Indians take 'throwback' Clement in Round 4 By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | June 13th, 2017 + 0 COMMENTS CLEVELAND -- This is the era of . As power numbers rise across the board for hitters, swing-and-miss rates have also escalated to all-time levels. There is a growing obsession with launch angle, and batters are doing all they can to increasingly drive pitches airborne.

Ernie Clement is cut from a vintage cloth. "He's a throwback," said Brian O'Connor, the head for University of Virginia. In the fourth round of the MLB Draft on Tuesday, the Indians grabbed Clement -- a middle infielder for the Cavaliers -- with the 132nd overall selection. Ranked as the 114th best Draft prospect by MLB.com, Clement features a quick-strike swing that generates a high rate of contact. His calling card is being a nuissance for opposing , who rarely put him away with a .

This past season with Virginia, the 21-year-old Clement, who is viewed as a by Cleveland, struck out only seven times in 285 plate appearances. Over his three collegiate campaigns, the right-handed hitter struck out 31 times in 841 plate appearances, which equates to a 3.7-percent strikeout rate. Right now in the Majors, the league's 21.6-percent strikeout rate is on target to establish a single-season record for the 10th straight year. "Those are things that we obviously value and look for," said Brad Grant, the Indians' senior director of amateur scouting. "You don't see it very often, but it's a great, great trait to have." Clement takes a lot of pride in spoiling a 's best pitch, and fighting his way through an at-bat until he gets something he can handle. "That's always been the way I played," Clement said on Tuesday. "I didn't strike out much in high school. I do see all these guys striking out a ton and taking a bunch of pitches, and that was just never how I went about the game." During his career at Virginia, Clement used his aggressive approach to post a .306/.345/.376 slash line under O'Connor. This past season, he hit .315, churned out 80 hits in 58 games, while scoring 56 runs, collecting 34 RBIs and stealing 14 bases. Clement played short this year, but spent time between second and center field in the previous two seasons. Clement was named the Cape Cod League MVP in 2016 after hitting .353 in 40 games. "He's tough as nails," O'Connor said. "I talked to a lot of scouts that watched a lot of our games that said they wouldn't be surprised if he's the one who makes the big leagues and stays there the longest. So, I think the year that he had, the summer that he had in the Cape Cod League, he climbed up peoples' boards from that." The Draft concludes on Wednesday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at noon ET. Clement had an inkling that he was on the Indians' radar, given the conversations he had with representatives from the team dating back to last fall. So, when his phone rang a few minutes ahead of being taken in the fourth round, Clement was not surprised that Cleveland planned on picking him. He told his advisor that he wanted to jump at the chance to join the Indians' system, but kept the news quiet. Clement then waited to watch the reaction of his parents, sister and both grandmothers when his name was called. "I wanted them to kind of be surprised," Clement said. "We were just so excited. It was probably one of the coolest moments of my entire life. I'm just so, so lucky and so humbled and I'm so glad I got to experience it with them."

Tribe's Day 2 highlighted by OF Rodriguez By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | June 13th, 2017 + 0 COMMENTS CLEVELAND -- Francisco Lindor spent a lot of time around veteran Carlos Beltran this spring, while they both suited up for Puerto Rico during the . The Indians' shortstop wanted to dive into the wealth of knowledge that Beltran possesses.

While Beltran served as one of the faces of Puerto Rican baseball for several years, Lindor and a crop of other young players are emerging as the latest wave of stars from the island. On Tuesday, Cleveland hoped it found another future star in the third round (No. 102) of the MLB Draft, taking raw outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico.

"That's special. I wish him nothing but the best," Lindor said. "I will probably call or text him at some point [soon] to congratulate him, because getting drafted by our organization is always special. It's always an honor. I definitely will reach out to him. "I have never been to [the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy], but it's a good school back home. There's three baseball academies over there that are helping the kids. I'm looking forward to meeting the kid. It's a dream come true." On Monday night, Cleveland grabbed high school outfielder Quentin Holmes (pick No. 64) and prep shortstop Tyler Freeman (pick No. 71) on the first night of the Draft. The Draft concludes on Wednesday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at noon ET. Rodriguez, who will turn 18 in November, hails from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, and is listed as a 6-foot-3, 180-pound outfielder. The switch-hitter boasts a strong arm (already deemed a 60 on the scouting scale, per ) and has offensive upside. Rodriguez was named a 2017 Rawlings-Perfect Game second-team All-American and made the Canada-Puerto Rico All-Region first team. "What we really like about Johnathan is just his age," Indians senior director of amateur scouting Brad Grant said. "He's the second-youngest player in the Draft this year, a guy that we're very excited to be able to get with a third-round pick and a guy that we think can come on with the bat and eventually hit for a lot of power in the future." Round 4 (132nd overall): 2B , University of Virginia Cleveland's first collegiate draftee of this class was one of the hardest hitters to strike out in the nation this past season. Clement, 21, was ranked 114th in MLB.com's Top 200 Draft prospects and likely benefited from scouts heading to UVA to watch first-round teammates and . "Ernie was a stand-alone player," said Virginia head coach Brian O'Connor. "I talked to a lot of scouts that watched a lot of our games that said they wouldn't be surprised if he's the one who makes the big leagues and stays there the longest. So I think the year that he had, the summer that he had in the Cape Cod League, he climbed up people's boards from that." What evaluators saw was a high-contact hitter who struck out only seven times in 254 at-bats this year. For his career, the right-handed-hitting Clement fanned just 31 times in 745 college at-bats. In 58 games, he posted a .315/.345/.366 slash line with eight extra-base hits, 14 steals and 80 hits. Clement was the 2016 Cape Cod League Most Valuable Player and was named third-team All-ACC in both '16 and '17. Round 5 (162nd overall): OF Austen Wade, Texas Christian University The Indians grabbed their fifth position player of the Draft in Wade, who has shown strong strike-zone discipline throughout his career at TCU. In three seasons with the Horned Frogs, Wade amassed 113 walks compared to 93 strikeouts. This past season, the corner outfielder (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) hit .342/.453/.504 with five homers, 16 doubles, three triples, 37 RBIs and 15 steals. "We like the versatility in the outfield," Grant said. "He's a plus runner who can move around. He's playing right field now, but he can play center. He has the tools to be able to play center. He can play left. And he's another guy we like the contact ability with." Round 6 (192nd overall): C Michael Rivera, University of Rivera, who is ranked 172nd on MLB.com's Top 200 Draft prospects list, missed a chunk of the 2017 campaign due to a broken hamate bone in his hand. While healthy, the threw out 8-of-10 would-be basestealers and was an above-average defender. Offensively, Rivera hit .241/.344/.346 in 41 games for the Gators, but it is his skills behind the plate that are his calling card. "[He's] an elite catch-throw prospect," Grant said. "He's a very good framer. He has a very good understanding of how to call a game. He works extremely well with the pitchers. A great leader and a guy we're excited about defensively behind the plate." Round 7 (222nd overall): LHP Kirk McCarty, University of Southern Mississippi It took seven rounds for Cleveland to take a pitcher in this year's Draft. In McCarty, the Indians are getting a 5-foot-10, 185-pound southpaw who averaged 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings this past season. In 17 starts, McCarty went 10-2 with a 3.52 ERA, striking out 103 and walking 22 in 99 2/3 innings. He made First-Team All-Conference USA. "His ability to throw strikes is what stands out with him," Grant said. "[We] realized in the seventh round that we had not taken any pitchers yet. We realized that we probably should. We had truly settled on taking the best player available and making sure we got the best player available." Round 8 (252nd overall): RHP , Gonzaga University The Indians grabbed a collegiate arm for the second pick in a row, taking a righty who boasts a plus . In his career at Gonzaga, Morgan tallied 281 strikeouts in 257 1/3 innings. This past season, he went 10-2 with a 2.86 ERA, piling up 138 strikeouts against 31 walks in 100 2/3 innings. Morgan was one of four pitchers in the nation to have multiple 15-strikeout games in 2017. "He's an elite strike-thrower," Grant said. "The changeup has a chance to be an above-average pitch for him. He's another guy we were excited to be able to have the opportunity to draft." Round 9 (282nd overall): RHP , Bryant University Karinchak (No. 163 on MLB.com's Top 200 Draft prospects list) has flashed first-round stuff in the past, but arm issues during his junior year caused both his pitch velocity and Draft stock to drop. The righty hit 96 mph on his before a shoulder issue in March, and he came back sitting around 90-93 mph on the radar gun. Karinchak still struck out 86 in 56 2/3 innings, posting a 3.65 ERA in 13 starts in his third season. For his career, the righty with a three-pitch mix (fastball, curve and changeup) registered 272 strikeouts against 103 walks with a 2.83 ERA in 229 innings. "There's some concerns with that," Grant said of the shoulder injury. "But that's something that we kind of look at as a positive. You look back at some of those guys that we've done it with in the past, like [Brady] Aiken in the first round [in 2015]. For us, we feel like our medical staff is a competitive advantage." Round 10 (312th overall): SS Jesse Berardi, St. John's University Ranked 166th among MLB.com's Top 200 Draft prospects, the left-handed-hitting Berardi features a high-contact swing that helped him hit at a .356 clip as a junior for St. John's. In 55 games, the shortstop had 15 extra-base hits, 12 steals, 47 RBIs, 47 runs, more walks (38) than strikeouts (35) and a .918 OPS. Berardi was drafted out of high school in 2014 (40th round by the Phillies), but he opted to head to college. In three years at St. John's, he posted an .838 OPS. He played shortstop as a junior, but he likely projects as a second baseman down the road. "[He's] handled the bat well," Grant said. "[And he] has the ability to play short and then move around to other positions as well. We'll start him off as a shortstop."

Covering the Bases: Game 61 by Jordan Bastian FIRST: This is a postgame quote from Andrew Miller: “I just need to be sharper and make better pitches.”

That is Andrew Miller, the reliever with the 0.55 ERA and baseball’s third-best Win Probability Added (2.27) among relievers. This is Andrew Miller, he of the 9.8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. It’s the same Andrew Miller who last season became the only pitcher in baseball history to have 120- plus strikeouts and fewer than 10 walks in a single season.

“I need to be better at getting ahead and throwing strikes,” Miller said.

Guess what? Miller had an off night. It happens. I think we can all give him a pass. The homer that he allowed to on Tuesday night was the first homer (shoot, the second ) that the lefty has given up all season.

Breaking news: “He is human. He is a human being,” said Indians outfielder Daniel Robertson.

With the game caught in a 2–2 tie in the sixth, Indians pulled and handed the ball to Miller with two outs and the bases loaded. Miller escaped that jam by striking out Yasiel Puig, and then set the Dodgers down in order in the seventh.

With the left-handed-hitting Bellinger due up to lead off the eighth, Francona stuck with Miller. The lefty fell behind, 2–1, and then fired a to the rookie. The pitch hung over the heart of the zone… …and Bellinger did what good hitters do: https://medium.com/media/82bfe81f39332944d1ac02f170d7be3b/href Heading into the night, batters had a .208 collectively against Miller’s slider in the past three years combined. That’s up to .217 now. Lefties (.340 SLG) have a better mark than righties (.167) in that span. This year, lefties have a .368 SLG vs. Miller’s slider, compared to .093 for righties.

Now, I think you understand Miller’s frustration.

“That first pitch wasn’t competitive,” Miller said. “And then I didn’t really throw a great one that he fouled off. I missed with the one to fall behind in the count. It’s pretty easy to look back to see where I was. Even then, I felt like if I would’ve executed a good one, I like my chances.

“I left it in a spot where he can hit it pretty well. He’s a hot hitter with a pretty good approach right now, so it’s easy to point back and see where that one did not go well.”

SECOND: As it happened, that was the first of two home runs that Bellinger would launch against Indians’ lefties on the night. The second shot came an inning later off veteran Boone Logan: https://medium.com/media/d15955c1c0415603e84cdaea1e66bd5c/href Both blasts came on sliders to virtually the same location: Thanks to those two hangers, Bellinger:

Became the fastest hitter to ever reach four career multi-homer games, doing so in 45 contests. The previous fastest was Bob Horner, who did so in his first 63 career games in 1978. Tied the second-most home runs (17) within a player’s first career 45 games. Gary Sanchez ownes the MLB record for that with 19 last season. Became the first Dodgers player to have back-to-back multi-homer games since 2004 (Adrian Beltre) Joined Mike Piazza (five in 1993) and Corey Seager (four in 2016) as the only Dodgers rookies to have at least four multi-homer games in one season. Joined as the only lefty hitters with two homers in the same game with exit velocities of at least 105 mph in the Statcast Era (2015– 17). THIRD: Miller, Logan, Dan Otero and combined to allow five runs in 2.2 innings of work for the Indians. That’s hardly a typical night for the Tribe , which has an MLB-leading 2.56 ERA even after this loss.

“We all have the utmost confidence to bring them in and shut the game down,” Bauer said. “That’s why nights like this are so surprising. I think with a lot of , nights like this happen fairly regularly. The fact that when it does happen, you sit there and you notice it and it’s a shock, it’s just a testament to how good they are night in and night out.

“Every ‘pen has a bad night like this. It will happen again this year, I’m sure, but limiting the frequency is what makes a bullpen good and what our bullpen is really good at.”

