Pérez's Power and (speed) lifts Tribe to third straight victory

Jack Butler jbutle58@lakers.mercyhust.edu

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Mike Clevinger (2-2, 4.44 ERA) returned to the mound on Wednesday night after one of the worst pitching performances of his young career to throw arguably his finest. Last Friday in Baltimore it was his first start in over ten days after being on the injured list with a sprained left ankle which was suffered in Arlington, TX on June 17th. He went 1.2 innings, yielding 5 hits, 7 runs, and walked 3 batters surrendering in his second loss of the season. Indians Manager, Terry Francona, expressed Clevinger was too “amped up” during his last two starts, but that drastically changed. Against the Royals, Clevinger made some adjustments by attacking hitters with a commanded fastball and by getting ahead in the count, which are both keys to being successful in the majors.

The game was scoreless through the first two frames of play when the Indians drew first blood by using speed from an unlikely source. Roberto Pérez led off the third with a gutsy triple, getting help from a friendly bounce off the right-field corner wall. He slid in safely at 3rd and with Jake Bauers batting scored on a Danny Duffy (3-5, 4.28 ERA) wild pitch. Clevinger threw up another zero in the bottom half and the Indians added onto an already slim lead when Carlos Santana drilled a one-out homer to left, his 19th during his All-Star campaign. The score was now 2-0 in favor of the Indians with five and a half innings left to play.

Clevinger was dominant during his last three innings competing on the pitching slab. The twenty-eight-year-old right-hander, in his fourth season in Cleveland, threw 3 more scoreless innings, striking out six, giving up two hits, and not allowing a free baserunner. In the bottom of the six, still in a very tight contest, Clevinger, strikes out speedy Billy Hamilton, yields a single to Whit Merrifield, who would steal second when Adalberto Mondesí strikes out and gets reliable left-fielder, Alex Gordon to chase a high fastball at 97 mph. Francona took “Sunshine” out of the game before the seventh, but could have given his skipper another inning or two by only throwing 79 pitches threw 6. In hindsight, it was the right move to bring in Nick Goody (0-0, 2.77 ERA) over sending a pitcher back out there who has made five starts through 85 games and attempting to ease him to say out longer as the season progresses.

Goody pitched a scoreless seventh and the Indians entered the eighth needing insurance runs. Leading off the frame was Jason Kipnis, walked by Kevin McCarthy. The right-handed reliever faced Pérez next, who lined a two-run shot just inside the left-field foul pole extending the Tribes lead to 4-0. Francona brought back Goody to face Martín Maldonado, Nicky Lopez, and Hamilton, the bottom of the order, retiring the side. For the second consecutive night, Brad Hand entered a non-save situation in the ninth, getting the job done, even though he gave up a hit.

The Indians won their third game in a row and are 8-3 in their last 11 contests. Clevinger was credited with his second victory of the season after tossing 6 scoreless innings, striking out 9, allowing only 4 hits and not even walking anybody. For the third game in a row, the Indians bullpen shout out the opposition with three scoreless frames versus Kansas City, allowing only one hit.

Pérez brought his brilliance to July, being named to the MLB team of the Month in June by hitting 7 homers and driving in 15. He had two extra-base hits, a triple, and a huge two-run homer in the eighth as his breakout season continues.

The finale of this three-game set will conclude this afternoon on Independence Day as the Royals will give the ball to Homer Bailey (7-6 4.87 ERA), who will face off against rookie right-hander, Zach Plesac (3-3, 3.61 ERA). The game will begin at 1:15 pm, SportsTime Ohio, WTAM and WMMS will carry the game.