Punchless Indians waste gem by Salazar
CLEVELAND — Danny Salazar didn’t get the win Saturday night — ditto for the Indians — but he continued his transformation since coming off the disabled list.
Salazar allowed one run in seven innings and struck out a career-high 12 batters in his third start since rejoining the starting rotation after missing more than a month with a sore right shoulder and mechanical difficulties.
Zach McAllister allowed a tiebreaking homer to Chase Headley in the eighth inning as the Yankees beat the Indians 2-1 at Progressive Field. The loss ended the Indians’ nine-game home winning streak.
McAllister, whose best pitch is his fastball, threw two straight curveballs to Headley. He hit the second one into the right field seats for what proved to be the winner.
“We wanted to bring McAllister in for the first three hitters, then have (Tyler) Olsen and (Bryan) Shaw behind him because of (McAllister’s) velocity,” manager Terry Francona said. “He ends up throwing a lead breaking ball and then he follows that up a breaking ball. I’m guessing he’d probably like to have that one back.”
Said McAllister, “I threw a first-pitch breaking ball for a strike. I thought I threw that one pretty good. I wanted to bury the next one, if he took it I was going to throw my fastball. Obviously, I didn’t locate the pitch where I wanted to.”
McAllister (1-1) threw consecutive 82 mph curveballs to Headley after striking out Brett Gardner to start the inning.
Salazar’s only mistake came in the first inning when he allowed a run. After that he limited the Yankees to two hits and two walks. In his past three starts, Salazar is 1-0 with a 1.30 ERA. He’s struck out 20, walked five and allowed three runs.
The performance rendered Salazar speechless. He did not talk to reporters after the game, telling the team’s PR staff that he’d lost his voice.
The Indians could do little against rookie left-hander Jordan Montgomery and the Yankees bullpen. Their offense consisted of a Carlos Santana home run. It’s hard to win like that.
Montgomery allowed one run over five innings before David Robertson (5-2), Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman combined on a six-hitter. Robertson earned the win and Chapman the save, No. 14, in his first appearance at Progressive Field since Game 7 of the World Series in November.