Heading into the evening, those four relievers had a 2.01 ERA combined in 98.2 innings. To answer your next question, yes, Miller accounts for a considerable part of that sample. Remove him, though, and the others still came in with a 2.81 ERA.

HOME: Oh hey, by the way, pitched, too.

Bauer was effective over 5.2 innings, in which his only setback was a two-run homer by Puig in the second. The right-hander held his own against the Dodgers ace, who allowed two runs over seven innings.

Said Bauer: “Actually, I threw a lot of bad pitches tonight that didn’t get hit. For the first time all year, I think the results were better than I actually pitched. I was glad I was able to keep the team close on a night that I wasn’t my best.”

Kershaw wasn’t at his best, either. For only the third time in the past five seasons, the lefty had no more than four strikeouts and at least two walks in an outing. Jason Kipnis doubled twice against Kershaw. Michael Brantley had an RBI single and a walk. Daniel Robertson doubled and scored. And Roberto Perez had a 110-mph homer to the left-field bleachers.

“He is one of the best in the game. He’s Clayton Kershaw,” Robertson said. “The guy is on a pedestal, probably, that few sit on, and I think tonight we battled with him. I think tonight, we went toe-to-toe with him for seven innings. We were a big hit away. I think we played very well tonight against one of the best in the league, against a playoff team. And that’s what it’s all about.”

EXTRAS: In the bottom of the ninth, Robertson stepped to the plate after what should’ve been the game’s final out. Lonnie Chisenhall reached on a wild pitch after a strikeout, putting two aboard for Robertson. The Indians outfielder yanked a pitch from Chris Hatcher out to left for a three-run homer, his first career blast. https://medium.com/media/eed401518fb8200ab2902b1a71593d79/href “I was trying to get on base,” Robertson said. “I knew that if I could bring Kipnis to the plate, it would be one run to seven. So after I hit it, I was pumped because we got a little bit of momentum.”

That forced the Dodgers to hand the ball to , who struck out Kipnis to halt Cleveland’s comeback bid.

“There was some good baseball being played tonight,” Robertson said. “I thought it was fun for the fans, and it was fun for us too to be apart of that. That’s what this game is all about. That’s what we come to the yard every day for for.”

Bauer battles Kershaw, but LA bests Miller By William Kosileski and Ben Weinrib / MLB.com | June 13th, 2017 + 190 COMMENTS CLEVELAND -- Cody Bellinger not only had his fourth multi-homer game of the season, but he became the first player this season to hit a off Indians reliever Andrew Miller. The Dodgers' rookie connected for a go-ahead solo shot in the eighth inning off Miller, and added a three-run home run in the ninth to back Clayton Kershaw and lead the Dodgers to a 7-5 victory at Progressive Field on Tuesday.

Bellinger's home run off Miller was the first homer that Miller has allowed since Game 7 of the 2016 , when Cubs catcher took the left-hander deep. Bellinger finished the series opener with three hits -- two homers and a double -- and four RBIs, and he now has five home runs in his last three games. "I had a lot of tips going into that at-bat," Bellinger said. "We focused on them early before the game. We knew we were probably going to face him every game here. He's got nasty stuff. I just tried not to do too much. He threw the slider. I just tried to get my barrel to it, and luckily it got out." That was all that Kershaw needed, as the lefty held the Tribe to two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four in seven innings to pick up his ninth win of the season. The Dodgers added an insurance run in the eighth when Chris Taylor came home on a fielder's choice off the bat of Joc Pederson. Dodgers Yasiel Puig slugged a two-run homer -- his 10th of the season -- in the second off Indians starter Trevor Bauer. The Indians right- hander went 5 2/3 innings and struck out five, allowing two runs on six hits and three walks en route to a no-decision. "I thought [Bauer] battled," Indians bench coach said. "I thought he battled through it. I think we've seen that before. I'm sure that he would say that he'd like to have a couple of those pitches [back]. Put him in some better counts, keep the pitch count down. But at the same time, he really gave us everything he had and battled through some tough situations there as well." The Indians scored both of their runs off Kershaw. The first came on an RBI single from Michael Brantley in the third inning, and the second on a solo home run from catcher Roberto Perez. Outfielder Daniel Robertson hit a three-run home run -- the first homer of his career in 351 plate appearances -- with two outs in the ninth off Dodgers reliever Chris Hatcher. "He is one of the best in the game. He's Clayton Kershaw," Robertson said. "The guy is on a pedestal, probably, that few sit on, and I think tonight we battled with him. … We went toe to toe with him for seven innings. We were a big hit away. I think we played very well tonight against one of the best in the league, against a playoff team." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Taming Miller's slider: Miller's slider has been nearly untouchable this season, but leading off the eighth, Bellinger launched a 396-foot homer to right-center to give the Dodgers back the lead. At 107.1 mph, it was the hardest-hit ball against Miller's slider all season. It was the first homer Miller had given up to a lefty since Aug. 1, 2016, and raised his ERA from 0.28 to 0.55. The Dodgers would go on to add another run after Bryan Shaw replaced Miller on Pederson's forceout. "I felt like I wasn't as sharp as I'd like to be and was able to kind of grind through it," Miller said. "It was just a pretty poor at-bat. Obviously, it's easy to look back and see what I could've done differently. Overall, I just need to be sharper and make better pitches." Bellinger belts two homers Bellinger belts two homers Cody Bellinger brings his home run total up to 17 for the season after hitting a solo homer and a three-run shot late against the Indians Perez goes deep: Clinging to a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning, Kershaw made a mistake to Perez, and the Indians' catcher did not miss it for his first homer of the season. Kershaw left a fastball over the heart of the plate, and Perez drove it into the bleachers in left to tie the game at 2. Per Statcast™, Perez's home run was the second-hardest home run (110 mph) hit off Kershaw in the Statcast™ Era, and was Perez's second- longest home run (430 feet) of his career (including postseason). "Obviously we talk about the slider, but the fastball command wasn't there," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "And I know that he pitches to the glove side a lot and he just couldn't there. And when he was going arm side, it was off. But it's a credit to him that when he doesn't have his best stuff or feel great, he still keeps us in the ballgame and still found a way to get through seven innings." QUOTABLE "I threw a lot of bad pitches tonight that didn't get hit. For the first time all year, I think the results were better than I actually pitched. I was glad I was able to keep the team close on a night that I wasn't my best." -- Bauer, on his start FRANCONA EXITS EARLY Indians manager Terry Francona left Tuesday night's game in the eighth inning due to illness. Mills spoke with the media after the loss, but did not have any further details on Francona's status. More information is expected prior to Wednesday's game. "Obviously, his health is the most important to us, because we don't go anywhere without him," Robertson said. "He is the heart and soul of us." SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Bellinger became the first Dodger to hit two home runs in back-to-back games since Adrian Beltre accomplished the feat in 2004. In addition, Bellinger is the fastest player in MLB history to reach four career multi-homer games, as he did so in 45 games. The previous record was held by Bob Horner, who did it in 63 games in 1978. "For a young player to impact a championship-caliber ballclub like this on the defensive side, obviously in the batter's box, exceeded all of our expectations," Roberts said. "It's easy to say he's only going to get better, and he keeps getting better. And today, obviously, just that at-bat quality continues to get better." FEEL THE DRAFT Day 2 (Rounds 3-10) of the 2017 Draft took place Tuesday, with the Dodgers opening their day by taking versatile University of Houston catcher Connor Wong in Round 3 (100th overall pick). The Indians began their Day 2 by taking prep outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez from the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico with the 102nd overall pick. The Draft concludes on Wednesday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at 12 p.m. ET. WHAT'S NEXT Dodgers: Right-hander Brandon McCarthy will take the mound for the Dodgers as they face off against the Indians on Wednesday at 4:10 p.m. PT at Progressive Field. McCarthy has given up a total of five runs over his last four starts and owns a 51:15 K:BB ratio over 57 2/3 innings this season. Indians: Indians ace Corey Kluber will start Wednesday's 7:10 p.m. ET matchup against the Dodgers at Progressive Field. The right-hander is coming off his fifth win, in which he went six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts against the White Sox on Friday.

Clevinger, Merritt to start Minnesota twin bill By William Kosileski / MLB.com | June 13th, 2017 + 1 COMMENT CLEVELAND -- Before the Indians' game against the Dodgers on Tuesday at Progressive Field, Cleveland manager Terry Francona announced that right-hander Mike Clevinger and left-hander Ryan Merritt will both be recalled from the Minors to start the two games in the team's doubleheader in Minnesota on Saturday.

"We have it set up where Clev and Merritt would start that [set of] doubleheader games," Francona said. "I think because of days off and those guys pitching on the same day, Merritt went and pitched in [] Lake County, then went back [to Triple-A Columbus]. They're all set to do that." Francona did not specify which game each pitcher will start. Although the Indians have had three off days since June 5 -- which has allowed them to have a four-man rotation -- the team is gearing up for 22 games in 20 days beginning Tuesday, and it will need to return to a five-man rotation. With right-handed starter Danny Salazar still working through a shoulder injury, Clevinger will be recalled to the Majors for the second time this season and will start in place of Salazar. Merritt will be the 26th roster spot that is allowed during the doubleheader. Francona also said that outfielder Abraham Almonte -- who is on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right biceps tendon -- will play seven innings in center field at Columbus on Tuesday night.

Kluber, McCarthy set to square off in Cleveland By Ben Weinrib / MLB.com | June 13th, 2017 + 2 COMMENTS Right-hander Brandon McCarthy is in the midst of one of the best seasons in his 12-year career, in part due to the resurgence of his cutter. Now he'll get to show off the pitch against the lefty-heavy Indians on Wednesday at Progressive Field.

He'll face off against Cleveland right-hander Corey Kluber. McCarthy committed to the cutter, which he only used 13.3 percent of the time in his previous three seasons, over the offseason. And when Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt gave him a new grip in , it clicked immediately. Now McCarthy uses it more than any other pitch, at a 31.7 percent rate, and his 3.28 ERA is at a five-year low. He's been especially dependent on the cutter against left-handers, using it 34.8 percent of the time. That figures to make it a key pitch against the Indians, who regularly start seven lefties or switch-hitters. "I felt I could trust it more and more this year, I noticed that even bad ones were better than they had been in the past," McCarthy said. "That's when the trust comes. You know that even if you don't throw a great one, there's still a good chance for success. You feel much more confident." Kluber will be making his third start since coming off the 10-day disabled list with a lower back strain. He threw six innings in each of his last two starts, with 18 strikeouts, three walks and just three runs given up. If Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen enters the game, look for lots of strikeouts and plenty of infield flies. Jansen has struck out about 45 percent of opponents this season, and in the Statcast Era (2015-17), 22.7 percent of his field outs have come on popups - the fourth-highest rate among relievers. Three things to know about this game • One of Kluber's keys to success in his last two starts has been avoiding the long ball. He didn't give up a homer in either start after giving up seven home runs in his six starts before the DL stint. His 15.2 percent HR/FB rate would be his career high. • McCarthy's average exit velocity against is 84.4 mph, according to Statcast. That ranks seventh out of 146 starters with at least 100 balls put in play against them for lowest average exit velocity. • Four Indians have faced McCarthy at least 10 times in their career with mixed results. Michael Brantley is 3-for-13 with a strikeout, Edwin Encarnacion is 3-for-10 with two homers and a double, Jason Kipnis is 4-for-11 with two strikeouts, and Carlos Santana is 3-for-11 with a homer and three strikeouts.

Lindor, Brantley slip in close All-Star races By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | June 13th, 2017 + 0 COMMENTS CLEVELAND -- Francisco Lindor held the top spot at shortstop in All-Star voting for two weeks, but he is suddenly in a tightly contested balloting battle.

The latest AL voting results in the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot were revealed on Tuesday, and it was Astros shortstop Carlos Correa who ranked first at his position. Lindor, who is vying for his second All-Star nod in a row, dropped to second by a little more than 300,000 votes. "Whatever is going to happen is going to happen," Lindor said. "It'll be special if I start, but I encourage the fans to continue to [vote]. We will see what happens. Correa is a special player as well." Correa has garnered 1,893,260 votes, compared to 1,582,782 for Lindor. • Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for Lindor and other #ASGWorthy players In the AL outfield picture, Indians left fielder Michael Brantley slipped to fourth after climbing to third place in voting a week ago. Brantley (776,487) trails New York's Aaron Judge (1,893,260), L.A.'s Mike Trout (1,582,782) and Houston's (804,826). Boston's Mookie Betts (714,185) is in fifth place among outfielders. Fans may cast votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot until Thursday, June 29, at 11:59 p.m. ET. On smartphones and tablets, fans can also access the ballot via the MLB.com and MLB.com Ballpark mobile apps. Vote up to five times in any 24-hour period for a maximum of 35 ballots cast. Following the announcement of the 2017 All-Star starters, reserves and pitchers, fans should return to MLB.com and cast their 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player on each league's All-Star roster. Then on Tuesday, July 11, while watching the 2017 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard live on FOX, fans may visit MLB.com to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2017 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote. The 88th Midsummer Classic, at Marlins Park in Miami, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM will have comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit AllStarGame.com and follow @AllStarGame on social media. Other Indians players receiving votes include: First baseman Carlos Santana (fourth place with 558,320 votes); second baseman Jason Kipnis (third, 538,061); Jose Ramirez (second, 697,747); catcher Yan Gomes (fifth, 509,629); Edwin Encarnacion (fourth, 605,454); and outfielders Lonnie Chisenhall (12th, 464,582) and Abraham Almonte (14th, 398, 731). "I encourage the fans to continue to vote, not only for me, but for the team," Lindor said. "My teammates are doing great and they deserve to be out there."

