New closer brings the heat for Indians
CLEVELAND — Seconds after the ball leaves Emmanuel Clase’s hand and streaks toward home plate, the eyes of everyone in Progressive Field quickly turn to the ballpark’s video scoreboard to see what pitch he threw and how fast it went.
101 mph cutter. 100 mph fastball. 91 mph slider.
“It’s unfair,” Indians starter Logan Allen said after watching Clase mow down the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. “It definitely makes you think: How do people hit him?”
Eight games into a new season, the Indians, who began 2021 with uncertainty in the back end of their bullpen, may have something special in Clase, a harder-than-hard-throwing right-hander from the Dominican Republic who arrived in a 2019 trade from Texas and missed last season due to a drug suspension.
Clase (pronounced clas-AY’) announced his arrival last week when his first pitch for the Indians registered at 101.3 mph — the fastest thrown by a Cleveland pitcher since the speed began being tracked regularly in 2008.
Since then, he has unleased 35 more pitches over 100 mph, the most in the majors this season and more than all Indians pitchers combined over the past 13 years.
“I mean, he’s got a slider that’s faster than most people’s fastballs,” Indians reliever Bryan Shaw said. “He’s obviously stupidly good. He’s got a really good arm. He’s got command of his pitches, obviously.”
And that may be the most impressive thing about Clase, who in addition to throwing the ball hard, throws it accurately.
He’s the anti-”Wild
Thing.”
When using advanced baseball analytics, Clase’s whiff and chase rates are above the 94th percentile. By more traditional statistics, he has allowed one hit in four innings with six strikeouts. After giving up a one-out single in the ninth Sunday, Clase induced a game-ending double play for his second save to complete Cleveland’s three-game sweep.
one. Ella Pape had three hits. Lozier and Hays had three RBIs, and Emma Krieg drove in two.
Lozier’s home run came with one out in the first, and was a two-run shot to left.
Stachler walked, then stole second, third, and home for the third run.
Four walks and a double gave New Bremen two more runs in the second.
Hays led off the third with a homer to left. Three singles and a groundout put two more on the board.
After Stachler walked in the fourth, she again sped around and scored. Hays then hit a two-run homer to center. Three hits and a walk pushed the lead to 11 runs, 14-3.
The Lady Bucs then got back in it, scoring eight runs in the next two innings.
A walk to Krieg opened the New Bremen seventh. She advanced on a groundout, then stole third. A groundout to first was enough to get her come with run number 15.
Some miscues by New Bremen allowed Covington to score twice, but a popup to third and an out at the plate shut down the final rally.
New Bremen will be at St. Henry today.