CLEVELAND – Two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber Geronimo Allison Jersey ,
who is pitching like he wants to add a third Cy Young to his resume,
will be on the mound Friday night as the Cleveland Indians begin a
nine-game homestand with the opener of a three-game series against the
Minnesota Twins.
Kluber (10-2, 1.99 ERA) has gone six starts, 41
innings and 168 consecutive batters since he last walked a hitter. His
last walk came over a month ago, on May 8.
In six starts
since then, Kluber is 5-0 with a 1.09 ERA, 46 strikeouts and no walks in
41 innings. Kluber this season almost has more wins than walks. He has
10 of each.
One of those 10 wins came against the Twins,
on April 17, a 6-1 victory in which Kluber pitched 6 2/3 innings,
allowing one run and five hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
How good has Kluber been this year? His ERA in his two losses and his two no-decisions is 2.30. He could very easily be 14-0.
His
two losses were by the scores of 2-1 and 3-2. The score in one of his
no-decisions was 3-2. In the other no-decision, the Indians were winning
2-0 in the seventh inning when Kluber was removed from the game.
In 20 career starts against Minnesota, Kluber has a record of 9-5 with a 3.21 ERA.
Cleveland returns home after going 4-3 on a trip to Detroit and Chicago Frank Ragnow Color Rush Jersey , although the Indians have scored just eight runs in their last three games.
“We’ve been scuffling to score some runs the last few days,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.
The Twins come to Cleveland having just lost two of three games in Detroit.
Kluber’s
mound opponent of Friday will be right-hander Kyle Gibson (1-4, 3.45).
Gibson’s only win came in his first start of the season, on March 31.
Since then, he is 0-4 but with a decent 3.75 ERA.
Gibson’s
biggest problem has been a lack of run support from his teammates. In
Gibson’s 13 starts, the Twins have scored an average of 3.6 runs per
game.
Gibson’s last start against Cleveland came June 3
when he received no decision in a 7-5 Minnesota win. In that game,
Gibson pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and two hits with seven
strikeouts and two walks. In 14 career starts against Cleveland, Gibson
is 2-6 with a 5.60 ERA.
Minnesota’s lineup for Friday’s
game will have a different look after the Twins on Thursday optioned
struggling third baseman Miguel Sano to Class A Fort Myers. After
hitting .264 with 28 home runs and 77 RBIs last year, Sano this year was
batting .203 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs, and he had struck out in
nearly half (66) of his at-bats (148).
“He needs to be
the guy we think he can be. He’s not there right now,” Twins manager
Paul Molitor told MLB.com. “We have to take a step backwards here and
determine the steps moving forward.”
The Twins are also
expected to activate first baseman Joe Mauer off the disabled list on
Friday. Mauer has been sidelined since May 18 with a neck strain. The
Twins will announce another roster addition to replace outfielder Jake
Cave Oren Burks Jersey , who was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Thursday.
Addison
Russell and Chicago Cubs took advantage of the warm, windy weather at
Wrigley Field to power their way to a comeback win.
Russell
hit his second career grand slam, Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist each
had two-run homers and the Cubs rallied to beat the Minnesota Twins 10-6
on Friday.
Kyle Schwarber added his 16th home run, a solo
shot in the seventh, in a late afternoon contest that started with a
temperature of 96 degrees and a 12-mph breeze blowing out. Anthony Rizzo
completed Chicago’s scoring with an RBI single in the eighth as the
Cubs pulled away to win their third game in four following a five-game
slide.
Russell’s second homer – and four-RBI game – in two
days chased Twins starter Jose Berrios (8-6) with one out the fifth and
put Chicago ahead for the first time, 6-5. The shortstop’s deep fly to
left was pushed by a steady southwest wind as it narrowly reached the
Wrigley Field bleachers.
”I figured I got it pretty good,
but I thought I hit it a little too high,” Russell said. ”I’m happy that
it’s summertime in Chicago and now those balls are flying.”
Russell,
who got off to a slow start this season, has seven hits in 17 at-bats
over his last four games to raise his average to .282.
”I’ve
just been really trying to work on my approach with (hitting coach
Chili Davis) and myself, as well as my discipline at the plate,” Russell
said. ”It looks like it’s getting better.”
Joe Mauer
homered among three hits and finished with a season-high five RBIs for
the Twins. Mauer hit a three-run shot in the second and lined a two-run
double off Cubs starter Mike Montgomery in the fourth.
”Today Josh Jones Jersey ,
probably high-end extreme of favorable to the offensive side,” Twins
manager Paul Molitor said of the weather. ”It played a little bit of a
role in the game.
”I got a little bit of a boost I think on Joe’s ball and on (Russell’s) grand slam.”
Montgomery
(3-2) lasted five innings and earned the win despite giving up five
runs (three earned) and seven hits with three walks. Three Cubs
relievers followed with a scoreless inning each before Justin Wilson
allowed the Twins’ final run in the ninth.
Brandon Morrow came in to get the final out for his 17th save.
Berrios
lacked his usual velocity as he yielded a season-high six runs and four
walks. The right-hander was 3-0 with a 2.10 ERA over his previous five
starts.
”I thought I lost a little bit of stamina out there,” Berrios said. ”Scorching hot.”
Mauer’s
homer was just his second this season, following a solo shot on May 1,
and he hit the opposite-field drive despite being ill. The 35-year-old
first baseman last drove in five runs in a game last Sept. 17 against
Toronto.
Mauer’s drive with two outs in the second made it 3-0. The wind helped his fly carry into the left-field basket.
Heyward lined Berrios’ first pitch to him in the third into the right-center bleachers to cut it to 3-2.
Mauer’s double to center field in the fourth and plated two runs to extend the Twins’ lead to 5-2.
After
the Cubs loaded the bases in the fifth, Russell’s homer put them ahead.
Zobrist added his two-run shot to right in the sixth off Matt Magill to
make it 8-5.
BABY BOY BAEZ
INF Javier Baez
wasn’t in the lineup following the birth of his son Friday morning.
Baez, tied with Schwarber for the team lead with 16 homers, pinch hit in
the seventh and struck out.
TRAINERS ROOM
Twins:
INF/OF Taylor Motter was placed on the disabled list with concussion
like symptoms after hitting his chest hard against right field wall at
Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday while trying to make a catch. …
Minnesota recalled C/INF Willians Astudillo from Triple-A Rochester to
take Motter’s roster spot. … The Twins designated RHP Felix Jorge for
release or assignment.
Cubs: RHP Yu Darvish travelled to
Texas to see orthopedic surgeon Keith Meister for a fresh opinion on his
sore right triceps and got a new diagnosis: Right elbow impingement and
inflammation. Darvish also got a cortisone shot that will take
three-to-five days to settle in. The injury flared up in a bullpen
session on Thursday in Los Angeles and forced the Cubs to scrub
Darvish’s return to the rotation this weekend. . INF/OF Kris Bryant
(left shoulder inflammation) hit off a tee and took infield practice on
Friday. He could return on Tuesday when he’s eligible to come off the
disabled list. … RHP Carl Edwards Jr. (right shoulder inflammation) was
scheduled to make a rehab outing at Triple-A Iowa on Friday and is
nearing a return from the DL.
UP NEXT
Twins
LHP Adalberto Mejia makes his first major league appearance of the
season and faces Cubs RHP Tyler Chatwood (3-5, 3.95), who comes off the
paternity list. Mejia is 4-2 with 2.74 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) for
Triple-A Rochester, and was 4-7 with 4.50 ERA in 21 starts for the
Twins in 2017. The Twins sent RHP Alan Busenitz down to make room for
him.
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