Indians host 2017 National Play Campaign By William Kosileski / MLB.com | June 13th, 2017 + 0 COMMENTS CLEVELAND -- In an effort to promote children living healthy active lifestyles, the Indians hosted the 2017 National PLAY (Promoting a Lifetime of Activity for Youth) Campaign on Tuesday afternoon at Progressive Field.

Fifty children from the local Boys & Girls Club who participated in the annual baseball clinic at the ballpark heard from Indians catcher Yan Gomes, head athletic trainer James Quinlan and other members of the team's training staff about the importance of living a healthy life. "It's really cool," Quinlan said of the event. "Anytime you can have some of our players and staff to come out and educate kids at a young age on the importance of physical activity, staying away from the dangers of steroids, living healthy and just the little things like good sleep and nutrition, it is a great opportunity to help the community." In the nearly two-hour clinic, the participating children were split into groups and made stops through a series of stations, each with its own focus. Everything from strength and conditioning, injury prevention, healthy eating and the dangers of performance or appearance enhancing drugs were covered in the stations. Each group also had the opportunity to meet and interact with Gomes, who held a Q&A session with each group in the Indians' dugout. "Well, it is almost like a little bit of a way to yourself accountable," Gomes said. "If you are going to come up here and tell these kids to hydrate, eat well, rest and don't cheat, I think that you better be doing it yourself. Personally, for my family and I, it is really important to give back to the community and to just give back to kids." The PLAY Campaign -- created in 2004 by the Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS) -- was made possible thanks to the participation and support of Charities, the Henry Schein Cares Foundation and the Taylor Hooton Foundation. Both foundations were represented at the event. Tavis Piattoly, the education program manager of the Taylor Hooton Foundation, and Chris Lengle, the regional sales manager at Henry Schein, were also involved with the clinic. The Taylor Hooton Foundation educates youth on the dangers of anabolic steroids and other performance or appearance enhancing drugs, while the Henry Schein Cares Foundation aims to increase access to care for at-risk and underserved communities. "[This event] is so important because these kids look up to these individuals, especially the pro baseball players," Piattoly said. "They aspire to follow in their footsteps, so when they hear that these players are doing it the right way -- clean eating, playing clean, living clean, eating well, playing hard, training right -- it inspires them to want to do the same thing." "I think it is great, especially when you have an organization like this that just came from the World Series, to be able to do things for underprivileged kids or the youth in this area," Lengle said. "To give back to the community and promote a healthy lifestyle for the kids starting at a young age, that's what it's all about." MLB.com correspondent for a day Sports blogger Shelly Holt was given a very unique opportunity, as she was MLB.com's Correspondent for a day on Tuesday. Thanks to the Play Ball Charity Auction, Holt -- who won the auction -- got to experience the pregame reporting routine for the Indians' game against the Dodgers. Before the game, she went inside the press box, stood on the field for batting practice and even sat in on the pregame news conference with Indians manager Terry Francona. Once the pregame duties ended, Holt joined the fans in the stands to watch the two teams play their series opener.

Cody Bellinger homers twice to back Clayton Kershaw in Dodgers' victory AP-CLEVELAND -- Clayton Kershaw wasn't at his best but still extended his unbeaten string.

Cody Bellinger continued his outstanding rookie season with two home runs, including a tiebreaking shot in the eighth inning off Andrew Miller.

Kershaw and Bellinger combined to lead the to a 7-5 win over the Indians on Tuesday night.

Kershaw (9-2) allowed two runs in seven innings. He has not lost in his past eight starts. The left-hander gave up a run in the third on Michael Brantley's single and a leadoff homer to Roberto Perez in the fifth that tied the game.

The three-time winner yielded six hits, struck out four and walked two while throwing 101 pitches. He is 5-0 with a 1.94 ERA since his most recent defeat on May 1.

"Tonight was not a great night for me," Kershaw said. "My fastball was pretty erratic, and I was falling behind hitters."

While heading back to the Dodgers dugout after hitting a two-run homer in the second inning on Tuesday night, Yasiel Puig aimed an obscene gesture in the direction of a handful of fans in Cleveland.

The Dodgers have placed first baseman Adrian Gonzalez on the 10-day disabled list with lower-back discomfort and activated outfielder Joc Pederson from the seven-day concussion DL. Indians manager Terry Francona did not meet with reporters after the game because he wasn't feeling well, a team spokesman said. Bench coach Brad Mills took questions in his place. Francona left the dugout in the ninth inning but was still at the ballpark, the spokesman said.

Mills had no further information about Francona, who missed a game in Washington last season because of an illness but returned to the dugout the following day.

Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig made an obscene gesture at Cleveland fans after hitting a home run in the second inning. After crossing home plate, he raised both middle fingers in the direction of fans seated in the dugout suites located on field level.

Puig said he was heckled in the on-deck circle, which is directly in front of those choice seats.

"People were talking to me before the home run, and they talked to me after the home run," he said through a translator. "I stooped to their level. It happened suddenly. It came out. There's nothing I can do about it. There were about four of them. They were pretty close there."

Puig realizes he could face a fine from Major League Baseball for his actions.

"If I get fined, I can't not pay it. I know I did it," he said.

Bellinger led off the eighth with a towering drive into the right-field seats off Miller (3-1). The home run was the first that Cleveland's dominant left-hander has allowed in 33 innings this season.

Bellinger added a three-run drive in the ninth off Boone Logan, becoming the third rookie in Dodgers history to have four multihomer games.

Daniel Robertson hit his first major league home run for Cleveland with two outs in the ninth, a three-run shot off Chris Hatcher.

Kenley Jansen struck out Jason Kipnis for his 12th .

Indians starter Trevor Bauer allowed two runs in 5Ҁ innings. He was removed with the bases loaded, and Miller -- appearing in the sixth inning for the second straight game -- struck out Puig to end the threat.

Miller retired the side in order in the seventh, but he gave up just his third run of the season when Bellinger homered.

Perez's home run was his first since he homered twice in Game 1 of the World Series against the . He hadn't homered in the regular season since Sept. 26.

LEFTY-LEFTY MATCHUP Bellinger got a lot of advice from teammates before the game about facing Miller. The first baseman obviously listened well.

"He's one of the best relievers in the game and is super deceptive," Bellinger said.

Miller took full blame for the loss.

"Obviously, I didn't do my part," he said. "It was just a pretty poor at-bat. It's easy to look back and see what I could've done differently."

TRAINER'S ROOM Dodgers: 1B Adrian Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day disabled list with lower back discomfort. An MRI on Monday revealed the five-time All- Star has a herniated disk. He is sidelined indefinitely. ... OF Joc Pederson was reinstated from the seven-day concussion disabled list and started in center field, going 0-for-4.

Indians: OF Brandon Guyer (sprained left wrist) is hitting on the field, but no date has been set for when he'll begin a minor league rehab assignment.

UP NEXT Dodgers: RHP Brandon McCarthy tied his season high by throwing seven innings against the Nationals last Tuesday, but he absorbed a 2-1 loss.

Indians: RHP Corey Kluber has made quality starts in 14 of his 16 interleague outings, going 11-3 with a 2.34 ERA.

