Kluber Tosses Gem, K's 10 for 5Th Start in a Row All-Star
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Kluber tosses gem, K's 10 for 5th start in a row All-Star ace pitches eight innings of one-run ball, but loses By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | July 4th, 2017 + 1 COMMENT CLEVELAND -- Corey Kluber peered in to get the sign, but Indians catcher Yan Gomes was resting on both knees. It was then that the Indians' ace noticed the decibel level was rising at Progressive Field, along with the stadium's sellout crowd. For a brief moment, Kluber stepped off the rubber to allow the standing ovation to run its course in the eighth inning. Then, it was back to work for Kluber, whose record-setting gem went for naught in a 1-0 loss to the Padres on Tuesday night. In a tough defeat, Kluber's audience recognized his club-record fifth start in a row with double-digit strikeouts. "They got loud, which was pretty cool," Kluber said. Inside Cleveland's clubhouse after the loss, there was plenty of disappointment over seeing Kluber's eight-inning masterpiece go to waste. In the fifth, shortstop Francisco Lindor and second baseman Jason Kipnis each misfired in an attempt to turn double plays, leading to San Diego's lone run on a fielder's choice. In the batter's box, the Indians put seven runners in scoring position, yet never scored. Save for grabbing a bat himself, Kluber did all he could to try to win. Instead, in his first start since being named an American League All-Star, the right-hander took his third loss of the season. "He's been lights out.," Kipnis said. "That's not an earned run. That's on me. That's on the defense. It's tough. It's impressive that he only needs one or two to get it done, so you don't want him to change anything. We'll make the adjustment." Kluber struck out 10, walked one and allowed five hits. His streak of five games with 10 or more strikeouts marks the 27th time since 1913 that a pitcher has enjoyed such a run. Eight straight games with 10-plus strikeouts is the record (Pedro Martinez in 1999; Chris Sale in 2015 and again earlier this year). Kluber joined Martinez, Nolan Ryan, Curt Schilling, J.R. Richard, Dwight Gooden and Max Scherzer as the only right-handers to have a double- digit strikeout steak of five or more games. "He's getting stronger, confident," said Indians bench coach Brad Mills, who managed in place of Terry Francona. "The way he's throwing the ball is absolutely outstanding. There's no doubt." Dating back to June 1, when Kluber came off the disabled list after a month-long bout with a lower back injury, the right-hander has been overpowering. In seven starts over that span, Kluber has a 1.24 ERA, with 74 strikeouts against eight walks. He has a 0.69 WHIP in that span, and has limited batters to a .155/.196/.207 slash line. Over that stretch, Kluber also has a 40.2-percent strikeout rate, with 18.8 percent of his pitches resulting in swinging strikes. Despite missing a month, Kluber was still named an All-Star. "It's an honor," said Kluber, who will join teammates Andrew Miller, Michael Brantley, Jose Ramirez and Lindor in Miami next week. "I'm looking forward to it. I think it'll be cool to go down there with four other guys, and get to represent the Indians and kind of take in the couple days. Hopefully, I'll have a lot of fun." One day after the All-Star announcement, Kluber was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for June. And on Tuesday, the pitcher's home fans had a chance to give him a rousing ovation. "He deserves it, that's for sure," Mills said. Covering the Bases: Game 82 by Jordan Bastian FIRST: Corey Kluber took the mound on Tuesday not only as a former Cy Young Award winner, but now a two-time All-Star. Even with a month spent on the shelf this year, the Tribe’s ace was named to the American League’s elite squad on Sunday night. It seemed fitting that Kluber’s opponent was the Padres, who took the righty in the fourth round of the 2007 MLB Draft. Kluber always had a knack for strikeouts, but he was never a highly-touted prospect with San Diego. The pitcher Indians fans see today is completely different in approach than the one the Padres traded away to Cleveland in 2010. When Kluber took on the Padres, none of that history really crossed his mind. “They drafted me, but I’ve been here since 2010, which is the majority of my career,” Kluber said. “I never made it past Double-A with the Padres before I got traded, so it’s not like I necessarily am playing against the team that I broke in with or anything like that. