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The Indians will need more than one pitcher to come up for a start it seems. The Tribe already had decided between Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey. Sowers will pitch on Saturday against the Yankees, and one more pitcher will now be needed for that series because of Thursday’s double header.

Fausto Carmona will pitch the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader, with Cliff Lee starting the nightcap. Paul Byrd will pitch Friday’s series opener against the Yankees at Progressive Field, Sowers will be promoted from Triple-A Buffalo to start Saturday, and C.C. Sabathia will start Sunday.

That leaves an opening for Monday’s series finale. Carmona was originally slated to start, but he would no longer be aligned to do so by pitching Thursday.

Left-hander Aaron Laffey was the other candidate to fill Jake Westbrook’s now vacant rotation spot, which went to Sowers. Laffey is currently slated to start for Buffalo on Thursday night in Scranton, Pa., so his schedule would have to be tweaked in order for him to be available Monday.

One pitcher that won’t be called up for that Monday start is right hander Adam Miller. Miller, coming off an extended spring training assignment made his first start of the year on Wednesday. He went five innings and gave up 3 runs, though none of them were earned. He left with a lead, but the Herd were unable to hold it, dropping a 6-5 game to Scranton. Miller allowed 4 hits, struck out 2 and walked 2 on the evening.

Seeing his first action of the season, Miller looked completely healthy on the mound for Buffalo as he tossed five solid innings. The Indians #1 prospect began the year on the disabled list as he continued to work up a pitch count in extended spring training. On Wednesday, he was able to throw 84 pitches and allowed just three unearned runs while striking out two batters.

Miller was lined up for the victory as the Bisons took a 4-3 lead into the seventh inning. That’s when the Yankees got their first homerun of the night. Shelley Duncan belted a two-run blast off reliever Bubbie Buzachero to give Scranton/WB the lead. (Thank you Brad Bisbing.)

After the game Miller said pretty much what you would expect him to say, that he was happy to finally be out there, that he wasn’t really nervous, he felt fine, no problems. Here’s the audio for that if you’re interested.

While the Indians didn’t lose last night, they did fall percentage points behind Detroit for last place in the Central. The Tigers destroyed the Rangers Wednesday 19-6. It was Tribe killer Curtis Granderson’s first game of the season, and he went 2 for 4, scored 3 runs and had 2 RBI in the lead off spot for the Tigers. The White Sox fell to the Yankees.

Perhaps the interesting question here is not who will pitch Saturday and Monday, but who is going to be sent down, or in fact waived to make room for these pitchers. Ben Francisco was called up to take Westbrook’s spot, and it stands to reason that he will be boarding a plane back to Buffalo after Friday’s game. That would be the roster spot needed for Sowers. But then what do you do if you’re the Indians? Do you send Sowers back down after his start? That would take care of the roster jam, but then what happens when it is Sowers’ turn in the rotation again? Does the revolving door continue?

The other option would be to release or trade a player that is out of options. That would be Jason Michaels or Andy Marte. I just can’t imagine Mark Shapiro giving up on Marte without getting anything in return. Pride just won’t allow it. And it’s not like Jason Michaels is in high demand. Who knows, maybe Michaels would slip through waivers? Not likely. I can’t imagine a team like the Giants wouldn’t give Michaels a try.

In any case this whole situation could be voided if Kansas City continues to get the weather they are predicting.