Dodgers 7, Indians 5: 16 Walk-Off Thoughts on some unlikely incidents, Andrew Miller, Trevor Bauer By RYAN LEWIS Published: June 14, 2017 Here are 16 Walk-Off Thoughts after the Indians’ 7-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night. 1. Tuesday night was a collection of individual plays to which Vegas wouldn’t have had great odds. 2. Roberto Perez of all people belted a 430-foot bomb off Clayton Kershaw of all people. It was Perez’s first home run in a game that counted since the World Series. He entered the game hitting .139 with zero home runs, essentially providing zero value at the plate. Of course he breaks out of it against the greatest pitcher in the game today. 3. Later, Andrew Miller was taken deep by Cody Bellinger. It was the first home run Miller had allowed since, guess what, the World Series. That was to David Ross in Game 7, and Miller made a similar frustrating gesture, bending down to his knees, after Bellinger’s left the yard. 4. Miller: “That first pitch wasn't competitive. And then I didn't really throw a great one that he fouled off. I missed with the one to fall behind in the count. It's pretty easy to look back to see where I was. Even then, I felt like if I would've executed a good one, I like my chances. I left it in a spot where he can hit it pretty well. He's a hot hitter with a pretty good approach right now, so it's easy to point back and see where that one did not go well. I was 3-0 to a couple guys. I need to be better at getting ahead and throwing strikes. Neither of my pitches I had great command of. So, there were a couple flashes where it was pretty good, but it came back to bite me at the end.” 5. Miller’s season ERA now stands at 0.55. That is still a ridiculous . 6. Even some of the perceptions of the performance were different than normal. Trevor Bauer has been frustrated this season, believing his performances have been better than the results. Indians manager Terry Francona has agreed for the most part, saying he’s liked the way Bauer has pitched in many starts, the end result just hasn’t been there. On Tuesday night, Yasiel Puig hit a two-run home run. Bauer has at times said he was happy with a pitch that had been hit for a home run, often shrugging his shoulders. This was a different story. 7. Bauer: “Trying to throw a fastball down and away, threw it right down the middle. He beat me on that one. It’s a bad pitch. Actually, I threw a lot of bad pitches tonight that didn’t get hit. For the first time all year, I think the results were better than I actually pitched. I was glad I was able to keep the team close on a night that I wasn’t my best.” 8. To continue the odd/unlikely theme, Puig then appeared to flip off some Indians fans as he rounded the bases, giving them the double-bird. The league office will love that. 9. Via Andy McCullough of the LA Times, Puig said he was being heckled: “I reacted that way. I stooped to their level.” 10. To keep it going, Daniel Robertson blasted a three-run home run—his first as a member of the Indians—to make it 7-5 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Robertson has played well in his time with the Indians as outfielders Brandon Guyer and Abraham Almonte continue to work their way back from the disabled list, but power was not one of the things he was providing. He was just trying to get on base. 11. Robertson: "I had no feeling whatsoever. I hate to be, I'm not a Debbie downer or anything, but I didn't much feeling because it was a 7-2 game and I was trying to get on base. I knew that if i could bring Kipnis to the plate it would be one run closer to seven. So after I it, I was pumped because we got a little bit of momentum, and when you roll over the top of the order and you have to pitch to Kipnis, Frankie and Brantley, that's what your trying to do. I thought at that moment we were in the game. I thought all we needed was another baserunner. That's where my mind was. It was just about getting the next guy to the plate.” 12. The Indians’ bullpen, arguably the backbone of the team, then further struggled when Boone Logan gave up a laser of a home run to Bellinger. That’s not a sight Indians fans have seen too much since last August. 13. Bauer, on the bullpen: “We all have the utmost confidence to bring them in and shut the game down. That’s why nights like this are so surprising. I think with a lot of bullpens, nights like this happen fairly regularly. The fact that when it does happen, you sit there and you notice it and it’s a shock, it’s just a testament to how good they are night in and night out. Every pen has a bad night like this. It will happen again this year, I’m sure, but limiting the frequency is what makes a bullpen good and what our bullpen is really good at.” 13. And finally in the night of weirdness, Francona wasn’t feeling well and left the game in the ninth inning. No further information has been provided by the club. 14. Oh yeah, Bauer and the Indians also were able to hang tough with Clayton Kershaw for seven innings, not the easiest feat in baseball. 15. Robertson: "He is one of the best in the game. He's Clayton Kershaw. The guy is on a pedestal, probably, that few sit on, and I think tonight we battled with him. I think tonight, we went - what'd he go? Seven innings? I think we went toe-to-toe with him for seven innings. We were a big hit away. I think we played very well tonight against one of the best in the league, against a playoff team. And that's what it's all about. You saw the crowd on hand tonight. It was electric. During the season, you want those kinds of games because at the end of the day, whatever we go through, we'll be fine towards the season's end and we are gaining experience as the season goes on. I think tonight was an experience for us." 16. But, in the end, it’s a 7-5 loss. The Indians fell to 31-30 this season, still hovering both around .500 and the top of a division of which nobody can grab hold. We’ll see what weird things happen in the wide world of baseball tomorrow. LOADED: 06.14.2017 Andrew Miller gives up eighth-inning home run, Indians fall to Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers 7-5 By RYAN LEWIS Published: June 13, 2017 CLEVELAND: Andrew Miller escaped a crucial bases-loaded jam but later allowed the first home run off him since Game 7 of last year’s World Series, as the Indians fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 Tuesday night at Progressive Field. Miller (3-1) entered in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and two outs, relieving Trevor Bauer in a 2-2 tie. As he has so consistently, Miller erased the threat, striking out Yasuiel Puig with a slider to keep it tied. In the eighth, though, Cody Bellinger became the first hitter since the Chicago Cubs’ David Ross in Game 7 to homer off Miller, drilling a solo shot to right field to put the Dodgers up 3-2. From there, the Dodgers cruised. The Dodgers (40-25) added on later in the inning. Chris Taylor walked and later scored via a throwing on Jason Kipnis that made it 4-2. And in the ninth, Bellinger struck again in what proved to be the decisive blow, blasting a three-run home run off Boone Logan that put the game out of reach. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Daniel Robertson drilled a three-run home run to the Home Run Porch off Dodgers reliever Chris Hatcher in left field to make 7-5, but closer Kenley Jansen (12 saves) quickly ended any threat of a complete comeback by striking out Kipnis to close out the game. Earlier in the game, Puig drove a two-run home run off Bauer to put the Dodgers up 2-0 that ended with Puig appearing to flip off the Indians’ crowd as he rounded the bases. Bauer lasted 5 2/3 innings, gave up two runs on six hits and three walks and struck out five. The Indians (31-30) were able to do some damage against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw (9-2), Bauer’s counterpart and the best pitcher in the game today. Daniel Robertson led off the third inning with a double to left field before Kershaw easily recorded the next two outs. Trying to take advantage of the type of scoring chance that doesn’t often present itself against Kershaw, Michael Brantley roped a mislocated pitch into right field for a single that cut the Dodgers’ early lead to 2-1. Two innings later, a display of power from Roberto Perez the Indians haven’t seen since last October. Perez has struggled offensively all season and had yet to hit a home run. As unpredictable as baseball can be, Perez belted a 430-foot, no-doubter home run to tie it 2-2. Per Statcast, that home run, which had an exit velocity of 110 mph, was the second-hardest home run hit off Kershaw since the beginning of 2015. The last time Perez hit a home run in a game that counted was in the World Series. Unfortunately for the Indians, Perez’s blast wasn’t the only unlikely home run of the night, with Bellinger’s solo shot eventually giving the Dodgers the upper hand. Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: 06.14.2017 scoop up plenty of position players on Day 2 of the 2017 MLB Draft CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians reached the seventh round of the MLB Draft and realized their scale was incredibly imbalanced. They hadn't selected a single pitcher. So, they snagged southpaw Kirk McCarty from Southern Mississippi. And then in the eighth round, they took right-hander Eli Morgan from Gonzaga. In the ninth round, they grabbed righty James Karinchak from Bryant University. At last, some balance. Of course, it wasn't that troubling. "We had truly settled on taking the best player available," said Brad Grant, the Indians' senior director of amateur scouting. The Indians made eight selections on Tuesday, when the league's 30 teams completed rounds 3-10 of the draft. The remaining 30 rounds will unfold at a rapid-fire pace on Wednesday afternoon. The following are scouting reports on the Tribe's selections from Tuesday, with Grant's analysis of each pick included. By Zack Meisel, cleveland.com Johnathan Rodriguez, 3rd round RF, Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy Rodriguez was born just eight weeks before the turn of a millennium. He likely has no recollection of the Y2K hysteria. He's the second- youngest player in the draft and he stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 180 pounds. What the Indians like about him: "His age, his contact ability and the upside." Grant: "[He's] a guy that we think can come on with the bat and eventually hit for a lot of power in the future. … At 17, you can really do a whole lot of things to mold the player." Ernie Clement, 4th round IF, University of Virginia Clement struck out only seven times in 254 at-bats this year. He was a third-team All-ACC selection the last two seasons and the 2016 Cape Cod League MVP. What the Indians like about him: "He can move around the infield a lot, a guy that's had a lot of success at the college level, a guy who has performed all the way through." Grant: We really like his ability to move around the infield and also the contact ability in his bat." Austen Wade, 5th round OF, TCU Wade was named to the All-Big 12 first team for TCU, a team headed to the College World Series. He is hitting .342 with 15 stolen bases. What the Indians like about him: "We like the versatility in the outfielder. He's a plus runner who can move around." Grant: "He's playing right field now, but he has the tools to be able to play center. He can play left. And he's another guy we like the contact ability with." Michael Rivera, 6th round C, Florida Rivera missed time with a broken bone in his hand during his junior year for the Gators. He's known for his defense behind the plate. He batted .241 in 41 games this season. What the Indians like about him: "He's an elite catch-throw prospect. He's a very good framer." Grant: "He has a very good understanding of how to call a game. He works extremely well with the pitchers -- a great leader and guy we're excited about defensively behind the plate." Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 06.14.2017 Cleveland Indians' Mike Clevinger, Ryan Merritt will start Saturday's doubleheader vs. Twins CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Indians have their starting pitchers for Saturday’s day-night doubleheader against the first-place Twins at Target Field. It still hasn’t been decided who is going to pitch what game, but if all goes well Mike Clevinger and Ryan Merritt will face the Twins. They are both currently at Class AAA Columbus. “We have it lined up where Clevinger and Merritt will start the doubleheader,” said manager Terry Francona. “If there is rain, we can adjust.” The Indians have to make a roster move when they add Clevinger, who will rejoin the rotation. The Indians currently have a four-man rotation. Teams are allowed to add a 26th man for doubleheaders. Merritt would fill that spot and will have to return to Columbus at the end of his start. Merritt, to stay on turn, pitched seven innings Monday at Class A Lake County because Columbus was off. He allowed two earned runs with four strikeouts in seven innings. Clevinger, 2-3 with a 4.09 ERA in seven games with the Tribe, started for Columbus on Sunday. By design he went four innings and allowed five earned runs on five hits. “Merritt started out slow, but he’s been better lately,” said Francona. “You know you’re going to get strikes. One, it can help us. Two, it can really help him. As we’ve seen in the past, you end up needing those guys.” When the Indians leave for Minneapolis after Thursday’s game against the Twins, right-hander Danny Salazar (right shoulder) is expected to report to Class AA Akron and work with pitching coach Tony Arnold. “But that’s only if he’s started his throwing program,” said Francona. Indians DH Edwin Encarnacion has hit safely in 15 of his last 17 games. Edwin Encarnacion looking "ferocious' Francona moved Edwin Encarnacion out of the cleanup spot and into the No.5 spot on May 15. Carlos Santana, moving down from the leadoff spot, replaced Encarnacion at cleanup. Now that Encarnacion has started to hit and drive in runs, will Francona move him back to the No.4 spot? “I’ve thought about it. It certainly could happen,” said Francona. “Right now it seems like he’s hitting with men on base a lot. That’s the idea. “Even if we go one, two, three in the first, he’s not leading off the second. I don’t know if it’s that big a deal. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s back there again.” Encarnacion has raised his average from .199 to .246 in a 17-game stretch starting on May 21st. In those games, he’s hit four doubles, five homers and driven in 10 runs. On Sunday, Encarnacion skied a ball over the left field foul pole. After it cleared the pole, it hit the Home Run Porch (bridge) over the Home Run Plaza. It was called foul off the bat and after a lengthy review the call stood. “That ball was killed,” said Francona. “I talked to home plate umpire Mike Everitt in between innings. He was kind of mad that there wasn’t a (good) angle (to review the ball). He said, ‘I don’t doubt it was fair.’ I told him, ‘I get you. I saw the angles, too. But I bet you it was fair.’ He said, ‘I don’t doubt it.’” Francona added, “If it didn’t hit the Home Run Porch, I could have picked that ball up on the way home. It’s just nice to see Edwin this aggressive. He’s pretty ferocious right now. Earlier, there were times when he’d swing hard, but it was like he was trying to generate (power). Now he sees it and he’s going after it.” Indians outfielder Brandon Guyer, sidelined with a strained left wrist since May 14, has been taking batting practice and could start his rehab assignment later this week. Indians outfielders are starting to back up on the runway back to the big leagues. Abraham Almonte (right biceps) was scheduled to start in center field at Columbus on Tuesday night. Brandon Guyer (left wrist) could start his rehab assignment near the end of the week, while Tyler Naquin (back) was activated from the disabled list at Columbus and started at DH Tuesday night. Asked what path Naquin would have to travel to get back to Cleveland, Francona said, “We don’t know that. What we do know is that there’s usually room for guys in the big leagues who can help you win. We’ve all seen what Naquin can do when he’s going good. The first half of last year it was pretty darn impressive. We also saw some of the hiccups that can come with younger players. “I know it can look at times like somebody is blocked, but if we ever get to the point where we have too many good players, well, good for us.” The Indians’ scouts were presented their AL championship rings before the MLB draft started Tuesday night. Francona paid a visit to the draft room as he usually does to talk to the scouts and answer whatever question they might have. The Tribe didn’t have a first-round pick, so its first two choices were No. 64 and No. 71. They took high school center fielder Quentin Holmes at 64 and shortstop Tyler Freeman at 71. The Indians had both players targeted, they even sent former big league infielder John McDonald to work out Freeman. “I probably looked at six or seven guys on tape,” said Francona. “Somebody was right on. If you’re going to go check out an infielder, who better than Johnny Mac? If he gives him the stamp of approval, that’s pretty high praise. I love that we’re doing stuff like that.” Dodger left-hander Clayton Kershaw made the first start of his career at Progressive Field on Tuesday night when he faced the Indians. What to do with Clayton Kershaw? The Indians' plan to hit Clayton Kershaw Tuesday was simple – hit the fastball because you won’t come close to the curve. “That’s it in a nutshell,” said Matt Quatraro, assistant hitting coach. "But it's easier said than done." Said Francona, “He’s got velocity. He probably has the best breaking ball in the game. He’s got competitiveness. He probably leverages the ball better than anybody in the game. He gets at the top of his delivery and throws it downhill and drives it. “I mean he jumps off that rubber. The gun might say 93 mph, but I’m guessing the hitter is reacting more like it’s 96 or 97. And his breaking ball, there’s probably only been a handful of them put in play all year. That’s how good it is.” Kershaw, who has won three Cy Young Awards, entered with just one career start against the Indians. It came on June 20, 2008 at Dodger Stadium. He went five innings in a no-decision effort. The Indians, in a game started by Cliff Lee, came away with a 6-4 win. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 06.14.2017 Yan Gomes, Cleveland Indians host PLAY clinic at Progressive Field to promote healthy choices for kids BY JANE MORICE, CLEVELAND.COM [email protected] CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland Indians catcher Yan Gomes joined Tribe athletic trainers Tuesday morning at Progressive Field to host a stop of the national PLAY campaign, which advocates healthy lifestyle choices for children. Members of Boys & Girls Club of Cleveland came to the ballfield to stretch and run drills with Cleveland Indians trainers and strength coaches. The team has held a PLAY clinic for at least five years, assistant strength and conditioning coach Nelson Perez said. "This helps keep kids aware of their bodies," head strength and conditioning coach Joe Kessler said. "Some of them may think it's 'work,' and it is, but we're trying to teach kids that being active can be fun." The children were grouped together to go through stations, including one where Gomes answered questions. "Growing up, looking at someone who was at the level that I wanted to be at, I listened," Gomes said. "This is fun. It gives the kids something to look forward to." The PLAY campaign, created in 2004 by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society, works with MLB Charities and the Taylor Hooton Foundation to raise awareness about childhood obesity and health issues. Since its inception, PLAY has held more than 300 events at all 30 MLB parks. The Taylor Hooton Foundation in a non-profit that educates young people about the harm of performance-enhancing drugs; the organization was formed after its namesake died at 17 after using steroids in 2004. "In this game, if you cheat, you get a bad name on yourself," Gomes said. "You start cheating and you start doing little things that are outside the rules of the game, it takes away from the integrity of the game." You can see and hear more from Tuesday's PLAY clinic in the video above. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 06.14.2017 shortstop Carlos Correa overtakes Cleveland Indians' Francisco Lindor in All-Star Game voting BY ZACK MEISEL, CLEVELAND.COM [email protected]

