Tag Archives: Cleveland Indians

Tyler Clippard should help Indians bullpen

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The Cleveland Indians have recalled relief pitcher Tyler Clippard from AAA Columbus to help settle things in the Tribe bullpen.

Tyler Clippard will be joining the Cleveland Indians Major League roster after the team called him up. Jefry Rodriguez was sent down to Columbus in a corresponding move. While Clippard is not a superstar reliever he should at least be able to settle things for a bullpen that has been up and down so far this season and has been looking for help since before Spring Training.

Tyler Clippard carries a career ERA of 3.16 in his 12-year career. Clippard has appeared in 698 games pitching 754 innings. Averaging 10 strikeouts per nine innings, Clippard has proven to be effective in many stops in his career. At worst Clippard will present a serviceable option and an alternative to other arms in the bullpen.

Currently the Indians have two relievers who have not been off to good starts so far. Neil Ramirez and Oliver Perez. This could be due to the fact that Cleveland was hoping that they could perform in a much larger role than what they are capable of. Both relievers have been knocked around quite frequently and have been very hittable so far. The duo of Ramirez and Perez have combined to allow 13 runs and 6 home runs in just 15.2 innings.

Giving Tyler Clippard the opportunity to make the Indians bullpen better is worth a shot. Clippard does have a track record of being able to shut down opposing offenses. As long as Clippard can perform at a relatively average level the bullpen should be able to perform better overall. So far the margin for error has been razor thin with the Indians relievers and if Clippard’s addition can increase said margin things will work out for all parties involved.

Indians: Bauer outduels Cole in Houston

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The Cleveland Indians were backed by a strong perfromance from Trevor Bauer as they defeated the Houston Astros by a score of 2-1.

In a duel of pitchers who do not like each other all that much, Trevor Bauer came out the victor over Gerrit Cole. The Cleveland Indians were able to do just enough to secure the victory over the Houston Astros.

Trevor Bauer went eight innings and only allowed one run on four hits while striking out three. The only run allowed by Bauer came via a George Springer solo home run in the third inning. Bauer hung a breaking ball and Springer made him pay with a home run that left Minute Maid Park. The only other aspect of Bauer’s performance that can be considered less than stellar is the amount of walks. Bauer walked six Astros, but was able to work around that to prevent damage.

The Indians only scored two runs Thursday and both were solo home runs. Leonys Martin struck first for Cleveland as he hit his fourth home of the year. The second and final Indians run of the game came courtesy of a Jake Bauers home run. All three of Bauers’ home runs have come on the road this season.

Brad Hand came on in the ninth to earn his seventh save of the season. Hand worked a clean inning as he did not allow a hit and struck out one batter. This was the second consecutive game that Hand did not allow a baserunner.

Cleveland will need to hope for a little bit more offensively if they wish to come away with at least a split in this four game series. Four hits and two runs is not enough to come away victorious consistently.

The second game of the series will take place Friday night at 8:10 P.M.

Jose Ramirez powers Indians past Marlins

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Jose Ramirez led the Cleveland Indians offense as the Tribe managed to split the series with a 6-2 victory over the Miami Marlins.

It has been a rough start for Jose Ramirez, but sooner or later things were going to turn around. That turned out to be today as Jose Ramirez went 3-4 in the Indians 6-2 victory over the Marlins. Ramirez hit his second homer of the season in the bottom of the first inning and just kept going. Ramirez singled in the bottom of the third to bring home Leonys Martin to give Cleveland a two-run lead. In the bottom of the eighth inning Ramirez delivered the knockout blow, a two-run double to give Cleveland a 6-2 lead. This looks like the beginning of one of those hot streak that Jose is prone to go on.

Cleveland also got contributions from the recently activated Francisco Lindor. Lindor went 2-5 on the day and drove in a run during the four-run bottom of the eighth.

Jake Bauers also drove in a run during the eighth inning. Bauers singled to center and Carlos Gonzalez would score on the play. Bauers finished his day with a 1-4 line.

Jason Kipnis looks to have found a bit of his former self as he keeps on hitting. Kipnis went 1-3 in the contest and as it stands now is hitting an impressive .308 on the season. Some regression is expected but this is very encouraging from a team that had replacement level players starting in the middle infield on Opening Day.

