CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians got a bad break, literally, when ace pitcher Corey Kluber suffered a non-displaced fracture of his right ulna after being struck by a 103-mile-per-hour line drive in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s 4-2 loss to the Miami Marlins.
Kluber’s injury is the latest issue for the starting rotation, widely considered the strength of the team heading into the season. Fellow right-hander Mike Clevinger is working his way through an upper back strain that got him placed on the 60-day injured list with June being listed as a potential month for his return.
With their latest loss, the Indians (16-13) fell three games in back of the Minnesota Twins (19-10) in the American League Central Division standings, but here are three reasons still to be optimistic that the team can get things on track and challenge for their fourth consecutive division championship.
Bauer is on torrid pace
Indians starter Trevor Bauer was considered a contender for the 2018 American League Cy Young Award until suffering a broken bone in his right leg in a game at the Chicago White Sox last August, but despite that disappointing turn, he has emerged as a front-of-the-rotation pitcher once again.
In seven starts for the Indians this season, Bauer has a 4-1 record with a 2.45 earned run average and just 27 hits and 13 runs allowed in 47.2 innings of work. Despite allowing a team-high 23 walks over his first seven starts, Bauer has registered 55 strikeouts and limited opposing hitters to a .167 batting average.
Over the last two years, Bauer is 16-7 with a 2.26 ERA and 276 strikeouts against 80 walks allowed over 223 innings pitched.
Rodriguez showing promise
Not much was known about right-handed pitcher Jefry Rodriguez when he was acquired, along with outfielder Daniel Johnson, from the Washington Nationals in exchange for all-star catcher Yan Gomes on November 30, but the opening salvo has been an impressive one for the 25-year old.
In two spot starts in place of Clevinger, Rodriguez has an 0-1 record with a 2.13 earned run average, three earned runs, eight hits and two walks allowed against six strikeouts over 12.2 innings of work for the Indians.
Rodriguez has limited opposing hitters to a .178 batting average at the Major League level this season.
Long way to go
Managers and players alike have long said that the baseball season is not a sprint, but a marathon, and in those terms, the Indians have just passed the five-mile marker in the 26.2-mile race.
Although the Indians are more than a month into the 2019 season, there are 133 games remaining in the regular season, meaning the rotation and the lineup have time to right themselves, even without Kluber, and round into shape for a run at the team’s fourth consecutive division championship.
After opening the season in Minnesota in late March, the Indians have 16 games remaining against the Twins, and 13 of those contests come after the MLB All-Star break in mid-July.
The Indians, who matched their best start under Francona with the 16-13 record through the first 29 games and had the second-best March/April showing in club history, will look to get things going in a positive direction again when they host a weekend series against the Seattle Mariners at Progressive Field.