Tribe in good hands with baseball lifer DeMarlo Hale

Even though Terry Francona won't be in the dugout at Progressive Field for today's doubleheader against the Blue Jays, the Indians will still be in good hands. Bench coach DeMarlo Hale, a baseball lifer who has spent 38 years on the professional level, will fill in for Francona while the manager attends the wedding of his youngest child, daughter Jamie, in Newport, R.I. Hale would have managed the Indians on Saturday as well had it not been for a weather postponement. He's familiar to Francona, serving as third base and bench coach in Boston from 2006-11, a stint that included a World Series title in 2007. "I know what he brings, how he prepares," Hale said of Francona. "This staff, we know what we need to do in helping prepare for this season and the games. He's fun to work with for sure. As evidenced, we're holding our own so far this season." In addition to the Indians and Red Sox, Hale, 59, has served as an assistant coach for four other teams — Rangers (2002-05), Orioles (2012), Blue Jays (2013-18) and Braves (2020). His coaching career began after managing in the minors from 1993-2001 for the Boston and Texas organizations. Hale managed three games for the Blue Jays in 2015-16. He never made it the majors after being drafted in the 17th round by Boston in 1983, but Hale played six seasons in the minors for the Red Sox and A's. He said the role of bench coach has changed over the years. "It is a little bit more involved because we have a lot more information, resources," Hale said. "I've found as my years started to count up as a bench coach, I started to carry a little bit more information and resources. We have a lot of information. We have to kinda pick which one is right. Does it fit in this time where players are in their careers? "It has changed a little bit, but it's easy when you have a staff like we do here. There's experience here and no doubt Tito's been around and been successful. There's a group of back-and-forth and we kind of play off each other and do what's right." Francona is expected to return early Monday morning. "I'm wearing a tux," he laughed. "I've got a brand new boutonniere and everything for the wedding." Injury update The Indians announced that an MRI performed on Jordan Luplow's left ankle revealed nothing more than a sprain and inflammation. Luplow, who was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday, will be evaluated in a week. He is not eligible for activation until June 6. In the zone According to pitching coach Carl Willis, stoic right-hander Aaron Civale is as focused off the mound as he is during his day to pitch. "He very much is the same way," Willis said of Civale, who leads the American League with seven wins and ranks ninth with a 3.04 ERA. "He's a very intelligent kid. He's intelligent away from the game in terms of other aspects, but he's very intelligent about the game of baseball as well. He has an analytical mind. He knows very well biomechanics and how his body works. He knows and he studies how his repertoire and pitches work off of one another and he does his homework. He dives into the competition, who his next start's against and what he wants to do. "Don't get me wrong, he can be a fun guy. He can get hot a little bit at times with certain situations. He handles that well. He's a pleasure to work with because he focuses not only on himself, but on every aspect of the game and it doesn't overwhelm him." Miller's time Prized prospect Owen Miller is off to a slow start to his career, batting .167 (4-for-24) with nine strikeouts over his first six games. "It's an adjustment period for him," Hale said of Miller, who hit .407 in 16 games for Triple-A Columbus. "I like his attentiveness in terms of some of the details. He's trying to understand how to play the game at this level. He's asking very good questions. We're trying to help him along as a staff to make the adjustment." Miller, 24, has already seen action at four different spots in the lineup — third base, second, shortstop and DH. "It's a lot on his plate when you think about it," Hale said. "He's playing multiple positions. You talk about hitting at the big-league level, it's a little different than hitting at the Triple-A level for sure. I like where he's at. I think sometimes, don't look for the numbers. Just kinda understand the process he's going through. "His versatility is a key for us. As you see, he's played third, short, second and he's got his first base glove. That's not easy to do when you're breaking into the big leagues for the first time and I think he's handled it pretty well." Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on Twitter.