Strong start for Jefry Rodriguez

The Indians turned to Jefry Rodriguez to get the start Wednesday and he did not disappoint. Rodriguez allowed one run on three hits over seven innings. Although he did not come away with a win, this was an impressive start for Rodriguez. This is exactly what the Indians needed to see from Rodriguez. There is still that open spot in the rotation due to the injury to Mike Clevinger. Rodriguez is making a (temporary) claim for a spot in the rotation. That is if Clevinger is able to return this season, if not Rodriguez should have plenty of opportunities to win a spot in the rotation moving forward.

Up and down bullpen yet again…

The story over the past week has been a couple bad outings from the bullpen. Ever since the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader with Atlanta the bullpen has not been good. Wednesday was no exception. Nick Wittgren came in for Rodriguez in the eighth and gave up a home run to Martin Prado with two outs in the inning. Wittgren would come away with the win, but also a blown save.

Brad Hand worked the ninth in a non-save situation and closed the game in 15 pitches. Hand struck out two of the three batters he faced to get Cleveland the much needed victory.

Cleveland will head to Houston to take on the Astros in a four-game series starting Thursday.

Carlos Carrasco exits game with injury

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Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco exited Tuesday’s game against the Miami Marlins after a knee injury in the fourth inning.

An injury to a starting pitcher is the last thing that the Cleveland Indians need at this point in time. Unfortunately that is just what happened in Tuesday’s loss to the Miami Marlins. While attempting to cover first on a routine groundout Carlos Carrasco stumbled and injured his knee. Carrasco was able to finish the fourth inning on the mound but was removed due to some discomfort in his knee. Carrasco is getting an MRI on his knee, but it is for precautionary reasons.

Before suffering the injury Carlos Carrasco was pitching quite well. Carrasco allowed two hits in four inning while striking out four. Of Carrasco’s 62 pitches, 41 were strikes. Carrasco definitely looked locked in and was dominating Miami. Unfortunately things were not the same for Neil Ramirez. Ramirez gave up a solo home run on the first pitch he threw. Ramirez would allow three runs in the contest.

It is easy to imagine that if Carlos Carrasco did not get injured that his dominance on the mound would have continued. Carrasco was fantastic in his last start in Seattle and kept on rolling Tuesday. Over his last 11 innings Carrasco has allowed five hits and struck out 16 batters while walking two. Carrasco was building off his start against the Mariners were he shut down a much better offense than the Marlins.

Cleveland needs Carrasco’s MRI to come back clean. After losing Mike Clevinger for the majority of the season they cannot afford to lose another starting pitcher. The Indians margin for error at this current point in time is razor thin and losing another starter is not optimal. If Carlos Carrasco is fine health-wise there is no reason to panic.

Wednesday Morning Update

Per Zack Meisel of The Athletic Carlos Carrasco is fine and intends to make his next start.

The Indians dodged a huge bullet with this one. A serious injury to Carlos Carrasco could have absolutely derailed this season, even though this season is not off to the best of starts thus far.

Indians continue home stand against Marlins

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The Cleveland Indians continue thier home stand with a short two-game series against the Miami Marlins.

The Cleveland Indians will look to turn things around in their second consecutive series against a National League East opponent, the Miami Marlins. Cleveland’s series against Atlanta did not go to well due to the bullpen implosion and lackluster start from Shane Bieber on Sunday night. Luckily they take on a last place Marlins team which should give the Indians a more than fair shot.

Game 1: April 23 6:10 P.M. – Carlos Carrasco (2-2) versus Pablo Lopez (1-3)

Game 1 features two starters who currently have high ERA’s. Carlos Carrasco’s ERA is still over seven and Pablo Lopez has an ERA just under six. Neither are optimal and both pitchers will look to improve upon their rough starts to the 2019 season.

Carlos Carrasco has only faced a couple of Marlins batters in the past, but most of this was when they were on American League teams. Curtis Granderson is 6-14 with two home runs, a double and four runs driven in. Granderson is the only Miami hitter with a positive track record in a large sample size. Although Starlin Castro is 1-2, but that is not enough information to base anything off of. Neil Walker is 0-3 off Cookie and Martin Prado is 1-6.

There are only two batters in the Indians lineup who have faced Lopez previously. Jake Bauers is 0-3 while Carlos Santana is 1-2. Lopez has not gotten very deep into games, his longest start being 5.1 innings. Lopez has shown previously that he is susceptible to giving up runs and Cleveland will need to take advantage of that.

