Fotoalbum » ive.YOUNG GAMECOCKSAfter taking its big lead, South Carolina

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians are on the verge of clinching their first American League Central title in nine years. The Chicago White Sox, meanwhile, are on the verge of completing their fourth straight losing season.The teams meet Friday night at Progressive Field in the first contest of a three-game series. The Indians, who are coming off a three-game sweep of Kansas City, are 89-63 and hold a seven-game lead over second place Detroit with 10 games to play. Clevelands magic number for clinching is four.The White Sox have lost five games in a row and are 72-75, fourth place in the Central.The Indians overcame a rash of injuries this season and are on the brink of winning their eighth Central Division title. Even more impressive is that the Indians are where they are despite losing their best hitter, Michael Brantley, their starting catcher, Yan Gomes, plus two of their top three starters, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, to season-ending injuries.Through it all, Cleveland manager Terry Francona has remained upbeat.Whenever you lose somebody, whoever takes his place may not be capable of doing it all year, but in the short term they may be very capable, Francona said.The injuries to Carrasco and Salazar, the clubs Nos. 2 and 3 starters, makes the approaching postseason look very daunting.What we have are not just bodies, but some young pitchers we feel pretty good about, Francona said. Id much rather have Danny and Carlos, but were not going to whine about it. You do the best with what you have.What the Indians have is a starting rotation of Corey Kluber, who could win the Cy Young Award this year for the second time in three years, plus Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin. After that it gets a little murky. Mike Clevinger, a candidate to be the fourth starter in the postseason should Cleveland need one, started Thursday night against Kansas City and in five innings gave up two runs on four hits, with four strikeouts and two walks. He was not involved in the decision.Kluber will not pitch in the Chicago series.Fridays pitching matchup will be Clevelands Trevor Bauer (11-8, 4.24) versus Chicagos Miguel Gonzalez (4-7, 3.83).In three appearances (two starts) against the White Sox this year, Bauer is 0-1 with a 4.40 ERA. In his career against Chicago, he is 3-2, 3.70 in 11 appearances (nine starts).Gonzalez has never lost to the Indians. In five career appearances (four starts), he is 4-0 with a 3.26 ERA. He has made one start against the Indians this year, winning 11-4 on Sept. 12. 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Jahlil Okafor Pelicans Jersey . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Alaina Coates thinks she and post partner Aja Wilson have picked up right where they left off -- and thats a bad sign for No. 3 South Carolinas opponents.I pretty much feel like were back to where we were, Coates said.Theyd get no arguments from Maine after the Gamecocks ran off to a 79-42 victory on Monday night in the Basketball Hall of Fame Womens Challenge.The 6-foot-5 Wilson had 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting while 6-4 Coates had 12 points and 14 rebounds. The two did about whatever they wanted most of the way against the undersized, young Black Bears (2-3).Theyre good, Maine coach Richard Barron said. What else can you say?The Gamecocks (3-0) used their defense to make quick work of Maine, starting on a 15-0 run, then outscoring their opponents 13-0 to open the third quarter. South Carolina eventually grew the lead to 41 points in the final period.Freshman Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, at 6-2 the primary post backup for Wilson and Coates, added 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting and picked up eight boards.South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said when Coates and Wilson play with efficiency and speed, it helps in teaching Herbert Harrigan the right way to play.When she sees our two bigs clicking like that, it kind of becomes contagious, Staley said. She had a pretty good basketball game.The Gamecocks outrebounded Maine 42-27 while Wilson had four of their five blocked shots. Coates swatted away the other.South Carolinas two high-profile transfers, Kaela Davis and Allisha Gray, also finished in double figures with 10 points each. Julie Brosseau had 11 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead the Black Bears.BIG PICTUREMaine: The Black Bears opened with a surprise win at Purdue, but lost for the third time in the past four games. They dont have the size to match up with teams like No. 7 Mississippi State (a 44-point loss on Nov. 12) or the third-ranked Gamecocks. But Maine, which starts four freshmen, showed off some shooting touch in a 59-43 win over St.dddddddddddd Peters on Sunday night. Laia Sole, who scored 16 points in the St. Peters win, was named the American East rookie of the week for the second straight time this season.Whats it like starting four freshmen? Its a little bit better than starting five, Maines Barron said.South Carolina: The Gamecocks wont go wrong going inside this season to Wilson and Coates. Coates had 10 points and 12 rebounds by halftime to collect her second double-double of the season and 44th of her career.POLL IMPLICATIONSSouth Carolina will have one more tune up on Tuesday night before things get serious when it faces No. 4 Louisville on Sunday. Lose that one and count on the Gamecocks to tumble from the top five.YOUNG GAMECOCKSAfter taking its big lead, South Carolina played several young players in the final quarter like Herbert Harrigan, Victoria Patrick, Araion Bradshaw and Tyasha Harris, all freshmen. Staley said the group has to get experience because the Gamecocks have only four juniors or seniors returning with significant experience Wilson, Coates, point guard Bianca Cuevas-Moore and guard Tiffany Davis.We may need the young players at some point this season, Staley said.STREAK ENDERWilson set a school record on Sunday night, going 14 of 14 from the foul line in defeating Hampton 92-38. Could Wilson keep it going? No as she missed her first free throw against Maine and finished 0-2 at the line.UP NEXTMaine takes on Hampton here at the Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday night as part of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Challenge.South Carolina finishes a three-game homestand on Tuesday, facing St. Peters as part of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Challenge. ' ' '