The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Tribe playing long game with ace
The Indians announced prior to the start of the second game in a four-game series with the Yankees July 13 that ace Corey Kluber had received an injection in his right knee that will force him to miss this year’s All-Star Game.
The issue doesn’t appear to be serious but he’ll need at least a week to recover and the Indians aren’t taking any chances as Kluber’s next start isn’t expected until July 23 against Pittsburgh.
The 32-year-old righthander is disappointed about missing what would’ve been his third straight All-Star Game, but as the halfway point draws near, the bigger picture is becoming more and more important to Kluber and the Indians.
“I would have liked to have pitched in the All-Star Game, but obviously the big picture, being healthy for the second half was more important,” Kluber said.
Plenty of teams are looking forward to the upcoming break but the time off could not come any sooner for Kluber and a run-down bullpen which, as of July 12, owns the worst ERA in the league (5.39).
Kluber is currently 12-5 with a 2.76 ERA but has given up 19 runs in his last 34 innings — a slump unheard of for the two-time Cy Young winner — not to mention he’s logged a lot of innings over his career, especially recently. He threw 114 pitches over 7 1/3 innings in the series opener against the Yankees and the increased workload has likely only aggravated an already lingering pain.
“I don’t want to try to use it an excuse, but if anything it made it a little harder to consistently repeat my delivery the way that I want to,” Kluber said.
Despite the Indians’ comfortable lead in the AL Central, Terry Francona and his staff need Kluber at his best if the Tribe is to meet the Yankees once again in the postseason.
Especially if the relievers continue to struggle.
The bullpen hung on in a 6-5 win July 13 to tie the series at one game apiece after starter Shane Bieber (5-1) threw seven innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits and a pair of walks while striking out six.
Closer Cody Allen got the save, his 19th of the season, in the ninth after a disastrous outing July 10 when he gave up six runs in a 7-4 loss to the Reds, but his outing against the Yankees wasn’t without its drama.
Allen gave up a home run to Giancarlo Stanton to lead off the final inning, bringing the Yankees within a run, but defense bailed Allen out in a situation in which the Indians desperately needed their closer to come through.
It was a relief, though the manner may not have been encouraging, to see the Tribe relievers hang on despite allowing the Yankees to stick around, and after the remaining two games of this series, the team will look to rest and regroup as it tries to make the big picture a reality.