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Poof. Francisco Lindor's lead in the All-Star Game balloting has vanished. Houston's Carlos Correa has taken over as the leading vote-getter among American League shortstops. Lindor had led the pack in the league's first two ballot updates. He now trails Correa by about 122,000 votes. Lindor isn't the only Tribe player to lose his grip on a starting spot. Michael Brantley, who ranked third among outfielders in last week's voting update, was overtaken by Houston's George Springer. The Astros boast baseball's best record, at 44-21. The Indians sit at 31-29, good for second place in the AL Central. Boston's Xander Bogaerts is tied with Correa for the league lead in WAR among AL shortstops. He's also batting .318 with an .812 OPS. Lindor's 12 home runs are the most among AL shortstops, though his average has suffered in recent weeks. Over his last 12 games, Lindor is batting .156 (7-for-45). The Yankees' Aaron Judge and the Angels' Mike Trout remain the top two vote-getters among AL outfielders. Judge leads all AL players in votes, on the strength of a .347/.453/.728 slash line and a league-leading 22 home runs, many of which have seemingly traveled into outer space. Springer has belted 17 home runs, to go along with a .274/.345/.527 slash line. Brantley ranks fourth among outfielders, about 28,000 votes behind Springer. Brantley has compiled a .289/.350/.418 slash line, with five home runs, 25 RBI and seven stolen bases. Elsewhere on the ballot, Jose Ramirez ranks second among AL third basemen. Jason Kipnis sits in third place among second basemen. Edwin Encarnacion and Carlos Santana rank fourth among designated hitters and first basemen, respectively. Yan Gomes ranks fifth among . Lonnie Chisenhall and Abraham Almonte rank 12th and 14th among outfielders, respectively. Miami will host the All-Star Game next month at Marlins Park. Fan voting ends on June 29. The Indians have not had a player voted in as an All-Star Game starter since 2001, when Juan Gonzalez represented the franchise. Asdrubal Cabrera started at shortstop in the 2011 All-Star Game, but only because Derek Jeter suffered an injury in the days leading up to the annual exhibition. Aside from Cabrera, the last Indians shortstop to start the All-Star Game was Lou Boudreau in 1948. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 06.14.2017 Memory lane: The last time the Los Angeles Dodgers faced the Indians in Cleveland (in 2003)... BY ZACK MEISEL, CLEVELAND.COM [email protected] CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Dodgers have not ventured to Cleveland in 14 years, so Clayton Kershaw won't be the only one making his Progressive Field debut when he takes the hill on Tuesday night. The Indians played at Dodger Stadium in 2008 and in 2014, but the quirky interleague schedule hasn't required Los Angeles to visit Northeast Ohio since June 13-15, 2003. At that time, Milton Bradley and Brandon Phillips still played for the Tribe. Jolbert Cabrera played for the Dodgers. Eric Wedge was in his first year as Cleveland's skipper. Dave Roberts, now the Dodgers' manager, was their center fielder. Adrian Beltre was a wee 24-year-old third baseman. Now, he's a seasoned 38-year-old third baseman for Texas. He, Jhonny Peralta and Brandon Phillips are also the only active players remaining from that series, since wasn't able to find a team this season. (The Cardinals did designate Peralta for assignment this week.) Bradley eventually played for the Dodgers. So, too, did Casey Blake, who netted the Indians Carlos Santana in a trade five years later. The Dodgers won all three games in Cleveland in 2003, though they only outscored the slumbering Tribe by five runs. The sweep lifted the Dodgers to a 40-28 record. They would finish 85-77, good for second place in the West. The Indians finished with a 68-94 mark, the second-worst record in the American League Central, ahead of only the , who infamously produced a 43-119 record. It was the Indians' worst standing since 1991. The games (June 13-15, 2003): Game 1: Dodgers 4, Indians 3 Win: Paul Quantrill Loss: Jake Westbrook Of note: The game was decided in the 10th inning when reliever Jake Westbrook hit Mike Kinkade with a pitch, followed by a Ron Coomer single and Jolbert Cabrera RBI double. Game 2: Dodgers 5, Indians 2 Win: Andy Ashby Loss: Brian Tallet Of note: Milton Bradley, who would be jettisoned to the Dodgers the following year, hit a home run. Game 3: Dodgers 4, Indians 3 Win: Hideo Nomo Loss: Billy Traber Of note: Brandon Phillips and Jhonny Peralta, the bottom two hitters in the Indians' order, accounted for four of the club's seven hits and all three runs scored.Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 06.14.2017 Indians manager Terry Francona leaves Tuesday night's game with illness BY PAUL HOYNES, CLEVELAND.COM [email protected] CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Indians manager Terry Francona left Tuesday night's game against the Dodgers in the late innings because he wasn't feeling well. Reporters were told of Francona's illness while they waited to hear from him following the Indians' 7-5 loss. Bench coach Brad Mills fdid the postgame interview in place of Francona, but he said little about why Francona left the game. "I really don't know anything," said Mills. Bart Swain, Indians director of media relations, told reporters that Francona, 58, left the game with an illness, but gave no further details. Last year Francona missed a game on Aug. 9 when the Indians were playing the Nationals in Washington, D.C. He complained of chest pains before the game. He was examined by medical personnel at the ballpark and returned to the team hotel. Mills replaced Francona as manager. Francona returned the next day. This is Francona's fifth season managing the Indians. He led them to the AL pennant and Game 7 of the World Series last year. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 06.14.2017 Clayton Kershaw, Cody Bellinger too much for Cleveland Indians in 7-5 loss to Dodgers BY PAUL HOYNES, CLEVELAND.COM [email protected] CLEVELAND, Ohio - Clayton Kershaw's Progressive Field debut couldn't have gone much better Tuesday night. Ditto for rookie Cody Bellinger. Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young winner and NL MVP, pitched the Dodgers to a 7-5 victory over the Indians on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. It was just his second start against the Indians in his career. Bellinger, who leads the Dodgers in homers and RBI, hit a leadoff homer off lefty Andrew Miller in the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie. He added a three-run homer off Boone Logan in the ninth inning to put the game away. In his last three games, Bellinger has hit five homers. He did not make his big-league debut with the Dodgers until April 25. Seventeen Dodgers have won the NL Rookie of the Year award. Bellinger, who started at first base Tuesday, but can play all three outfield positions, is playing like he's going to make it 18. The Indians showed some fight in the ninth as Daniel Robertson hit a three-run homer to make it 7-5. It was his first big-league homer and came in his 137th game. Kenley Jensen came on to record his 12th save. Bellinger's homer was the first Miller (3-1) has allowed since Sept. 7. It was just the second earned run he's allowed this season. Bellinger leads the Dodgers with 17 homers and 39 RBI. Miller pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth by striking out Yasiel Puig. He retired the Dodgers in order in the seventh, but Bellinger caught him in the eighth. The Dodgers made it 4-2 in the same inning when Chris Taylor walked, stole second and scored on a throwing error by Jason Kipnis, who bounced a throw past first baseman Carlos Santana while trying to turn a double play on Joc Pederson's grounder. Bellinger's second homer was the first Logan has allowed this year as well. "There was a couple opportunities early that would have been nice to get and jump out to a quick early lead," said bench coach Brad Mills, who filled in for manager Terry Francona in the postgame interview session. Francona left the game in the late innings due to illness said Bart Swain, the Indians director of media relations. "Anytime you can go into the seventh inning tied against Kershaw, with some traffic that we weren't able to score, that's nice to get," said Mills. Kershaw (9-2, 2.22) improved to 5-0 in his last eight starts. He allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings. Trevor Bauer started for the Indians and allowed two runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. Bauer beat the Dodgers on July 8, 2012 for his first big- league win while pitching for Arizona. History did not repeat itself Tuesday night. Puig gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the second. There were two out when Puig, hitting ninth, drove Bauer's 1-1 pitch into the seats in right field. It was the 12th homer Bauer has allowed this season, but his first in four starts. "I tried to throw a fastball down and away and threw it right down the middle," said Bauer. "He beat me on that one. It was a bad pitch. "I threw a lot of bad pitches tonight that didn't get hit. I think for the first all year the results were actually better than I pitched." The Indians made it 2-1 in the third on Michael Brantley's two-out single. Robertson started the inning with a double to left. He moved to third on a ground out by Kipnis and Brantley delivered him on a single to right. Before Brantley's single, the Indians were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position against Kershaw. Roberto Perez, who entered the game hitting .139 and homerless, tied it at 2-2 with a leadoff homer in the fifth. Perez drove Kershaw's 3-2 pitch into the bleachers in left center field and estimated 430 feet from home plate. It was Perez's first homer in the regular season since Sept. 26. He hit three in the postseason, including two in the World Series. Kipnis, with one out, followed with his second double of the night. The Indians couldn't get him home. Kershaw retired Francisco Lindor and walked Brantley. Santana, traded by the Dodgers to the Indians for Casey Blake in 2008, was ahead in the count 2-1, but fouled out to first to end the inning. The Indians fell to 1-8 in interleague play this season. Overall, they have lost seven of their last 11 games. The Dodgers have won five straight. Tuesday night was their first interleague game of the season. Bauer threw 108 pitches, 63 (58 percent) for strikes. Kershaw threw 101 pitches, 62 (61 percent) for strikes. The Dodgers and Indians drew 22,171 fans to Progressive Field on Tuesday night. First pitch was 7:11 p.m. with a temperature of 81 degrees. Corey Kluber (5-2, 4.38) will face Dodger right-hander Brandon McCarthy (5-3, 3.28) on Tuesday night at Progressive Field. Game time is 7:10 p.m. with SportsTime Ohio, WTAM/1100 and WMMS/FM 100.7 carrying the game. Kluber is 2-0 since coming off the disabled list on May 31 with wins over Oakland and the White Sox. Kluber is 0-1 against the Dodgers, but he has a career 2.34 ERA in interleague games. McCarthy, an AL veteran, is 6-5 with a 3.98 ERA in 11 starts against the Indians. He'll enter Wednesday's game having lost his last two starts, despite striking out 10 and allowing four earned runs in 11 innings. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 06.14.2017 A crash course for Cleveland fans shifting their focus to the Indians following the NBA Finals BY ZACK MEISEL, CLEVELAND.COM [email protected] CLEVELAND, Ohio -- At some point, you'll emerge from your hoops hangover, and maybe you won't be ready to shift your attention to Osweilermania.

Browns training camp stands six weeks away, so there's no mandate to prattle on quite yet about the annual quarterback competition.

If you're ready to revisit to the baseball scene, I'm here to offer you a crash course on the 2017 Indians. Ah, yes, the team that had you hooked for a few weeks last summer and again in the fall after they appeared to be dead and buried (or, at least, just severely wounded).

Well, the Indians, though talented, haven't exactly guaranteed another scintillating summer. Their brand of baseball, so far, has been a mix between The Walking Dead and Stranger Things.

They have been up and down, invincible for brief flashes and incapable for others, consistently inconsistent and always inexplicable. They have been confusing, frustrating, perplexing, bewildering and erratic.

In fact, Tuesday's game against the Dodgers served as a microcosm for their season. The Tribe's bullpen, a fortress of run prevention, relinquished control of the series opener against Los Angeles and squandered a chance to steal a game started by the supernatural Clayton Kershaw. Andrew Miller had allowed one earned run all season. Then, a rookie's mighty swing inflated Miller's ERA to 0.55 from 0.28. (He's out of options, so it looks like the Indians are stuck with him. Rats.) Cody Bellinger's solo home run dealt the left-hander the loss.

Andrew Miller reviews a rare shaky outing Daniel Robertson's three-run blast in the ninth might have salvaged the Indians on any other night, but the bullpen, as reliable as annual banter about LeBron James jetting off to a new franchise, just so happened to hand the Dodgers five runs.

And yet, the Indians sit in second place in the American League Central, two games behind the Twins, a young team deserving of a pat on the head and an "aww" for their 33-28 start.

It stays "early" a bit longer in this division.

That said, the Indians haven't done much to conjure up excitement about the coming months. Another 14-game winning streak isn't just going to descend from the sky.

Plenty can change over the course of a season (just consider how much changed for the Indians from mid-September to late October last year), but you still want to see some signs of life. The roster is clearly more talented than any other in the AL Central, but the results have yet to confirm as much.

That new guy making a truckload of cash had a Swisherific start to the season, but he has set his recovery in motion. That splashy shortstop who's always smiling, the guy in line for a massive paycheck at some point from some team -- he has cooled off considerably. His batting average and on-base percentage tumbled to .254 and .318, respectively, after his 0-for-4 showing on Tuesday. The outfield has been a jumbled, injured mess, though it's been nice to see Michael Brantley return to an everyday role.

Surely, you recall how the Indians ran out of starting pitchers last year. Well, it's like that again, only they're mostly healthy this time, just ineffective. Corey Kluber did spend a month on the disabled list. Danny Salazar is hurt or lost or both.

The Indians are sort of sleepwalking through the regular season. That strategy didn't really hurt the Cavs' chances, but then again, they had Superman in gym shorts and a weak Eastern Conference. The AL Central might be feeble, but the Astros and Red Sox and Yankees appear more than formidable should the Indians capture a second straight division title. This isn't worthy of any panic, but concern is just fine.

October is not promised (save for the regular-season finale on Oct. 1, of course). The Indians do, however, have 101 games remaining before they either venture to the golf course or embark on another postseason journey.

Will you be paying attention then? Browns training camp is on the horizon. And there will be plenty to dissect about the Cavs and how they can retool for next season.

And now, you're caught up to speed on the Indians, should you choose to award them with your attention.

Ryan Merritt, Mike Clevinger set to be Tribe’s doubleheader starters Saturday by T.J. Zuppe, 12 hours ago CLEVELAND – If Ryan Merritt could handle facing the Blue Jays in Game 5 of the 2016 American League Championship Series without issue, it’s probably safe to assume he won’t be shaking in his boots when he returns to a major league mound for the first time since that fateful night in Toronto.

Merritt, barring any unforeseen changes due to weather, has officially been named a starter for half of the Indians’ doubleheader against the Twins, joining Mike Clevinger. The order of the two hurlers, however, hasn’t been determined yet.

“I think we’re still trying to figure out what best puts us in the best position to maximize our roster,” manager Terry Francona said. “But those two are definitely scheduled.”

Merritt, of course, gained fame after the Indians had other choice, thanks to injuries in the rotation, but to start the soft-tossing lefty against the Blue Jays last year in the ALCS. The outing came one day after Jays slugger Jose Bautista said Merritt would likely be “shaking in his boots” when he faced the Jays in just his second career big league start. Those comments didn’t age well.

