Plutko’s gem highlights sparkling home opener

Indianapolis, but the temperature that night was in the 30s and he is coming off hip surgery.

Durham’s base runners came in the first when first baseman Mike Napoli dropped a popup by Jake Bauers, and in the second when Joe McCarthy led off with a single just out of the reach of shortstop Yu Chang.

What did Plutko work on between starts?

“I felt my shoulders were a little flat and I tried to get more of an angle on my pitches,” he said. “(Pitching coach) Steve Karsay worked with me a lot. It just clicked yesterday during my day of work. I felt good. I got quick outs and the defense had my back all night.”

Manager Chris Tremie liked what he saw of Plutko.

“He commanded is fastball and didn’t walk anybody — he got ahead in the counts,” Tremie said. “It was a great opening night. You couldn’t ask for more with the weather and being back home.”

The Clippers scored a run in the first when Greg Allen led off with a double to the wall in right, went to third on a groundout and scored on a groundout by Francisco Mejia.

The second run scored in the second inning when Shaffer walked with one out and scored on a triple to the wall in the right field corner by Brandon Barnes.

Plutko left after 85 pitches. Sixty-three were strikes.

Durham got no break from Beliveau, a 5-foot-11 left-hander who has had big-league stays with the Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay and Toronto. He did not waste time getting the sign from the catcher and throwing.

“We are always told to work quickly,” Beliveau said. “That keeps the infielders on their toes. When you work slower your mind is kind of spinning. When you are going well, you just want to get the ball and keep going.”

Beliveau enjoyed the warm night.

“It snowed for the opener in Indy and got a little bit of warmth in Louisville, but this was like the Caribbean,” he said. “Everyone was in short sleeves.”