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Previewing the Indians-Yankees ALDS: It’s New York in 5

Pitcher Luis Severino was inconsistent during the New York Yankees' wild-card win over Minnesota on Oct. 3.
(Al Bello / Getty Images)
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Cleveland vs. New York

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Game 1: Thursday 4:30 p.m. PDT

New York (Sonny Gray, 10-12, 3.55)

at Cleveland (Trevor Bauer, 17-9, 4.19)

Game 2: Friday, 3 p.m.

New York (Masahiro Tanaka, 13-12, 4.74)

at Cleveland (Corey Kluber, 18-4, 2.25)

Game 3: Sunday, TBD

Cleveland (Carlos Carrasco, 18-6, 3.29)

at New York (Luis Severino, 14-6, 2.98)

Game 4: Oct. 9, TBD*

Cleveland (Josh Tomlin, 10-9, 4.98)

at New York (CC Sabathia, 14-5, 3.69)

Game 5: Oct. 11, TBD*

New York (Gray, 10-12, 3.55)

at Cleveland (Kluber, 18-4, 2.25)

*-if necessary | All times PDT

TV: Games 1, 3, 4, 5 on FS1; Game 2 on MLB Network

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Projected lineups

NEW YORK

POS.; PLAYER; AVG.; HR; RBI

LF; Brett Gardner; .264; 21; 63

RF; Aaron Judge; .284; 52; 114

C; Gary Sanchez; .278; 33; 90

SS; Didi Gregorius; .287; 25; 87

2B; Starlin Castro; .300; 16; 63

1B; Greg Bird; .190; 9; 28

CF; Aaron Hicks; .266; 15; 52

DH; Jacoby Ellsbury; .264; 7; 39

3B; Todd Frazier; .211; 27; 76

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CLEVELAND

POS.; PLAYERS; AVG.; HR; RBI

SS; Francisco Lindor; .273; 33; 89

CF; Jason Kipnis; .232; 7; 26

2B; Jose Ramirez; .318; 29; 83

DH; Edwin Encarnacion; .258; 38; 107

RF; Jay Bruce; .254; 36; 101

1B; Carlos Santana; .259; 23; 79

LF; Lonnie Chisenhall; .288; 12; 53

C; Roberto Perez; .207; 8; 38

3B; Giovanny Urshela; .224; 1; 15

Keys to the series

Just last month, the Indians produced the longest winning streak by a Major League Baseball team in a century. New York’s rotation is somewhat uncertain, as their ace, Luis Severino, showed during a wildly inconsistent start in the Yankees’ wild-card win over Minnesota. Severino began by throwing 29 pitches and recording one out. Whoever is chosen to start, the Yankees’ strength lies in the bullpen. Cleveland also has a strong corps of relievers. But while the Indians will welcome back recently healed Michael Brantley as a pinch-hitter and pick between Jason Kipnis and Austin Jackson in the outfield, the bottom of their batting order is suspect. The Yankees offer power at every position, passable defense, and a parade of impenetrable relievers. Pick: Yankees in five.

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pedro.moura@latimes.com

Follow Pedro Moura on Twitter @pedromoura

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