Merritt responded by throwing 4 1/3 unlikely innings of shutout ball, helping the Tribe clinch their spot in the World Series by closing out the best-of-seven, despite just 11 career MLB innings under his belt at the time.

After opening this year in the minors, Merritt has posted a 3.96 ERA in 72 2/3 innings at Triple-A Columbus. In anticipation of his upcoming promotion for the doubleheader, he recently made a start at Single-A Lake County, giving up a pair in seven innings.

“I think he started out a little slow, but he’s been better lately,” Francona said. “You know you’re going to get strikes. It’s kind of nice. You get to this time of year and you’re starting to play a lot of baseball. Getting a fresh face – his fresh face, too – one, I think it can help us, two, I think it can really help him. As we’ve seen in the past, you end up needing those guys.”

The Indians will add Merritt as the 26th man during the doubleheader, but the club will need to make a corresponding move to add Clevinger back to the roster for his outing. He was recently sent back to the minors to allow for an extra pen arm while a fifth starter wasn’t necessary due to scheduled off days.

If you’re wondering why Danny Salazar wasn’t considered, he’s still working his way through the right shoulder tightness that slowed down his planned work with Double-A pitching coach Tony Arnold. As a result, his 10-day DL stint will likely be a little longer than originally anticipated.

“I believe we’re going to send him back to Tony in Akron, that group, when we go back on the road [this Friday],” Francona said. “The one thing we need to make sure is that he’s started his throwing program. If that’s the case, that’s what we’ll do.”

Andrew Miller takes the blame in rare bad night for Indians bullpen by T.J. Zuppe, 7 hours ago CLEVELAND — For a while, David Ross was the answer to a really odd trivia question. And it had nothing to do with his dancing skills. The retired catcher, the one that earned a World Series championship ring with the Cubs last season, was the last man to take Indians reliever Andrew Miller deep. The Game 7 blast off the lefty last year served as a reminder that anything is possible.

That random bit of knowledge now has a different answer. The final bat to slug a homer off Miller now belongs to Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger, who bombed one of his two home runs of the evening off the Tribe’s outstanding left-handed reliever in the Indians’ 7-5 loss on Tuesday night.

Miller’s 83 mph slider was left in a rare place for him — right down the middle — and it came with the game tied at two in the eighth inning. The timing was more than unfortunate, not only accounting for Trevor Bauer’s mostly solid start, going toe-to-toe with Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, but also the way Miller had emerged unscathed after taking over for Bauer with the bases loaded in the sixth by striking out Yasiel Puig to neutralize the threat.

“I left it in a spot where he can hit it pretty well,” Miller said of the 2-1 pitch to Bellinger. “He’s a hot hitter with a pretty good approach right now, so it’s easy to point back and see where that one did not go well. I was 3-0 to a couple guys. I need to be better at getting ahead and throwing strikes. Neither of my pitches I had great command of. So, there were a couple flashes where it was pretty good, but it came back to bite me at the end.”

Miller refused to acknowledge that teams must attempt to play a perfect game when facing Kershaw, but rare are the chances to make mistakes and beat the dominant lefty. That adds to the frustration of Tuesday’s loss. They used a good approach against arguably the game’s best pitcher, but on a night when their offense was able to make Kershaw look a little less godlike than his typical outing — they pounded out six hits and scored twice in seven innings — the Indians’ normally stellar bullpen stubbed their toe.

Miller’s second run of the season, one which inflated his ERA from 0.28 to 0.55, was one of five yielded by the Tribe’s dominant group of relievers. Bryan Shaw (one run), Dan Otero (two runs) and Boone Logan (one run) were each roughed up on some level, with Logan’s belt-high slider to the left-handed hitting Bellinger turning into a massive three-run homer by the rookie. He now has 17 home runs this season.

Miller, who has been arguably the best reliever in the league this season, stood in front of his locker and put most of the blame on himself, as if he hadn’t just given his club over an inning of heroic work before the rare mistake.

“I didn’t do my part,” he said. “I felt like I wasn’t as sharp as I’d like to be and was able to kind of grind through it. It was just a pretty poor at-bat. Obviously, it’s easy to look back and see what I could’ve done differently. Overall, I just need to be sharper and make better pitches.”

Despite the rough night, the Tribe’s pen still leads baseball with a 2.56 ERA. And as for Miller? His FIP (fielding independent pitching) is fifth among MLB relievers and his WPA (win probability added) is ranked third. It’s hard to imagine him being much sharper or making better pitches more consistently than he has this year.

As one astounded reporter said after the game, “Getting ahead and throwing strikes? He’s literally the best at that!” The point being, Miller may have been willing to take the fall, but he’s done more than enough since the start of his Indians career for anyone to go wild playing the blame game.

Bauer summed it up best.

“We all have the utmost confidence to bring [our relievers] in and shut the game down,” he said. “That’s why nights like this are so surprising. I think with a lot of bullpens, nights like this happen fairly regularly. The fact that when it does happen, you sit there and you notice it and it’s a shock, it’s just a testament to how good they are night in and night out. Every pen has a bad night like this. It will happen again this year, I’m sure, but limiting the frequency is what makes a bullpen good and what our bullpen is really good at.”

On most nights after Bauer pitches, he talks to the media, frustrated over results that he doesn’t feel match the way he truly pitched. And honestly, on occasion, he makes some good points. But other times? Maybe not. Nothing about any of his starts is ever dissected and analyzed easily. That said, when he does take accountability, it’s notable. He certainly did over the two-run homer he served up to Puig in the top of the second, the only runs he would yield in Tuesday’s start.

Prior to his chat with reporters, it was interesting to guess what the thoughtful righty would say about the blast. Considering it was left over a fat part of the plate, would he really be able to defend the pitch’s placement? In short: no. And then he threw himself under the bus even more.

“He beat me on that one,” Bauer said. “It’s a bad pitch. Actually, I threw a lot of bad pitches tonight that didn’t get hit. For the first time all year, I think the results were better than I actually pitched. I was glad I was able to keep the team close on a night that I wasn’t my best.”

For once, we’ll defend the righty a bit on this point. He entered the game allowing an average exit velocity of 90.2 mph in his starts this season. On Tuesday, the Dodgers averaged an exit velocity of 87.4 mph. The league average this season is 86.9 mph, so the contact may have been a bit above the average in 2017, but it was below his norm for this year.

He did more than enough in his 5 2/3 innings (six hits, two runs, three walks, five strikeouts) to give his offense a shot against a tough assignment.

Bauer refused to offer any indication if facing Kershaw offers any sort of increased adrenaline. The most he would say was this: “It is hard to tell how much adrenaline you have. There shouldn’t be [more], you should be able to bring that energy every night you pitch. That’s the best answer I can give you.”

The righty averaged 95 mph with his fastball on Tuesday night, a rate above his season average. But before you believe that’s an indication of him being more fired up to battle Kershaw, he did average almost 96 mph in the outing prior against the Rockies. Daniel Robertson did his best to bring some life to his club, doubling against Kershaw and adding his first career major league homer, a three- run bomb off Chris Hatcher in the bottom of the ninth to bring the Tribe within a pair. The long fly to the home run porch snapped a string of 351 plate appearances without a home run.

I’ve asked him before about being an “energy” guy, which he’s quickly deflected. He refuses to see himself as just a sparkplug, even if that’s what the veteran outfielder looks like when he claps his hands emphatically at second base or he screams into the dugout as he rounds the bases following his first career homer. It might not always translate into wins, but guys like that can be necessary to survive long, grueling seasons.

“The game’s been around for 120 years, you feed off each other,” Robertson said. “I just think at any moment when someone does something good or gives us a little bit of momentum in the game, your energy level should rise. But it should rise as a collective kind of thing. So for me, I just try to give back.

“You see [Francisco Lindor] do it when he gets triples, you see [Michael Brantley] do it when he drives in guys, you see Andrew Miller get pumped when he strikes a guy out. This game is all about momentum, and you’re trying to fire everybody up. I still don’t think it’s any energy thing, I just think it’s playing the game hard and the way it should be played.”

While Robertson has been a terrific quote since his arrival in Cleveland, shockingly, he wasn’t willing to say much about his first career big league trip around the bases in the ninth. For once, the man with seemingly boundless energy and emotion said he felt nothing.

“I’m not a Debbie downer or anything, but I didn’t much feeling because it was a 7-2 game and I was trying to get on base,” he said. “After I it, I was pumped because we got a little bit of momentum, and when you roll over the top of the order and you have to pitch to [Jason] Kipnis, Frankie and Brantley, that’s what your trying to do. I thought at that moment we were in the game. I thought all we needed was another base- runner. That’s where my mind was. It was just about getting the next guy to the plate.”

Robertson, for what it’s worth, is now hitting .367 against lefties this season and will provide for a potentially interesting situation when Brandon Guyer is ready to return from the disabled list. Guyer isn’t quite prepared to begin a rehab assignment, but he’s progressing in that direction.

Puig certainly felt something after his two-run homer in the second inning — the need to flip the double bird to some apparent hecklers behind home plate as he jogged back to the dugout. Photographer David Richard captured the moment perfectly. Apparently the bomb to right-center field wasn’t enough retaliation for the Dodgers right fielder.

“People were talking to me before the home run, and they talked to me after the home run,” he said through a translator. “I stooped to their level. It happened suddenly. It came out. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

After every home game, manager Terry Francona meets with reporters in the multi-purpose room across the hall from the Indians’ locker room inside the clubhouse. But on Tuesday, we received a surprise when bench coach Brad Mills was brought into the room instead.

We were told by the team that Francona wasn’t feeling well and left the dugout in the ninth inning but was still in the ballpark. Other than that, we weren’t given any additional information or context on the situation. As soon as we know more about how Francona is feeling, we’ll pass it along as quickly as possible.

The Indians (31-30), after facing the Dodgers’ best, will get to throw their top hurler, Corey Kluber (5-2, 4.38), in the second game of the series. He will be opposed by righty Brandon McCarthy (5-3, 3.28). Wednesday’s pitch at Progressive Field is set for 7:10 p.m.

What to make of Francisco Lindor’s defensive decline? by Travis Sawchik, posted minutes ago The work is still there.

Early before the game Saturday against the White Sox, before batting practice, Francisco Lindor joined Jose Ramirez and Erik Gonzalez on the left side of the infield for ground-ball work. Some teams simply have their infielders gain reps during batting practice, but infield coach prefers to take his group out regularly before BP. He does not want the synchronized chaos that is batting practice to be a distraction.

In a quiet, empty and sun-soaked Progressive Field, Lindor began, from his knees, by taking ground balls on the infield grass off the bat of Sarbaugh. Lindor does not use a glove for this work, rather he wears a sort of padded disk on his left hand, his glove hand, that forces him to field the ball correctly, with both hands, stopping a ball with his left and securing it with his right. Lindor is Lindor in large part because of repetition, because of practice and because of habits that became ingrained on a hillside in his native Guarbo, Puerto Rico — stationed there by his father to give Lindor incentive to stop the ball and prevent long walks down and back to resume play. Lindor is not only the reigning American League Gold Glove winner at shortstop, but he is the reigning Rawlings Platinum Glove winner, given to the best overall defender, regardless of position, in each major league. Given health, one of the issues the Indians were least concerned with entering the season was shortstop defense. But a curious thing has occurred early this season, Lindor’s defensive play has declined dramatically if you buy into the advanced metrics that were so high on him the past two seasons. And he has not pleased the eye with as many acrobatic, high-light worthy plays as he has in his first two seasons.

According to Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), Lindor was worth +10 DRS in his rookie season and +17 DRS last season, which ranked fourth in the majors among shortstops. This season Lindor has a net of zero DRS, which is tracked by Baseball Info Solution analysts, who evaluate defenders at each position relative to their peers. While no one defensive measure is perfect, all are preferable to traditional fielding percentage. And it’s not just in DRS where Lindor’s performance is down, he is just one run above average compared to Ultimate Zone Rating, which had him as 20.8 runs above average last season.

Could positioning by affecting performance? The Indians ranked 19th in shifts last season (1,011) and rank 20th this season (381) on pace for about the same amount of shifts. So whatever the mysterious decline is tied to, it is not positioning.

What is going on?

“I haven’t made any crazy plays. That’s it, I guess,” Lindor told The Athletic. “For me to be there [ranked highly], I guess I have to make the crazy plays. I haven’t really looked at it. I just feel like I haven’t felt that yet where you make that one play ‘Oh, that was pretty cool.’ But I continue to work, it’s a long season we have a long way to go.”

The scouting service Inside Edge evaluates defensive play by degree of difficulty, breaking plays down into categories like “remote,” which has between 1-10 percent chance of batted ball converted into an out, and “routine,” which has a 90-100 percent of being converted into an out, according to their measurements.

Lindor might be on to something. Last season he had 26 “remote” chances and converted 26.9 percent into outs, which is way above average. This year he has had 12 such chances and has converted one into an out (8.3 percent). At age 23, it’s unlikely Lindor has lost a step. But there is a historic amount of talent at the position right now, and some of the game’s top prospects who have arrived, or are soon to arrive, are shortstops. So even if Lindor does not lose a step in the near term, he could lose one relative to the field.

