CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians Albert Pujols Jersey , who are in full-blown postseason preparation mode, will host the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Progressive Field, the first game of Cleveland’s final homestand of the regular season.The Indians’ magic number for clinching their third consecutive American League Central title is three. With that in mind, Indians manager Terry Francona and his staff are implementing some lineup adjustments in preparation for the postseason.The most obvious is the addition of third baseman Josh Donaldson, who was acquired in a trade with Toronto. He made his debut with the Indians on Tuesday in Tampa Bay, batting fifth and going 0-for-4.Article continues below ...Donaldson is expected to be in the lineup Friday at third base. His addition has moved third baseman Jose Ramirez to second base, bumping second baseman Jason Kipnis to center field.For Ramirez, the position switch comes at a time when he’s trying to hit his way out of his first slump of the season. After a spectacular first half of the season that landed him a start at third base for the American League all-star team, Ramirez has been in an extended slump.From opening day through the end of July, Ramirez was hitting .298, with a 1.038 OPS. Since Aug. 1, he is hitting .228 with a .763 OPS.In Cleveland’s 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday, Ramirez, who is third in the American League with 38 home runs, snapped an 86-at bat homerless streak with a homer off Rays ace Nate Snell.Francona says he isn’t worried about his MVP candidate’s slump.“We’ve all seen what he can do. We know it’s in there, and we know he’s going to get hot,” Francona said. “He’s an extremely intelligent hitter when it comes to knowing how teams are pitching him, and what they’re trying to do. He’s had a little lull here, but he can hit any pitch. He’s going to be fine.”Cleveland’s starting pitcher Friday night also reflects the team’s priority of getting the rotation lined up for the start of the postseason. Because of that, Josh Tomlin (1-5, 6.63 ERA) will get a spot start.Tomlin, who won 23 games as a member of the rotation the last two years, made six disastrous starts to begin the 2018 season and was quickly moved to the bullpen. In three starts, Tomlin was 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA. In 22 relief appearances, he is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA.Friday will be Tomlin’s first start since May 15, when he took the loss as Cleveland fell 9-8 to Detroit. In that game, Tomlin gave up four runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings, with four strikeouts and no walks.In four appearances (two starts) against Detroit this year, Tomlin has no record and a 2.92 ERA. In 20 career appearances (14 starts) against the Tigers, he is 7-6 with a 4.87 ERA.Left-hander Matt Boyd will start for Detroit. Boyd (9-12, 4.11) made his last start on Sept. 8, when he got no decision in a 4-3 Detroit loss to St. Louis. In that start Boyd was outstanding, working seven innings and allowing one run and two hits http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-babe-herman-jersey , with 11 strikeouts and one walk.In two starts against Cleveland this year, Boyd is 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA. In his career, he has made seven appearances (six starts) against the Indians and is 1-3 with a 3.05 ERA.The Tigers, who come into Friday’s game on a four-game losing streak, are 4-12 vs. the Indians this year. HOUSTON — The Houston Astros fared decently the last time they faced Shohei Ohtani more than four months ago.The Astros will get another crack at Ohtani on Sunday afternoon when they conclude a four-game series with the Los Angeles Angels.Ohtani will make first start on the mound since June 6. He missed 22 games on the disabled list with a right UCL sprain but returned exclusively as a designated hitter on July 3.Article continues below ...When Houston’s hitters saw him April 24 in Houston, Ohtani allowed four runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He threw 98 pitches and issued five walks in an 8-7 victory.To prepare for his 10th career start, Ohtani threw up to 50 pitches in bullpen sessions and will be on a pitch limit.“Very excited,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told reporters on Thursday. “But obviously, I don’t know if we could put those expectations that we had for Shohei when he really hit stride, have those expectations what he’s going to come out and do for Sunday. Hopefully, he’s going to get back to that.”Ohtani will oppose Gerrit Cole, who is 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA in his last three starts after a three-start losing streak. Cole is 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA in two starts against the Angels (66-70) this season and 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in four career starts. With rosters expanding Saturday throughout the majors, the Astros added two pitchers with one, left-hander Cionel Perez, poised to join an already crowded bullpen.Astros manager A.J. Hinch had 10 relievers at his disposal on Saturday as the Astros (83-53) rallied for a 7-3 victory. With right-hander Charlie Morton set for reinstatement from the 10-day disabled list next weekend in Boston, left-hander Framber Valdez or right-hander Josh James, who made his debut against the Angels, is likely to be bumped from the rotation.Currently, Hinch has eight right-handers and two lefties in his bullpen heading into the finale of a four-game series with the Angels.“It depends on how our pitching staff goes,” Hinch said of predicting future bullpen usage. “Most of the season our starters have logged the majority of the innings as they should; they’ve gone deep into games. I know I’ve cut back a little bit of that in August, some of it out of performance, some of it out of trying to work the bullpen in there. I guess we have the weapons, but I’m still going to read the game.“I don’t think I need to aggressively change a ton. We’re trying to get to 27 outs, we’re trying to get to as many wins. If the starters get the bulk of those outs, great. If I’ve got to go to the pen early I have the reinforcements. Most of the time in September you don’t worry about running out of pitching.”The Angels on Saturday selected the contract of veteran right-hander Junichi Tazawa from Triple-A Salt Lake. Tazawa is the fifth Japanese native in club history, including Ohtani. He signed as a free agent with the Angels on July 13.Tazawa, 32, spent his first seven seasons in the majors with the Boston Red Sox, finishing 17-20 with a 3.58 ERA and four saves in 56 appearances (four starts) from 2009 to 2016. He subsequently made 16 appearances with the Miami Marlins in parts of two seasons before being released May 21 and went 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA in seven games with Salt Lake.“He still has plenty of velocity, spins the ball really well, and he’s a veteran pitcher that can make pitches,” Scioscia said. “He threw the ball well down below and hopefully he’ll continue to bring it up here and throw the ball with the consistency that he has.”