ALCS: Indians’ Corey Kluber to start Game 1 against Blue Jays

Right-hander Corey Kluber will start for the Cleveland Indians against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday in Game 1 of the best-of-seven American League Championship Series.

Manager Terry Francona made the announcement Wednesday and said that right-handers Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin will start Game 2 and Game 3, respectively. Right-hander Mike Clevinger probably will start Game 4 but will pitch only a few innings.

Kluber pitched seven scoreless innings last week against the Boston Red Sox in his postseason debut.

Francona had to adjust Cleveland’s rotation for weeks after losing starters Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar to injuries.

The Blue Jays will have a projected rotation of right-hander Marco Estrada, left-hander J.A. Happ, and right-handers Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez.

The Indians will need Kluber and the rest of the staff to be on when they face the wild-card Blue Jays, who battered Texas in their division series by hitting eight home runs and scoring 22 runs.

“They’re good,” Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway said of the Blue Jays. “They’re excellent. Their whole roster is pretty good, as far as swinging the bat.”

Cubs rest a bit

A comeback victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night not only clinched a National League division series for the Chicago Cubs, but it allowed the team to rest before its next challenge.

“That’s important for us,” Ben Zobrist said. “We really didn’t play as well as we feel like we could have in this series. We pitched great. Some of us didn’t play offensive the way we’re capable of.”

The Cubs won two of three one-run games against the Giants, including 6-5 in Game 4 after rallying for four runs in the top of the ninth inning.

Chicago has a three-day break before Game 1 of the NL Championship Series on Saturday at Wrigley Field against the Dodgers or Washington Nationals, who play a decisive Game 5 of their NLDS on Thursday night at Washington.

The Cubs were 5-2 against the Nationals and 4-3 against the Dodgers this season.

Padres fire Dee

Mike Dee was fired as president of the San Diego Padres, who were embroiled in controversy toward the end of the season.

Dee’s ouster came less than a month after General Manager A.J. Preller was suspended for a month by Major League Baseball after an investigation revealed the Padres had withheld medical information from trade partners.