Game 2: April 24 1:10 P.M. – TBA versus Sandy Alcantara (1-2)

The Indians are yet to announce their starter for the second and final game of this series. This could mean a spot start for someone from AAA to keep the rotation intact for the upcoming four-game series with Houston.

Miami will send Sandy Alcantara to the mound in hopes he can turnaround a two start losing streak. Like Lopez, only two Indians batters have face Alcantara before. Kevin Plawecki is 0-1 with two walks and Carlos Santana is 1-2 with a walk. Also like Lopez, Alcantara has been hit hard by good offenses. While Cleveland is yet to live up to expectations at the plate, this series could prove to be a catalyst for an offense that desperate needs to get things going.

Tyler Naquin is struggling big time

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After a stretch that saw Tyler Naquin quite productive at the plate, the Cleveland Indians outfielder is struggling dating back to April 10th.

After 10 games into the 2019 season Tyler Naquin was hitting .300. It looked like that the Indians outfielder had reverted back to his rookie form and could be an integral part of the team. Things have not gone well since April 10th and Tyler Naquin has struggled.

Since the last time Naquin was hitting .300 he has struck out 10 times in 29 at-bats. Naquin’s batting average has steadily dropped since April 10th, it is now sitting at .220 for the season. This is hardly the production that Cleveland needs from Naquin at this point in time. Even though key starters have returned to the lineup, overall the offense is still not performing up to the level it is capable of and needs everyone to contribute in order to win. This includes Naquin.

Tyler Naquin only has four hits in 30 plate appearances over the last eight games. Naquin does have one walk over this stretch, but it was intentional so it counts and it does not count at the same time. Naquin did not earn the walk as much as it was given to him.

The only bright spot to takeaway from this is that Tyler Naquin has a home run and four runs driven in. Aside from that there is nothing to write home about in regards to this recent stretch. A stretch that has Naquin slashing .138/.167/.241/.408. Naquin’s slash line is unacceptable and needs to improve if he is going to continue seeing the field. When a player struggles this much at the plate it is hard to justify keeping their bat in the lineup.

Indians manager Terry Francona gives players every chance to prove that they belong before moving on. With how poorly Tyler Naquin has performed one must wonder how much longer the leash for Naquin is considering the other outfield options on the roster.

Indians split doubleheader with Braves

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The Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves split Saturday’s traditional doubleheader.

After Saturday’s doubleheader the series between the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves is split 1-1. This leaves Sunday’s series finale on Sunday Night Baseball as the game that determines the winner of this interleague matchup.

Game 1: Indians 8 – Braves 4

The first game found the Indians on the winning side of things. Corey Kluber got the start and endured a rough beginning to the game. After striking Ozzie Albies and Josh Donaldson, Kluber walked Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr. Nick Markakis drove in a run to give Atlanta an early lead.

A similar rough patch occurred during the third innings. Albies led off with a double followed by a Donaldson infield single. Kluber was able to strikeout Freeman for the first out of the inning. Markakis would drive in another run via a sacrifice fly for his second RBI of the game.

Corey Kluber would allow two more runs in the game. Both came in the seventh inning. Brian McCann and Matt Joyce hit back-to-back solo home runs. Nick Wittgren and Brad Hand would pitch the final two innings of the game to secure the victory.

The Indians offense came alive in the first game, collecting 10 hits and scoring eight runs. Carlos Santana got things started in the first with an RBI single, this tied the game at 1.

In the fourth inning trialing by 1, Indians shortstop Max Moroff came to the plate and delivered with his first home run as a member of the Indians.

The fifth inning saw even more scoring. Cleveland batted around the order en route to a six run inning. Allen drove in the first run of the inning with an RBI double. Tyler Naquin would single allowing Allen to score. Moroff drove in Naquin with a single. Leonys Martin would get into the act with an RBI single of his own. Moroff would score on a passed ball, making it 7-2 Indians. Jason Kipnis would drive in Cleveland’s final run of the game with an RBI single.

Game 2: Indians 7 – Braves 8

In a similar fashion to the first game, the Cleveland Indians offense was on fire. Scoring seven runs over the first two innings, including batting around the order for the second time Saturday.

Cleveland’s batters took advantage of a shaky Touki Toussaint early in the game. Leonys Martin scored the first run of the game on a Toussaint wild pitch. Carlos Gonzalez would drive in Jose Ramirez on the very next pitch.