Sarbaugh has not noticed a slip but has a theory that Lindor might be more fatigued.

“I think maybe one of the differences is he placed in the WBC (World Baseball Classic); he’s had a lot more games early on than he had the previous year,” Sarbaugh said. “I don’t know if that had anything to do with the metrics. He’s played a lot. We had a longer season last year. You don’t know if those things played into it.”

Lindor has played a lot of baseball in the past calendar year and started the first 46 games of 2017 regular season before receiving his first off day last Sunday.

Lindor did note he thought he could “anticipate a little more,” and another factor to consider might be the Indians’ poor starting pitching to date, which Indians manager Terry Francona notes has led to a lot of time for defenders to simply be standing around. There is a symbiotic relationship between pitching and defense, and it’s possible Lindor is a bit out of rhythm. The Indians rank 10th, as in 10th fastest, in “pace,” the seconds between pitch by their starting pitchers 22.7 seconds compared to 22.1 last season, according to PITCHf/x data. The Indians as a team ranked ninth in baseball with +17 total DRS last season. To date, they rank 11th with +5 DRRS.

I asked Lindor if defense slumps.

“Depends on the week,” Lindor said. “There are weeks where you don’t get the ball as much. There are going to be other weeks where two, three guys who are sinking the ball a lot more and you get those rollovers a lot more.”

Perhaps more than pace is batted-ball type that is affecting his rhythm. As a pitching staff, the Indians have fallen from fifth last season in ground-ball rate (46.7 percent) to 20th (43.1 percent) this season. Lindor is not enjoying as many chances.

Whatever the cause for the early season decline of mystery, Lindor is not concerned.

“The numbers that are on the scoreboard right now, or in the computer right now, I guaranteed it is not going to be the same at the end of the year,” Lindor said. “It’s either going to be better or worse. It’s not going to be the exact same. We’ll see what happens.”

And neither is Sarbaugh, who works daily with Lindor from drills to positioning.

“He really positions himself well,” Sarbaugh said. “We have a start-up spot we go to, but I try to express to the players if they have a feel, move. If you feel like you have to move a little bit toward the middle, to the hole, you read swings, you play the game. He does a very good job of that. His anticipation of where the ball is going to be hit really helps him out. It’s very instinctual. I think it’s learned, but it’s also you have to really pay attention to detail. Have a feel for where that ball is going to be hit if it’s a fastball, if it’s a breaking ball, the pitch selection knowing what the hitter is going to do with that pitch. “I know what I’m seeing is still the same player, great instincts, makes all the plays. You still see his work. He’s still getting after it on a daily basis.”

Lindor still has the same gifts. He is still doing the same work. And perhaps, he offered evidence on Saturday that he is ready to bust out of his defensive slump.

The play did not record an out, it might have been honored by the defensive metrics, but it was spectacular stop. It was the kind of play that has earned Lindor gold and platinum gloves. Few doubt his glove no longer warrants such consideration. Perhaps the slump will be nothing more than a curiosity, but he could perhaps use a little help from his friends on the mound to get back into a rhythm.

SPORTS Indians notes: Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley fall out of starting spots in latest All-Star voting Chris Assenheimer ByChris Assenheimer | The Chronicle-TelegramPublished on June 13, 2017 | Updated 7:03 a. m. CLEVELAND — The latest All-Star voting results were released Tuesday, and it was bad news all around for the Indians, with shortstop Francisco Lindor and left fielder Michael Brantley falling out of starting spots.

Lindor, who was atop the list at his position through the first two voting releases, was replaced by Houston’s Carlos Correa, who finished ahead of Lindor in the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year race. Correa entered Tuesday batting .294 with 11 home runs and leading American League shortstops with 40 RBIs.

Lindor, who was an All-Star in his first full season in the majors last year, entered Tuesday batting .259 with 27 RBIs and leading players at his position with a team-leading 12 homers.

Brantley, who was among the top three outfielders in the previous voting release, slipped to fourth behind Aaron Judge (Yankees), Mike Trout (Angels) and George Springer (Astros). Trout is injured and not expected to play, which would mean Brantley — .289, 5 HRs, 25 RBIs through Monday — would likely be his replacement should he finish in the top four.

The Indians are still represented in the top five at each position — third baseman Jose Ramirez (second), second baseman Jason Kipnis (third), first baseman Carlos Santana (fourth), designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion (fourth) and catcher Yan Gomes (fifth).

Welcome back Manager Terry Francona confirmed that the Indians would promote left-hander Ryan Merritt from Triple-A Columbus to join right-hander Mike Clevinger to start in a doubleheader Saturday in Minnesota.

“I think he started out a little slow, but he’s been better lately,” Francona said of Merritt, who is 6-5 with a 3.96 ERA in 12 games (11 starts) for Columbus. “You know you’re going to get strikes.

“It’s kind of nice. You get to this time of the year, you’re starting to play a lot of baseball, getting a fresh face — his fresh face, too — I think it can help us and I think it can really help him, and as we’ve seen in the past, you end up needing those guys.”

Wounded Wahoos Right-hander Danny Salazar (right shoulder inflammation) is expected to head to Double-A Akron to work with RubberDucks pitching coach Tony Arnold when the Indians depart for an eight-day, nine-game road trip Thursday. “The one thing we need to make sure is that he’s started his throwing program, and if that’s the case, that’s what we’ll do,” Francona said. Outfielder Abe Almonte (right biceps strain) continued his minor league rehab assignment at Columbus on Tuesday. He entered the day batting .400 (4-for-10) with a homer and two RBIs in three rehab appearances for the Clippers. Outfielder Brandon Guyer (left wrist sprain) participated in pregame activities Tuesday and is on the verge of beginning a rehab assignment. He’s been sidelined since May 13. Tyler Naquin (lower-back strain) was activated from the and started at DH for Columbus on Tuesday. Naquin’s path back to the big leagues appears to be blocked by former Clippers teammate , who has played well since joining the Indians on May 16. “I don’t know that we know that. I think what we do know is when guys play well, you make room for guys in the big leagues that can help you win,” Francona said. “We’ve all seen what Naquin can do when he’s going good. The first half of last year was pretty (darn) impressive, and we also saw some of the growth and the hiccups that can come with younger players. “I know at times it can look like maybe somebody’s blocked. If we ever get in a situation where we have too many good players, boy, good for us. That would be a heck of a problem (to have).” Fourth or fifth

A move from cleanup to the fifth spot in the batting order has appeared to benefit Edwin Encarnacion, who entered Tuesday with hits in 15 of his last 17 games, while batting .361 (22-for-61) with five homers, 10 RBIs and 13 runs over the span.

Still, Francona envisions a day that Encarnacion hits fourth again, with Carlos Santana going back to the fifth spot.

“I’ve thought about it. It certainly could happen,” Francona said. “Right now it seems like he’s hitting with men on base a lot, and that’s the idea. Even if we go 1-2-3 in the first, he’s not leading off (in the second), so I don’t know that it’s that big of a deal, but I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point he’s back there again.” The picks The Indians selected eight players — OF Jonathan Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy (third round); 2B Ernie Clement, University of Virginia (fourth round); OF Austen Wade, Texas Christian University (fifth round); C Michael Rivera, University of Florida (sixth round); LHP Kirk McCarty, University of Southern Mississippi (seventh round); RHP Eli Morgan, Gonzaga University (eighth round); RHP James Karinchak, Bryant University (ninth round); and SS Jesse Berardi, St. John’s University (10th round) — during Day 2 of the MLB Draft on Wednesday.

The draft convenes today with rounds 11 through 40.

Roundin’ third

The Indians entered Tuesday owning the American League’s worst interleague record (1-7). The Dodgers entered Tuesday with a 5-4 series edge over the Indians, winning all three games during their last trip to Cleveland in 2003.

Hey, he's human: Andrew Miller tagged for big home run as Indians fall to Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw Chris Assenheimer ByChris Assenheimer | The Chronicle-Telegram Published on June 13, 2017 | Updated 7:52 a. m. CLEVELAND — It doesn’t happen often, but Andrew Miller allowed a run Tuesday night and it helped cost the Indians the game.

Miller served up a go-ahead solo home run to rookie Cody Bellinger to lead off the eighth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled from there, scoring four more times to beat Cleveland 7-5 in the opener of a three-game interleague series at Progressive Field.

“You really don’t (see it often). Andrew’s been so good and so perfect and to have something like that happen, I think it kind of stunned everybody to a point,” said Indians bench coach Brad Mills, who filled in for manager Terry Francona during the postgame interview session after Francona left the dugout in the ninth inning with an illness.

“Obviously I didn’t do my part,” said Miller, who struck out the final batter of the sixth, then retired the side in order in the seventh before Bellinger beat him in the eighth. “I felt like I wasn’t as sharp as I’d like to be and was able to kind of grind through it. It was just a pretty poor at- bat (to Bellinger). Obviously it’s easy to look back and see what I could have done differently but just overall, I need to be sharper and make better pitches.”

A three-run homer from Daniel Robertson in the ninth — one of two hits for the Indians over the final four innings — made the final count a respectable one.

Miller, last year’s ALCS MVP, entered the night having allowed only one earned run over 27 appearances covering 31 1»3 innings. Bellinger’s 16th homer of the season was the first off Miller this year. The Dodgers first baseman also clouted a three-run homer off left-hander Boone Logan to put Los Angeles in front 7-2 in the ninth.

Cleveland produced a pretty solid effort off Dodgers starter and three-time Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw, who was facing the Indians for just the second time and the first since 2008.

Kershaw allowed two runs on six hits, including a game-tying solo homer to Roberto Perez in the fifth, over seven innings. He retired six of the last seven batters he faced.

“There’s no doubt, anytime you can go into the seventh inning tied against him (is nice),” Mills said. “Obviously there was a couple opportunities early that would have been nice to get, but at the same time, the guys had some really good at-bats against him.”

The homer was the first of the season and another big one for Perez, whose last three homers prior to Tuesday came in Game 1 of last year’s World Series, when he hit two, and Game 1 of the 2016 American League Division Series.

Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer was effective, but another mounting pitch count cost the right-hander from lasting six innings for the fifth time in his last six outings.

Bauer, who allowed two runs on six hits and three walks, has completed seven innings just once in 14 starts this year.

After stranding two in the opening inning, Bauer allowed a leadoff single to Chris Taylor and a two-out, two-run homer to No. 9 hitter Yasiel Puig for the first runs of the game in the second. Cameras caught Puig giving Indians fans the double bird as he headed to the visitors dugout after crossing the plate.

“I tried to throw a fastball down and away (and) threw it right down the middle,” Bauer said. “He beat me on that one. It was a bad pitch. Actually, I threw a lot of bad pitches tonight that didn’t get hit. I think for the first time all year the results were actually better than how I pitched. I was glad I was able to keep the team close on a night that I wasn’t at my best.”

“I thought he battled through it. I think we’ve seen that before,” Mills said of Bauer. “I’m sure he would say that he would have liked to have a couple of those pitches (called strikes), maybe put him in some better counts and maybe keep the pitch count down. But he gave us everything he had and battled through some tough situations.” Indians start second day of MLB draft by taking 17-year-old outfielder By Jeff Schudel, The News-Herald & The Morning Journal The second day of the three-day 40-round MLB draft concluded June 13 with the Indians drafting three pitchers, two outfielders, two infielders and one catcher in Rounds 3 through 10.

Brad Grant, Indians vice president of amateur scouting, offered a brief synopsis on each player the Tribe selected:

Round 3, pick 102 — Right fielder Jonathan Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran Academy, Puerto Rico: Rodriguez is 17 years old, 6-foot-2, 185 pounds. The Indians have been scouting him for a year. “What we really like about Jonathan is just his age and his contact ability and the upside he has,” Grant said. “He’s the second youngest player in the draft this year. We think he can eventually hit for a lot of power in the future.”

Round 4, pick 132 — Second baseman/shortstop Ernie Clement, University of Virginia: “He’s a guy that can move around the infield and his contact ability in his bat,” Grant said. Clement, a right-handed hitter, struck out only 31 times in 754 college at-bats. Round 5, pick 162 — Right fielder Austen Wade, TCU — “We like the versatility in the outfield,” Grant said. “He’s a plus runner. He’s playing right field now but he can play center, play left, and another guy we like the contact ability with.” Wade, 6-foot, 200 pounds, bats left-handed.

Round 6, pick 192 — Catcher Michael Rivera, Florida: “The big thing with him is his offensive ability,” Grant said. “He puts up very good numbers at the collegiate side. At the same time, he’s also an elite catch-throw prospect. He’s a very good framer, has a very good understanding how to call a game. He’s a great leader and a guy we’re excited about defensively behind the plate.” Rivera is 5-foot-8, 200 pounds.

Round 7, pick 222 — Left-handed Kirk McCarty, Southern Miss.: McCarty was the first pitcher drafted by the Indians this year. “His ability to throw strikes is what stands out with him,” Grant said. “He has a three-pitch mix. He has the ability to locate. He has an average breaking ball, average fastball, average changeup.”

Round 8, pick 252 — RHP Eli Morgan, Gonzaga: “He’s another guy who has had a ton of success throwing strikes,” Grant said. “He’s a lead strike thrower with a changeup. He has an average fastball and breaking ball. His changeup has the chance to be an above-average pitch for him.”