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anybody left on that team that I even played with. I didn’t think much of it.” Really, Kluber is less a product of the Padres and more a product of Cleveland’s scouting department, player development group and Major League staff. The ace that took the mound on Tuesday is a credit to the Indians’ work behind the scenes over the past several years. And, when you look at the Indians’ five All-Stars, they are each examples of how Cleveland has to construct a winning product. Kluber was an unheralded prospect acquired via trade and developed by the Indians. Michael Brantley was also obtained via trade from the Brewers as a Minor Leaguer. Not only did he develop into an All-Star, but his latest trip is a testament not only to his work ethic, but to the work of the Indians’ medical staff. Then, there’s Francisco Lindor, who was taken in the first-round of the 2011 MLB Draft. He was a skinny shortstop known for his defensive wizardry back then. Now, he’s developed into an all-around threat and is one of the budding faces of the game. Cleveland’s two other All-Stars are Jose Ramirez and Andrew Miller. The first was signed as an international free-agent and was hardly a blip on anyone’s radar until the last couple years. Now, he’s starting at third base for the American League. Miller’s talent is without question, but it also took a haul of four prospects to get the lefty from the Yankees last summer. On Sunday night, when the five All-Stars were unveiled, Indians manager Terry Francona shot Chris Antonetti, the team’s president of baseball operations, a text message: “I hope you’re proud.” From the top of the front office and all the way down to the area scouts, there was a lot of organizational pride over the five players who were named to the AL’s team. “We talk about it all the time,” Antonetti said. “For us to be the championship caliber organization that we aspire to be, we have to get contributions from every aspect of our operation. And they have to work together for us to achieve those results. There’s not one element of our organization that has not impacted our success. “Our Latin American operations. Our amateur scouting, our professional scouting, our player development, our Major League staff, our medical department. All of those areas made contributions in helping each of those guys individually and obviously the larger organization itself.” SECOND: Alas, Kluber was hung with a hard-luck loss against his former organization. More on that in a minute. First, let’s take a moment to appreciate what the Indians ace has done since coming off the disabled list. Since June 1, here are Kluber’s statistics: 1.24 ERA 0.69 WHIP 40.2 K% 18.8 SwK% .155 AVG .196 OBP .207 SLG 51 IP 74 K 36 TB 27 H 8 BB 1 HR Against the Padres, Kluber allowed one run on five hits over eight innings, ending with 10 strikeouts and one walk. That gave Kluber a club- record five straight games with 10 or more strikeouts. Bob Feller owned the previous record of four (between the end of ’38 and the start of ‘39). This marks the 27th time that a pitcher has had a double-digit K streak of at least five games, and the third time this year (Chris Sale 8, Max Scherzer 6). Kluber joins Pedro Martinez (six times), Nolan Ryan (three times), Curt Schilling, Dwight Gooden, J.R. Richard and Scherzer (once apiece) as the only right-handers to achieve the feat since 1913. Among the 13 instances of exactly five double-digit K games in a row, Kluber’s 0.92 ERA is the lowest. His four walks are tied for the second fewest (Randy Johnson had four in his five-game streak from Sept. 24, 1999-April 14, 2000). Kluber’s 18 hits allowed are the second fewest (behind the 16 Johan Santana yielded in his five-game run from June 20-July 11, 2004). Kluber’s 0.92 ERA is actually the lowest of all 27 such streaks. The record for consecutive games with 10-plus strikeouts is eight, achieved by Pedro in 1999 and by Chris Sale twice (2015 and earlier this year). If you do starts and not just games, Pedro’s streak was 10 in a row from Aug. 19, 1999-April 9, 2000. One of my favorite club records that Kluber owns is outings with 10-plus strikeouts and no more than one walk.