Carrasco on target to return Tuesday vs. Chicago

DETROIT -- Carlos Carrasco did not want to go on the disabled list. With the Indians on the fringe of the American League Wild Card race, the right-hander was not happy to be shelved late last month due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder.

Following a successful bullpen session on Saturday at Comerica Park, Carrasco is on target to be activated from the 15-day DL on Tuesday in order to make a road start against the White Sox. The pitcher is looking forward to getting back on the mound for the Tribe.

"I didn't like it when I went to the DL," Carrasco said. "You never know what can happen. I think the most important thing is trying to help the team win some more games, and keep it right there. But, it's part of baseball, so I went to the DL. I'm going to come off on Tuesday. I'm ready to go pitch."

Carrasco, 28, has already achieved career highs in wins (12), starts (25) and innings (158) and has a 3.53 ERA with 173 strikeouts against 32 walks this season. The big righty was on quite a roll before landing on the DL, too. Prior to being officially sidelined on Aug. 26, Carrasco had turned in a 1.36 ERA with a .386 opponents' OPS in his previous five outings (39 2/3 innings).

Carrasco last pitched on Aug. 21, when he struck out 11, walked one and held the Yankees to only one run in 6 2/3 innings in New York.

The Indians did not want to take any chances when the health issue flared up and Carrasco received a cortisone shot in his shoulder early on in his DL stint.

"He's in pretty good shape to start on Tuesday," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "We'll certainly see how he shows up [Sunday] and everything, but I think he's in pretty good shape. The hope was, when we put him on the disabled list and gave him in the injection, that he'd be raring to go. And, I think he is."

Francona said Carrasco might work with a limited pitch count against the White Sox.

"After being down for a couple weeks, we wouldn't let him go out and go 115," Francona said. "Being that it is September, you have guys in the bullpen, where you can [implement a pitch limit] and handle it better. We'll, obviously, try to win the game, but with extra bodies, it helps."