Tribe sees Salazar extend post-DL trend Righty reaffirms club's call not to trade for starter before Deadline By William Kosileski / MLB.com | August 5th, 2017 + 1 COMMENT CLEVELAND -- When the Indians activated starter Danny Salazar from the disabled list on July 22, they were unsure of what exactly they would get from the right-hander. Two weeks later, after the hard-throwing hurler delivered his third consecutive quality start, the Indians couldn't be more confident in Salazar as a reliable option to give the ball to every fifth day. Salazar was nothing short of dominant on Saturday night against the Yankees at Progressive Field, allowing one run, four hits and three walks while striking out a career-high 12 in seven frames en route to a no-decision. Although the Tribe went on to lose, 2-1, Salazar's stellar, 112- pitch outing is something that the Indians and fans alike can hang their hats on. "That was good to see," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "[If] he pitches like that, we're all going to be happy." With his strong showing on Saturday, Salazar has now posted a 1.35 ERA and a 0.65 WHIP in his three starts since coming off the DL. In 20 innings across that trio of starts, Salazar has held opposing hitters to a .121/.183/.197 slash line while recording 28 strikeouts, giving him a 39.4 percent strikeout percentage in that span. "He's been doing that consistently the last couple starts since he's been back," Indians catcher Yan Gomes said on behalf of Salazar, who respectfully requested not to speak with the media after the game due to a hoarse voice. "It's really nice to see. I know from everyone else, everyone was kind of iffy on how he was going to kind of come back. He's healthy. We all know when he's healthy, he's a dangerous pitcher." Based on Salazar's first two outings off the DL, the Tribe opted to not pursue a starting pitching before the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline to start behind ace Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco. His display of dominance over the New York lineup on Saturday reaffirmed that decision. Other than the three walks he issued, the only blemish on Salazar's line came on an RBI double from Didi Gregorius in the first inning. After allowing that knock, Salazar held the Yankees to a 2-for-21 showing. "It's starting to show that he's kind of just letting it eat now," Gomes said. "You don't see the 89-90 [mph] out of nowhere; 89-90 is usually an offspeed. It's good that he's healthy, he's feeling good. Once his confidence starts rising, that's when we know he's going to be real good." In his final inning, Salazar struck out the side in order. His final pitch clocked in at 96 mph, resulting in a swinging third strike from Yankees catcher Austin Romine. "That's good to see, especially late in the game like that," Francona said of Salazar's velocity. "When he's nearing the end of his game, his last pitch I think was [96], and there was some purpose behind it. ... When you can go get another gear that late, that's impressive." Salazar handed the ball over to Zach McAllister in the eighth, but the reliever allowed a solo homer to Chase Headley that ultimately proved to be the difference in the ballgame. Afterward, McAllister praised Salazar for his consistency since rejoining the rotation. "I think it's great for anybody that we face," McAllister said. "To see the staff that we have, especially [with Salazar] getting on a roll, he's an All- Star. He has All-Star stuff. When he's locked in, he's one of the best in baseball." Tribe can't back brilliant Salazar, fall on late HR By Jordan Bastian and Bryan Hoch / MLB.com | August 5th, 2017 + 189 COMMENTS CLEVELAND -- The Yankees needed to get Indians right-hander Danny Salazar off the mound on Saturday night. Once his overpowering outing came to a close, Chase Headley delivered a go-ahead home run for New York, paving the way for a 2-1 win at Progressive Field that halted Cleveland's nine-game home winning streak. The decisive blow arrived in the eighth inning, when Zach McAllister took over for Salazar and then yielded the one-out solo shot to Headley to put the Indians behind, 2-1. Salazar was hung with a no-decision after notching a career high in strikeouts (12) and a season high in pitches (112) over his seven dominant frames. "It was big. We haven't been swinging the bats great," Headley said. "Part of that is us and part of that is their starting pitching. It was a big swing. I wasn't sure when I hit it, but it had enough and fortunately it carried out. It was enough to get us a win." With the Royals-Mariners game postponed, the loss trimmed the Tribe's lead atop the American League Central to three games over Kansas City. The Yankees held firm to the AL's top Wild Card spot and remained three games back of the Red Sox in the AL East. "The guy comes out there, gives us seven innings, one run, 12 strikeouts," Indians catcher Yan Gomes said of Salazar. "I mean, he's been doing that consistently the last couple starts since he's been back. It's really nice to see." • Indians see Salazar extend post-DL trend Yankees left-hander Jordan Montgomery also walked away with a no-decision after limiting the Tribe to one run on three hits over five innings. Montgomery, who struck out seven and walked none, flinched only in the second, when Carlos Santana crushed a hanging curveball over the 19-foot wall in left for a home run. The blast was Santana's 16th of the season. • What's next for Montgomery? "He kind of leverages the ball downhill," Indians manager Terry Francona said of Montgomery. "And his breaking ball, it was in and out of the zone and we had a really tough time laying off. Once a couple of them got called, then we started to chase it more. Their staff is really good. We made it probably even tougher, because we started going out of the zone more. They really took advantage of that." The Yankees' only other breakthrough arrived via an RBI double from Didi Gregorius in the first inning. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Gardy's got it: The sellout crowd of 34,651 roared in the ninth as Jose Ramirez lifted a deep fly ball to left field off Aroldis Chapman, sparking images of a possible two-run, walk-off homer. Brett Gardner had a different idea, as the Gold Glove Award-winning outfielder expertly tracked the ball to the wall and timed his leap perfectly on the warning track to take away what could have been an extra-base hit. Ronald Torreyes added a diving catch to steal a hit from the next batter, Edwin Encarnacion. Gardner's spectacular catch Gardner's spectacular catch Brett Gardner ranges toward the track and leaps to make a great catch in the bottom of the 9th inning "When he hit it, I wasn't sure," Gardner said. "I knew it was pretty high and I knew it was going to be really close to being a catchable ball. I just wasn't sure if it was going to land on the track or be halfway up the wall. It's a ball that [Aaron] Judge probably catches without having to jump. I'm fortunate it wasn't hit six inches higher, because it could have been a different result in the game." "Gardner makes a great play. And then the little bloop right there was a nice diving catch, too," McAllister said. "We had our chances right there. It's just one of those where that's tough. You have to tip your cap. They made good plays and we just missed a home run. There were multiple things where if the ball goes a different way, it's a different ballgame." More > Ellsbury's dive: After Francisco Lindor led off the sixth with a rocketed single off the wall in right, Brandon Guyer flared a pitch from David Robertson to shallow center. The ball looked destined for the grass until Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury dove to snare it at the last moment. Per Statcast™, the catch probability on the play was 75 percent, making it a 3-Star play for Ellsbury. The catch proved important, considering Michael Brantley followed with a single to left, before Robertson retired the next two batters to escape further harm. "Just because we're not scoring a lot of runs doesn't mean we can't win ballgames," Robertson said. "The pitching just has to get the job done, and we were able to do that tonight." QUOTABLE "I guess now it was a bad idea. It's one of those things, man. If the pitch is a little lower, Headley either takes or rolls over. Credit to Headley, man. He put a good swing on it. It pretty much won them the ballgame." -- Gomes, on calling back-to-back curves to Headley in the eighth inning WHAT'S NEXT Yankees: Right-hander Luis Severino (8-4, 2.98 ERA) is scheduled to work in Sunday's 1:10 p.m.