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Smoke signals

• Indians pitcher Brett Myers, who has been sidelined with a right elbow ailment since late April, continues to feel discomfort in his arm when throwing off a mound. Francona said Myers, signed to a one-year contract worth $7 million this winter to be Cleveland's No. 3 starter, feels no pain while playing catch on flat ground.

"To his credit, he keeps trying," Francona said. "I think he feels like he signed his contract and he wants to play it out. As long as he wants to try, we appreciate it. He's giving it everything. He keeps trying. It just keeps getting to that point where he gets on the elevated part and it hurts."

• Indians left fielder Michael Brantley was not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game, but that was due to his career numbers (1-for-11) against lefty C.J. Wilson. Raburn, who has hit .385 (5-for-13) in his career against Wilson, got the nod in left. Michael Bourn (.600 average vs. Wilson in 10 at-bats) remained in center field.

"Bourny has real good matchups against [Wilson]," Francona said. "I just want to try to use our roster and maximize everybody."

• Indians starter Zach McAllister dealt with a sprained right middle finger earlier this season, and it was his curveball that caused the most problems. In his start against Detroit on Thursday, McAllister only threw three curves, according to the PITCHf/x data, but Francona said the pitcher is fine.

"There's nothing that he throws that hurts at all," Francona said. "That's probably the pitch that he needs to work on the most, and it's probably the one he's been able to work on the least because of that finger. The other day, to start the game, he threw a couple real good ones."

• Class A Advanced Carolina outfielder Bryson Myles entered Saturday riding a 21-game hitting streak, which marks the longest run in Mudcats history. Throughout the streak, which dates back to July 15, Myles has hit .417 with 20 RBIs, 50 total bases and a 1.054 OPS.

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Major League Bastian, and follow him on Twitter @MLBastian.
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