CLEVELAND — Cody Allen is one of the least acclaimed yet most productive closers in the major leagues. On Friday night. when the Cleveland Indians open a three-game series with the Oakland A’s Jeff Locke Jersey , Allen will be in uniform at Progressive Field for the first time as the Indians’ career saves leader.

In pitching the ninth inning of a 3-2 Cleveland win in Kansas City on Wednesday, Allen posted his 140th career save, breaking Bob Wickman’s franchise record of 139, which had stood since 2006.

“He means so much to all of us,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said of Allen. “This is a kid who was drafted in the 16th round, but through being a consummate professional, he’s now the Indians’ all-time leader. That’s pretty awesome. It’s a big accomplishment, and he’s not close to being done.”

Allen (2-3, 3.38 ERA) ranks seventh in the American League this year with 18 saves, but his year-in, year-out consistency has been his trademark. He has had at least 30 saves in each of the last three seasons. Only two other closers in the majors can say that: the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen and Boston’s Craig Kimbrel.

“This is something I’m extremely proud of,” Allen said of passing Wickman as the club’s saves leader. “It’s something I get to hang my hat on for my career. It’s very cool.”

The A’s (48-39) come to Cleveland with nearly the same record as the Indians (48-37), but what a difference a division makes. The first-place Indians lead the AL Central by 11 1/2 games. The A’s are in third in the AL West, 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Houston Astros.

The A’s won two of three games from the Indians last weekend in Oakland. That was part of a longer streak in which the A’s have won eight of their last nine. Since June 16 Laken Tomlinson Jersey , Oakland is 14-3.

“I think we’re having a lot of fun,” A’s third baseman Matt Chapman told MLB.com, “and no matter what the score is, I don’t think we count ourselves out. There’s no panic in the dugout. We just keep playing our game. We trust that we’re a good team.”

On Friday night, the A’s will send Paul Blackburn (2-2, 6.46 ERA) to the mound. In his last start on June 29 in Oakland, Blackburn baffled the Indians, pitching 6 1/3 scoreless innings and giving up just three hits in a 3-1 victory.

Blackburn has started five major league games this year. In the one against Cleveland, he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .150. In the other four starts, he’s 1-2 with an 8.83 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .324. In two career starts against the Indians, Blackburn is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA.

Cleveland will counter with Carlos Carrasco (8-5, 4.24), who will make his first start since June 16, a 9-3 loss to Minnesota in which he was knocked out of the game in the second inning after getting hit in the right arm by a line drive off the bat of Joe Mauer.

Carrasco was placed on the 10-day disabled list the next day with a right elbow contusion. He made one rehab start at Double-A Akron on June 30 Dan Fouts Jersey , pitching four scoreless innings and giving up one hit with four strikeouts and one walk.

Carrasco’s last legitimate start was his best start of the year, a 4-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on June 11. In that game, he pitched seven scoreless innings and gave up two hits and one walk with 11 strikeouts.

In six career appearances, including five starts, against Oakland, Carrasco is 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA.

The Minnesota Vikings are working through a quarterback quandary this offseason, with three pending free agents.

They have ample space under the salary cap, around $50 million, and an unfulfilled desire to produce a long-term answer at the position after years of questions.

Coach Mike Zimmer expressed caution about the strategy of spending their way out of the uncertainty.

"I think it's really, really important that we understand that we've won 40 games in the last four years and we've done this by being pretty good on defense for the most part," Zimmer said Thursday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. "This year the offense was much better. Part of the reason we've been winning games is because we've been staying in games on defense, we've been a smart team, all those things."

About half of the quarterbacks in the league are making an annual average of $20 million, and the standard prices will only increase this month with Kirk Cousins leading the list of soon-to-be free agents. Zimmer Doug Martin Jersey , for his part, pumped the brakes on the notion of trying to win such a bidding contest.

"I want to be really careful about taking away from our strength ... because of financial reasons," Zimmer said.

Staying in step with what general manager Rick Spielman said Wednesday, Zimmer told reporters the Vikings are still assessing the pros and cons of Case Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater with the market set to open on March 14. Zimmer said all three quarterbacks are "definitely" under consideration.

Breaking with the guarded style of his boss, Zimmer pushed the candor button at the podium. He acknowledged the realities and reservations of each of the three players he's had as the primary starter over the past three years.

"It's important for myself and Rick and the organization to pick the right guy that is going to help us continue to move forward," Zimmer said. "If we don't do that, then I'll probably be fired."

Keenum took over after Bradford hurt his knee following the season opener and enjoyed a career-best performance, helping the Vikings reach the NFC championship game. Before 2017, he'd just been a backup. Several times during the year, Zimmer hinted at mild skepticism about Keenum's ability to keep up such success.

"Is he the guy when he was at Houston or the Rams, or is he the guy who played for us?" Zimmer said, repeating a similar line of questioning for Bradford, who didn't experience much success early in his career with St. Louis.

Bradford's biggest issue is the knee Demetri Goodson Jersey , which Zimmer described as a "degenerative" problem. There's clearly no perfect answer for the Vikings in this complicated situation.

"At the end of the day, it's a guess and a hunch," Zimmer said.

Bridgewater presents the least-expensive option but also the least-known, considering he last started a meaningful game more than two years ago. The amount of time he missed while rehabilitating his knee injury has made it difficult to evaluate his ability to lead the team for the next decade, as the Vikings originally intended when they drafted him in the first round in 2014.

"It's really hard to evaluate just in practice. We have to go back a lot with Teddy on what he's done in the past, him as a person, his work ethic, all those things. Him not playing for two years and not being able to see him play in live situations, that's concerning a little bit," Zimmer said. "But I love the guy. He's a great kid, great competitor, a winner."

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