In the second inning Jose Ramirez would drive in two runs with a single off of Toussaint. Carlos Santana would follow with an RBI single making it 5-0. Jake Bauers would drive in Cleveland’s final two runs of the game to make it 7-0 Indians after the second inning.

Trevor Bauer got the start for the Tribe, allowing two runs on three hits in 6.1 innings while striking out 10. Bauer was fantastic and continued his dominant start to the season. If it were not for Bauer’s pitch count being over 100 going into the seventh inning he could have pitched longer, but it was and he was relieved in the seventh inning. That is when things fell apart.

Dan Otero relieved Trevor Bauer and gave up a two-run home run to Dansby Swanson, this closed the book on Bauer’s day as one run was charged to each pitcher.

Disaster in the ninth

In the top of the ninth with Oliver Perez already having pitched two thirds of an inning, Perez gave up a leadoff single to Nick Markakis. Adam Cimber game in for Perez and things went haywire afterwards. Although Cimber got off to a good start, getting Johan Camargo to line out for the first out of the inning, things ballooned quickly. Cimber would walk the next two batters he faced, Dansby Swanson and Tyler Flowers, loading the bases. Cimber managed to get the second out of the inning by way of a Ender Inciarte strikeout.

Now with two outs in the ninth innings the Braves rallied and the Indians bullpen imploded rather quickly. Ozzie Albies singled to drive in Swanson and Markakis. Cimber would walk Josh Donaldson to load the bases and Cimber’s night was done.

Tyler Olson came in for exactly one batter and walked in a run. This made it a one run game in the ninth. Cody Anderson came on for Olson and gave up a two-run double to Ronald Acuna Jr. Anderson would immediately walk the next batter and then end the ninth with another out by Johan Camargo.

Cleveland’s rally did not go as well as Atlanta’s. Jake Bauers, Tyler Naquin and Roberto Perez all struck out in the bottom of the ninth to end the game quite unceremoniously.

The Indians will get a chance to take the series in the rubber match taking place at 7:00 P.M. on Sunday Night Baseball.

Francisco Lindor may return this weekend

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Cleveland Indians All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor may return to the lineup as soon as this weekend provided he is cleared by the medical staff.

The Cleveland Indians are so close to getting a key member of their team back. Per Tom Withers, Francisco Lindor is back in Cleveland and could return to the team for this weekend’s series with Atlanta.

Tom Withers also reported that Lindor’s status will be determined Saturday morning with the expectation that he will be activated.

Francisco Lindor looks fine in Columbus

As Tom Withers mentioned Francisco Lindor looks ready. Lindor was a member of the Columbus Clippers on a rehab assignment. In 3 games Lindor collected five hits, three of which were of the extra-base variety. Those extra-base hits being one double and two home runs. Lindor showed that he can still swing a bat quite nicely. The only concern is that Lindor did not look entirely healthy while rounding the bases.

This clip is from April 16th and there is still a bit of a limp. Although while rounding the bases on a homer April 18th he looked a little better, but it is worth noting that there is still a limp.

Cleveland has been able to win without one of the best players in baseball.

Even without Lindor the Tribe have been able to win games. If things are not entirely right it may be the right decision to give him a bit more time. The Indians are not in a tailspin and in desperate need of Lindor at this moment in time.

However if Cleveland’s medical staff determines he can play, it may be wise to give him some days off early in the return process. There is also the possibility of having Lindor DH in order to ensure he does not re-injure his ankle in the field.

It is all about the long haul with Francisco Lindor. It is not worth rushing him back prematurely only for him to suffer another injury. The postponement of Friday’s game with Atlanta gives the Indians and Francisco Lindor more time to properly evaluate his injury and if he is indeed good to go. Although this probably means if he can play he will not appear in one of the two games of Saturday’s doubleheader.

Indians return home for series with Braves

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Fresh off a sweep of the Seattle Mariners, the Cleveland Indians return home for a three game series with the Atlanta Braves.

This series features two teams coming off opposite ends of sweeps. The Cleveland Indians swept the Seattle Mariners while the Atlanta Braves were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Cleveland will look to continue their winning ways against Atlanta who is looking to turn things around on the road. Atlanta’s starters have been flipped for Saturday’s doubleheader. Julio Teheran will start Game 1 while Touki Toussaint will start Game 2.

