The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Starting pitching stays hot as Captains defeat Fort Wayne
Starting pitchers are setting an emphatic tone for the streaking Captains in the early stages of the 2021 season.
Tanner Burns turned in a second straight strong outing May 14 as the Captains ran their winning streak to four with an 8-2 victory over the Fort Wayne (Ind.) TinCaps at Classic Park.
The 22-year-old righthander, selected by the Indians with a competitive balance pick in the first round of the 2020 draft out of Auburn, surrendered two runs on one hit in four innings. He struck out seven and issued one walk while throwing 64 pitches, 42 for strikes.
Burns (0-0, 2.50 ERA) was dominant against the TinCaps beyond two missteps in the top of the fourth inning, when he issued
CAPTAINS 8, TINCUPS 2
a two-out walk to Tirso Ornelas followed by a two-run home run off the bat of Jonny Homza.
Of the first 10 batters faced by Burns, seven were strikeout victims.
“Overall, I felt good,” Burns said. “My fastball command was there. On the home run, that wasn’t a competitive pitch by me. He put a good swing on it and got me this time. I’ll get him next time.”
Against the Lansing Lugnuts on May 7, in what ended as a 6-0 win for the visiting Captains, Burns blanked the Lugnuts on three hits over four innings.
In addition to Burns’ solid work, the Captains have gotten top-notch performances from fellow starters Logan Allen (20, 0.00 ERA), Kevin Coulter (2-0, 1.25 ERA), Hunter
Gaddis (1-1, 4.50 ERA) and Raymond Burgos (0-0, 0.00) in winning seven of their first 10 games.
They are tied with the Dayton Dragons for first place in the High-A Central East Division.
“Baseball is a game of momentum and as starters, we want to set the tone,” Burns said. “We’re having fun right now. You have fun when you’re winning.”
Kevin Kelly (1-0, 1.50 ERA) followed Burns to the mound and earned the victory by blanking the TinCaps over three innings. Kellen Rholl (0-0, 1.59 ERA) breezed through the final two frames to earn his second save.
For the second straight game, the Captains’ batters backed up outstanding pitching with an attack that produced eight runs
Second baseman Jose Tena led the charge. He was 3-for-5 with two home runs, a double and four RBI.
Tena’s first round-tripper on the warm evening gave the Captains a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. His RBI double in the bottom of the fifth forged a 2-2 time. In the bottom of the eighth, his two-run home run rounded out the scoring.
The 20-year-old native of the Dominican Republic signed with the Indians in 2017 as an international free agent. He’s batting a team-high .323 with three home runs and eight RBI.
“I’m feeling very good and confident in myself at the plate,” Tena said. “My focus has been on timing and keeping the ball in the middle of the field.”
Captains hitting coach Grant Fink has been impressed by what he’s seen of Tena.
“He doesn’t miss much in the zone and can do a lot of damage,” Fink said.