in September, but he’s worked his way back to help the Indians.
Salazar (11-6, 3,87 ERA, 161 Ks, 131 innings) cleared his final hurdle by pitching three simulated innings on Sunday night with manager Terry Francona, pitching coach Mickey Callaway and Cleveland’s front office keeping a close eye on every delivery.
“He threw three innings and under those circumstances, it’s not the easiest to probably reach your best velocity, but he was getting after it pretty good,” Francona said.
So after juggling his rotation for weeks with both Salazar and Carlos Carrasco (broken hand) out, Francona suddenly has another option to throw at the NL champs and their deep lineup.
Corey Kluber starts Tuesday night’s opener, and the Indians plan to use Trevor Bauer in Game 2 as long as his stitched pinkie is OK.
Josh Tomlin will start Game 3 and Francona can start either Salazar or left-hander Ryan Merritt, who shut out Toronto for 4 1/3 innings in the decisive Game 5 of the ALCS.