Game 1: April 20 4:10 P.M. – Corey Kluber (1-2) versus Julio Teheran (2-1)

Due to rain the first game of the series has been postponed and will be part of a traditional doubleheader Saturday.

The first game of the series features Corey Kluber on the bump for the Indians with Julio Teheran taking the hill for Atlanta.

There are a handful of Indians players who have faced Julio Teheran before and the results are not good. Carlos Gonzalez is 1-17 with three strikeouts. Leonys Martin is 0-4. Kevin Plawecki is 1-13 with five strikeouts. Hanley Ramirez is 0-4 with two strikeouts. Carlos Santana is 1-9 with two strikeouts, but has walked twice. Hopefully Cleveland will be able to turn things around in this matchup against a pitcher that has given up a fair share of runs to start the season.

There is only one player in the Braves lineup with an extensive track record against Corey Kluber. This also a person who spent a brief period of time with the Indians last season. Josh Donaldson. Donaldson is 7-19 lifetime against Kluber with one home run and five runs driven in. Corey Kluber will have to bounce back from his last start, a rough outing against Kansas City, to come away with a win Friday. Atlanta is capable of doing damage and Kluber will need to limit that as best as he can.

Game 2: April 20 TBD – Trevor Bauer (2-1) versus Touki Toussaint (1-0)

This is the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader that will take place after the postponed first game.

Trevor Bauer looks to continue his strong start to the season in the second game of the series. Bauer has been absolutely dominant on the mound this year. Atlanta will provide a tough test for Bauer as some members of the Braves have had previous success against him. Josh Donaldson is 2-7 with a double and three RBI’s. Tyler Flowers is 4-9 with a double and a homer. Freddie Freeman is 3-5 with two doubles. Brian McCann is 5-19 with a double and two home runs.

Touki Toussaint is fresh off his 2019 debut against the New York Mets. An outing which saw Toussaint allow four hits over six innings and get the win. Cleveland will need to limit the strikeouts against Toussiant, who had seven against the Mets.

Game 3: April 21 7:00 P.M. – Shane Bieber (2-0) versus Max Fried (2-0)

The final game of the series is in primetime, Sunday Night Baseball and the pitching matchup could not be better. Two young pitchers who have pitched extremely well to start the season in Shane Bieber and Max Fried. Bieber and Fried have both been lights out thus far and will look to keep on rolling while the bright lights shine.

In Bieber’s three starts he has only allowed three runs in 19 innings while striking out 20. In Fried’s three starts he has only allowed two runs in 18 while striking out 12. The two runs that Fried allowed came in his last start against Arizona.

Both pitchers have been stingy to start the year and this could end up being a pitcher’s duel. The first team to score may end up winning the game. Of course that all depends on whether Bieber and Fried can continue their dominant starts and not have a bad outing.

Indians finish sweep of Mariners

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The Cleveland Indians won their third straight game and completed their three-game sweep of the Mariners on the road in Seattle.

The Cleveland Indians won a close game Wednesday, a 1-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Carlos Carrasco and Nick Wittgren shut down the homer happy Mariners as Cleveland finished off the sweep.

Carlos Carrasco got the start and rebounded nicely after failing to get out of the first inning in his last start. Carrasco struck out 12 over seven innings and only allowed three hits. There was a brief moment when it appeared that Seattle would continue their record home run streak, but alas it was not meant to be. What was thought to be a Ryon Healy home run was determined to be foul and Carrasco would strike him out looking on the very next pitch.

Nick Wittgren got the old school two-inning save Wednesday. Wittgren pitched both the eighth and ninth innings to close the game. Wittgren would strike out two batters and not allow a hit in two innings of work. The regular closer Brad Hand got the night off due to pitching in three consecutive games previously.

The Indians only mustered one run but that was all they needed. Jake Bauers hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning to put Cleveland on top. Bauers would get two of the Tribe’s three hits on the day, the other coming off the bat of Carlos Gonzalez.

While the offense did not light up the scoreboard, they did just enough to win the game. Sometimes that is how it is going to go. The offense will struggle and the pitching will have to carry the team to victory. Luckily the combination of Carrasco and Wittgren shut down Seattle to secure the victory. It was not pretty, but a win is a win.

The Indians have an off day before returning home to face Atlanta in a weekend series.