Four pitchers combine for a one-hit shutout as Tribe blanks Tigers 8-0

Zach Plesac pitches against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field on Tuesday, July 16, 2019. His Outing was shortened due to the over two-hour rain delay. Photo by Cleveland.com.

Jack Butler jbutle58@lakers.mercyhurst.edu

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The weather has not been kind to Zach Plesac (3-3, ERA 3.56) whenever he takes the mound. In his very first Major League start on Tuesday, May 28, against the Red Sox, he went 1.0 inning, then there was a rain delay. Terry Francona decided to bring him out when play resumed, finishing with 5.1, giving up one run on four hits, walking a batter, and striking out only two.

Before the end of the first half Plesac was optioned to Triple-A Columbus to work on his mechanics and delivery. It definitely proved dividends for the twenty-four-year-old right-hander, as he was arguably throwing his best performance yet. He promptly walked the leadoff man, Victor Reyes, to immediately pick him off first base. With the pickoff, Plesac leads all of baseball with five and has only made nine starts, making it more incredible. He would retire the next eight Tiger hitters in order, facing the minimum of nine, but could not continue because of an extremely long rain delay.

One and a half innings prior to the delay, the Indians had a huge scoring outburst, plating five two-out runs. It all began when Jason Kipnis, laced a one-out double down the right-field line. Ryan Carpenter (1-6, 9.30 ERA) produced a ground out from Roberto Pérez, advancing Kipnis to third. With two down, Jake Bauers shot a ball the other way between second and third, bringing Kipnis home. The left-hander faced Tyler Naquin, who would single, the third hit of the frame, and scampering to third was Bauers. Two more runs came across when shortstop, Francisco Lindor hit a ball off the end of the bat directly hitting Brandon Dixon’s glove at first. It slowly rolled down the line into foul territory, plating Bauers and Naquin. The Indians weren’t done, and Carpenter’s evening would get worse. Rookie, Oscar Mercado hit an off-speed pitch down the first baseline, barely staying fair and over the fence for his seventh home run of the season.

Two more runs would be tacked off Carpenter during the third. Platoon man, Jordan Luplow, hit a two-bagger to left. Next up was José Ramírez, who traded places with him on a double to right, driving in Luplow. Kipnis hit a ball on the ground to Dixon, flipped it Carpenter, who dropped it and was charged with an error and another earned run.

Carpenter has two outings versus Cleveland this season and has struggled mightily, only pitching six innings, allowing fifteen runs and fifteen hits, walking five and striking out only four. Plesac and his defense were going to take the field for the fourth, however, the grounds crew began the process of putting the tarp on the field. There was heavy rain coming, but Francona wanted to keep playing as the Indians needed to pitch two more frames for it to be an official game.

The game was delayed for two hours and seven minutes with play resuming fifteen after ten. Tyler Clippard (0-0, 3.64) relieved Plesac, pitching two scoreless frames, yielding a hit in the fifth by Nicholas Castellanos, and striking out two. It was the only Tiger hit in the game as the Tribe bullpen continued to dominate. In the sixth, Nick Goody (1-0, 2.12) entered, retired all six Detroit batters, three via the strikeout, and is back to pitching as he did in 2017. Then Tyler Olson (1-0, 3.67 ERA) came in to pitch the eighth and ninth. Olson threw two frames of scoreless baseball, striking out two and not even one baserunner reached first base. Before the lefty finished the game, Naquin drilled a ball into the Cleveland night into the right-center field bullpens off Detroit’s Daniel Stumpf, extending it to an 8-0 lead.

Goody earned his first win of the year and has not been the winning pitcher since Saturday, June 17, 2017, when the Tribe defeated the Minnesota Twins 6-2. With the victory, the Indians continue to own the Tigers, going 10-1 this year out of the nineteen meetings. They edge closer to the top dogs, Minnesota in the AL Central to five games, with ten head to head contest remaining.

These two clubs will back at it tomorrow night for the third game of this four-game set.

The Indians will send Mike Clevinger (2-2, 3.99 ERA) on the pitching slab and opposing him will be the right handed rookie, Spencer Turnbull (3-8, 3.59 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm, SportsTime Ohio, WTMA, and, WMMS will carry the game.