Salazar Settles Into Duel, but Tribe Falls to Sox by Jordan
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Salazar settles into duel, but Tribe falls to Sox By Jordan Bastian and Scott Merkin / MLB.com | April 12th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- Derek Holland might be wearing a new uniform, but the results against the Indians looked the same. The White Sox left- hander has tormented Cleveland's lineup over his career, and that did not change in a 2-1 victory for Chicago on Wednesday at Progressive Field. Holland carried a no-hitter through five innings and ended with one hit surrendered over six shutout frames for the White Sox. That performance -- one that included four strikeouts and four walks -- lowered his career ERA to 1.02 in 35 1/3 innings in Cleveland. In his career against the Tribe, Holland has gone 6-1 with a 2.35 ERA (61 1/3 innings). "Early in the game, he established his fastball," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "It seemed like he put the fastball in our heads, and then he went to his offspeed and was really good. I mean, we hit a few balls hard. On a night when we needed something to drop, they didn't. But, we didn't have a whole lot going against him." "I love pitching here," said Holland, a native of Newark, Ohio. "This is where I'm home." Cleveland's lack of offense spoiled a solid effort from right-hander Danny Salazar, who tied a career high with 11 strikeouts. Over six innings, Salazar scattered four hits and allowed two runs, which both came on a base hit from Matt Davidson in the second. The White Sox went 1-for- 16 with 10 strikeouts after Davidson's single. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Holland holds his ground: After holding the Indians to an 0-for-15 showing to open his outing, Cleveland posted "Derek Holland is throwing a no-hitter" on the scoreboard. The next batter, Francisco Lindor, doubled to left to end the lefty's bid at history. Holland later walked slugger Edwin Encarnacion, giving the Tribe a chance to break through with one out. After a mound visit, Holland induced a flyout from Jose Ramirez and a popout from Brandon Guyer to escape unscathed. "Just stay calm, stay focused," Holland said. "I knew [catcher Omar Narvaez] was going to keep me right there. You are not going to give in just because of the situation." Lindor or bust: The Indians' struggling lineup tried to mount a rally in the eighth against White Sox reliever Nate Jones. Carlos Santana singled and then Lindor sent a pitch high off the wall in center for a double. The shortstop pumped his fist and yelled upon reaching second. Lindor needed more help from his friends, though. Santana scored on a groundout by Michael Brantley, but then Encarnacion (strikeout) and Ramirez (groundout) could not come through. "It's just one day," Brantley said of the offense's struggles. "We'll kind of get it rolling and it will take off from there. We all need to get in a rhythm, just relax, kind of pass it on to one another. We'll be just fine." GETTING DEFENSIVE Ramirez turned in a highlight-reel defensive gem in the eighth inning, doing his part to keep the White Sox from building on their lead. With one out, Melky Cabrera sent a pitch from Dan Otero up the middle with an exit velocity of 107 mph. Ramirez, playing second, sprinted to his right, snared the sharply hit grounder and threw across his body to first. Ramirez's throw narrowly beat Cabrera to the bag for the second out of the inning. "That was a great play," Francona said. "He's a good defender wherever you put him." QUOTABLE "I feel like I've played a month already with baseball that was really competitive. Those were very intense games in the World Baseball Classic right out of the gate, so now you could say I'm trying to slow it down to get in a rhythm to last the season." -- White Sox closer David Robertson, who has fanned six in three scoreless innings. WHAT'S NEXT White Sox: Miguel Gonzalez makes his second start of the season and his first on the road against the Indians in Thursday night's series finale at Progressive Field, with a first pitch of 5:10 p.m. CT. Gonzalez is 4-1 with a 3.89 ERA lifetime against the Indians. Indians: Right-hander Josh Tomlin is slated to start for the Tribe in a 6:10 p.m. ET division clash with the White Sox on Thursday at Progressive Field. Last year, Tomlin posted a 1.83 ERA with a .194 opponents' average in three starts against Chicago. Kipnis exits rehab game after HBP on hand By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | April 12th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- Jason Kipnis' latest Minor League rehab assignment did not go as planned for the Indians. On Wednesday night, Kipnis was hit on the left hand by a pitch in the first inning of Double-A Akron's game against Trenton, leading to an early exit for the second baseman. Indians head athletic trainer James Quinlan said that Kipnis was removed from the game for precautionary reasons. Kipnis got the start at second base for the RubberDucks and was intending to play the first in a series of two or three consecutive games. Cleveland's second baseman injured his right shoulder early in Spring Training, opened the year on the 10-day disabled list and recently began a Minor League rehab stint with Akron. Kipnis played games on Sunday and Monday with no issues. After being hit by the pitch, Kipnis is unlikely to continue his rehab assignment on Thursday. The Indians should also have more information about his injury prior to Thursday's game against the White Sox. In the first inning of Wednesday's game, Kipnis battled Trenton left-hander Justus Sheffield for nine pitches, with the final offering striking the second baseman on the hand. Sheffield was a first-round Draft pick by the Indians in 2014 and was traded to the Yankees last summer as part of the blockbuster deal that brought relief ace Andrew Miller to the Tribe. Kipnis initially remained in the game, but was replaced by a pinch-hitter (Yhoxian Medina) in the third inning. Last season, Kipnis hit .275 with 23 home runs, 41 doubles, 82 RBIs, 91 runs and an .811 OPS for the Indians. With the second baseman on the shelf, the Indians moved third baseman Jose Ramirez to second and have been playing rookie Yandy Diaz at third. Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Major League Bastian, follow him on Twitter @MLBastian and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Lindor hot, but rest of Tribe hasn't followed By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | April 12th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- After sending a pitch off the wall in center field, Francisco Lindor pumped a fist, clapped his hands and shouted in the direction of the Indians' dugout as he stood on second base. The shortstop was trying to ignite an eighth-inning rally for a Cleveland lineup that has gone ice cold. On Wednesday night, Lindor was a one-man band, and the lack of help sent the Tribe to a 2-1 loss to the White Sox at Progressive Field. Lindor broke up Derek Holland's no-hit bid in the sixth and doubled in the eighth, but the wait continues for the rest of the Indians' order to wake up. "It's just one day," Indians outfielder Michael Brantley said. "We'll kind of get it rolling and it will take off from there. We all need to get in a rhythm, just relax, kind of pass it on to one another. We'll be just fine." This has gone on for more than one day, though. Cleveland has only played eight games, so the small-sample-size qualifier still very much applies, especially after the club churned out 21 runs in its three-game sweep of Texas to open the season. That said, the Indians have produced only 10 runs in the five games since that early outburst, with a 5-for-43 (.116 average) with runners in scoring position in that span. Lindor has been on a tear out of the gates, launching four home runs and posting a .333 average to go with a 1.250 OPS in the season's early going. The rest of the lineup has hit a combined .190 (44-for-232) through eight games. The Tribe's lone run on Wednesday came in the eighth, when Carlos Santana scored from third on a Brantley groundout. Lindor moved from The absence of support sent Danny Salazar to a loss, despite the fact that he tied a career high in strikeouts (11) and limited Chicago to two runs over six innings. "Their bats are a little bit slow right now," Salazar said. "But they'll be all right. They are great. They are amazing at fielding, hitting. It's early in the season." To date, Brantley has hit .208 and his average exit velocity of 86.6 mph (per Statcast™) ranked seventh among the eight Indians hitters with at least 10 balls in play, entering Wednesday. Santana (.235 average), Ramirez (.179) and Yan Gomes (.056) have also labored. Encarnacion, who signed a three-year contract worth $60 million over the winter, is batting .172 with one home run and one RBI.