Smoke signals

• After undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2012, right-hander Josh Tomlin was finally activated near the end of August and optioned by the Indians to Triple-A Columbus. Including his various rehab assignments, Tomlin is 2-0 with a 1.65 ERA across 10 Minor League appearances this year.

With Tomlin set to be added to the Indians' active roster on Tuesday, the club must figure out how he will be utilized down the stretch.

"That's something we'll have to work through," Francona said. "We've got him somewhat stretched out. We're going to have to work through that. Because the Minor League seasons are over, there's no more innings to pitch. So we'll definitely bring him here. How and when he pitches, we'll figure that out."

• When Aviles hit his eighth home run last Wednesday in Atlanta, the Indians became one of seven teams in Major League history to have 12 players with at least eight home runs. No club has ever had 13 players reach that mark.

"At the end of the day, we don't have a typical four-hole hitter that's going to hit 30 homers, drive in 100 runs," Aviles said. "We've got a lot of guys that aren't going to show up on anybody's radar, but collectively we do well together."

• According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Aviles' homer on Sunday made him the fifth player in Major League history to hit a ninth-inning grand slam that resulted in a 4-0 win. Also, the win gave Cleveland its AL-leading 16th shutout of the season, a total that trails only the Dodgers' 19 across baseball.