Round 9, pick 282 — Starting RHP James Karinchak, Bryant University: MLB.com ranked Karinchak 163 overall. The Indians were able to get him 119 picks later because he had arm trouble as a junior in college. The Indians thought he was worth the gamble in the ninth round.

Round 10, pick 312 — Shortstop Jessi Berrardi, St. John’s University: “He handles the bat well,” Grant said. “He can move around to other positions, but we’ll start him off as a shortstop.”

The draft concludes on June 14 with rounds 11-40.

Schudel: Indians need fire to make series with Dodgers a World Series preview By Jeff Schudel, The News-Herald & The Morning Journal POSTED: 06/13/17, 10:28 PM EDT | UPDATED: 2 HRS AGO 0 The Los Angeles Dodgers this week are making their first visit to Cleveland in 14 years, and if the next 3½ months unfold in the way some analysts believe it will, they will be back here in October representing the National League in the World Series.

If that matchup occurs, when the weather will predictably be about 40 degrees cooler than the balmy 86 degrees that settled around Progressive Field on June 13, the Indians will need more fire than they showed in front of a crowd of 22,171.

The pitching matchup for the first of a three-game series wasn’t made for ESPN, but it was good enough to be intriguing: Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers vs. Trevor Bauer for the Indians.

Bauer lives for these duels. He likes being the underdog. He made one mistake in 5 2/3 innings, and Yasiel Puig made him pay by launching a two-run home run in the second inning for a 2-0 Dodgers lead.

As Puig headed to the Dodgers’ dugout, cameras caught Puig flipping the middle finger of each hand to fans who allegedly had been heckling him.

Later, in the top of the sixth, with the score 2-2 and the bases full of Dodgers, Andrew Miller walked to the mound from the bullpen to relieve Bauer and figuratively flipped Puig the middle finger by striking out the Los Angeles right-handed slugger as Puig swung futilely at Miller’s almost unhittable slider.

The Progressive Field crowd, perhaps sensing they were witnessing a preview of games with higher stakes four months into the future, broke into a loud cheer. But it did not inspire the Indians to greater things.

Anyone following the Indians would not be surprised at Miller working out of a jam not of his own creation. If this was indeed a preview of the 2017 World Series, the Indians will go into knowing firsthand what to expect from Kershaw, whose list of accomplishments is as long as the 430-foot home run Tribe catcher Roberto Perez hit off him in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game, 2-2.

Kershaw, now 9-2, is a three-time Cy Young Award winner. His 2.36 ERA in 278 starts is the lowest among hurlers with more than 1,500 since 1920.

The opposing pitching staff cannot make a mistake when Kershaw is on the hill for the Dodgers, and Indians’ reliever Bryan Shaw did. Cody Bellinger swatted his 16th home run of the season in the top of the eighth to break the 2-2 tie. The Dodgers added another on a groundout in the eighth and then Bellinger, a rookie, smashed a three-run homer in the ninth to blow the game open.

Both teams – especially the Indians — have work to do to make a World Series matchup happen. The Indians are a mediocre 18-19 since May 1.

The Tribe, now 31-30, began the night a game behind the Twins in the American League Central. The Dodgers, 39-25 before the first pitch, began the night with the fourth best record in baseball, but still trail the surprising by a game.

A Corey Kluber-Kershaw matchup would have had more intensity than the game that played out June 12. Best to save that for October if the Indians get it gear to create the possibility.

RubberDucks report: Catcher Francisco Mejia takes hot hitting to new levels for Ducks Routines can be tedious, monotonous and frankly quite boring at times.

They have made RubberDucks catcher Francisco Mejia unbelievable.

Mejia’s bat has been the talk of pretty much every team he’s been on in the Indians’ minor-league system and 2017 isn’t any different.

A career .301 hitter, Mejia, 21, is having the season of his life at a level that usually takes some time to get used to.

“He’s got a ridiculous bat-to-ball ratio,” Ducks manager Mark Budzinski said. “He hit a ball that was literally eye high and hit a chopper over the mound for a hit and legged it out. He’ll hit a ball off his shoe tops for a home run. He’s got the unbelievable capability to put the sweet spot of the bat on the ball consistently.”

That consistency has Mejia, a 2012 free agent, putting up ridiculous numbers in Class AA.

He came into Tuesday’s game leading the Eastern League in batting (.369), slugging percentage (.613) and OPS (1.043) and is .001 out of the lead in on-base percentage (.412).

He’s been even better in June. Mejia was named the league’s player of the week after a stretch where he batted .609 (14-for-23) with three doubles, five home runs, 10 RBI, seven runs and a 1.391 slugging percentage in five games.

In June, he’s hitting .516 with a 1.097 slugging percentage and a 1.676 OPS.

As the pressure increases, Mejia cranks up his performance. He’s hitting .410 with runners in scoring position with three home runs and 20 RBI and is hitting .514 against left-handers.

“I always have the same routine,” he said. “In every at-bat, whether it’s no one on or runners in scoring position, I’m looking for a good pitch to hit.”

A combined 50-game hitting streak between Lake County and Lynchburg last season brought national media attention largely because it put him in the same company as Joe DiMaggio’s 61-hit streak with the San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League (1933).

Joe Wilhoit (Wichita Jobbers, Western League, 1919) holds the minor-league mark at 69.

More attention came when a trade involving Mejia for former catcher Jonathon Lucroy fell through after the All-Star break.

“I never lose focus,” Mejia said. “I always come to play. I know the media will always be there. I just come to the park to play hard.”

He’s solid defensively as well.

RubberDucks bench coach Omir Santos, who had stints at catcher for the Indians, Detroit Tigers, and , sees a budding star behind the plate.

Mejia has thrown out 9-of-25 would-be base stealers, punching out a career high 36 percent. In 272Ҁ innings, he only has four passed balls and two errors.

“He only has to work on consistency,” Santos said. “He’s a big-league catcher right now. He only has to work on a couple things. Right now, if you throw him back there, he’s going to do the job.

“Nobody knows how he’s going to handle playing every day and being consistent. There’s just a couple of adjustments behind the plate. He’s pretty close.”

Roster move

Left-handed reliever David Speer (1-1, 3.60) has been promoted to the .

Clippers 3, Bulls 2 | Win in sloppy game continues Clippers’ rise By Mark Znidar The Columbus Dispatch The cliché is that a baseball season is a marathon, and no teams in the know that better than the two that fought themselves as well as each other Tuesday night at Huntington Park.

Durham did not arrive until a little more than two hours before game time because its bus broke down three times on its way to Columbus.

The Clippers could tell the Bulls all about breakdowns with 79 roster moves that include enough injuries to fill a floor at nearby OhioHealth Grant Medical Center.

In the end, the Clippers endured to win 3-2 when Erik Kratz scored from third base on a throwing error to first base by shortstop Willy Adames in the eighth inning on a chopper hit by Giovanny Urshela.

The game was a horror show. Each team committed two errors. Twenty-two men were left on base, 13 by the Clippers. The teams combined for 16 walks, 12 by Bulls pitchers.

The Clippers (31-32) have won three of four games and are only three games behind West Division leader Indianapolis (34-29) with nine games left before the midway point of the season.

Those glass-half-empty people might have thought the Clippers buried themselves by losing 12 of 16 games in April.

“We’re not even quite at the halfway point and we’re a couple games behind,” Tremie said. “We’re getting right at .500, which we’ve been striving for. When you start slow you look to get to .500 and then you leap frog that and keep going.”

The starting rotation should receive a huge boost with the return of left-hander Chris Narveson from the disabled list. He won 12 games in 2010 and 11 in 2011 for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Narveson was limited to 75 pitches on Tuesday and gave up three hits and two walks in four innings. He struck out five. His only mistake was a solo home run to left-center by Wilson Ramos in the first inning.

“I felt great tonight and I wanted to give everything I’ve got for the team,” he said. “We’re starting to play well right now. We’ve got a lot of great character guys in here — a great team makeup — and have guys who can handle things when they aren’t going well.”

Narveson, 35, was on the disabled list from April 25 until May 31.

“For a couple of months there was a lot going on with people moving up and down and injuries,” he said. “Things are going to calm down after awhile. I’ve been reminded so many times that it’s a long season. You can’t look at any one stretch and say that defines you. I think we’re starting to turn that corner.”

Clippers on FM In an effort to serve fans having difficulty picking up the signal of the team’s games on WMNI-AM (920), the Clippers and the station have struck an agreement for the club also to be carried on WMNI-FM (95.1).

“We’ve been hearing from a lot of people who are excited about this move,” said Scott Leo, who is one half of the radio team with director of broadcasting Ryan Mitchell. “The AM signal was difficult to pick up for some people, especially at night.”

Every game, home and away, will be carried on both stations.

Yasiel Puig owns up to flipping off Indians fans in Dodgers' 7-5 vic Andy McCullough In a corner of the visitors’ clubhouse at Progressive Field, Cody Bellinger turned to Yasiel Puig. On Bellinger’s mind was the most pressing question after a 7-5 Dodgers victory over the Cleveland Indians. “Hey,” Bellinger said, “who did you flip off?” All around the room, members of the Dodgers checked their phones and chuckled. Puig shook his head and grumbled laughter. On a night when Bellinger became the first player to homer against relief ace Andrew Miller in 2017, Puig became a centerpiece of viral content. After Puig launched a home run, the television cameras captured him flashing two middle fingers to a group of fans. “People were talking to me before the home run, and after the home run, they kept talking,” Puig said. “I reacted that way, and stooped to their level.” Bemused but contrite, Puig accepted responsibility for the gesture. He said he would pay a fine if punished by Major League Baseball. And his teammates indulged in the comedy, checking the replay on as they ate a postgame meal. Kenley Jansen emerged from the trainer’s room to suggest Puig should argue that the gesture translates to “thumbs up in Cuba.” Manager Dave Roberts said he had not seen what happened. He preferred to discuss the particulars of the evening, a fifth victory in a row for the Dodgers (40-25), a game in which Bellinger hit two homers — a tiebreaking blast against Miller in the eighth inning and a three-run shot against another left-handed reliever, Boone Logan, in the ninth. It was Bellinger’s fourth multi-homer game, matching a feat achieved only twice by Dodgers rookies: Mike Piazza in 1993 and Corey Seager in 2016. Bellinger leads the team with 17 homers. “He’s not intimidated by handedness, velocity or anything,” Roberts said. “Every single time he gets in the box, it seems like, I feel like he’s going to get a hit.” The second one provided insurance when Chris Hatcher gave up a three-run homer to journeyman outfielder Daniel Robertson in the ninth inning. Jansen secured a one-out save. He was protecting a victory for Clayton Kershaw (9-2), who strung together seven innings despite paltry fastball command. The Dodgers struck first against starter Trevor Bauer. Appearing in an American League park for the first time this season, Puig fell to the ninth spot in the lineup. As he stood in the on-deck circle in the second inning, four fans pestered him, he said. Puig later said he could not recall what, in particular, upset him the most. Inside the batter’s box, Puig ignored the chatter. He drove a 96-mph fastball over the center-field fence for his 10th homer. Puig touched the plate and trotted toward the dugout. As he jogged, he flipped the bird to his antagonists. Caught on tape, Puig did not hide from the gesture. “It happened suddenly,” Puig said. “It was something that just came out.” The game had only begun. Cleveland scored runs in the third and fifth innings to tie the score. Kershaw got punished for an inside fastball with a double by Robertson in the third inning. Kershaw secured two quick outs, but fell behind outfielder Michael Brantley. In a 2-and-0 count, Kershaw’s fastball drifted over the middle of the plate. Brantley hit a run-scoring single. Two innings later, the faulty fastball hurt Kershaw again. He opened the inning by pumping a slider and a for a strike against catcher Roberto Perez, who began the game with a .139 batting average. Perez ran the count full. A 93-mph fastball split the plate in half. Perez bashed it over the elevated fence in left field to tie the score with his first homer of the year. “I was falling behind hitters, behind hitters, behind hitters,” Kershaw said. “It was a little bit of grind tonight, for sure. But kept us in the game long enough for our guys to come through.” The breakthrough occurred in the eighth inning, but Miller arrived in the sixth. At 6 feet 7, armed with a wicked slider and a fastball that approaches triple digits, Miller is without peer among left-handed relievers. Willing to pitch whenever, untouchable almost always, his value is immense. He showed as much in the sixth, striking out Puig to strand the bases loaded. Bellinger led off the eighth. He had watched Miller transfix the sport in last October’s playoffs. Even so, Bellinger has learned that he does not allow awe to handcuff him in the batter’s box. Facing Miller for the first time, he fixated on waiting for a slider to enter the strike zone. A 2-and-1 breaking ball spun over the middle, and Bellinger shipped it over the right-field fence. “I was trying to, honestly, not do anything,” Bellinger said. “Maybe I should have that approach more often. He just hung one.” So did Logan, an inning later. Bellinger did not hesitate to punish him for it. In the aftermath of the evening, the only punishment in question was Puig’s potential fine. Puig could only shrug and await judgment. “I can’t not pay it,” Puig said. “I mean, it’s everywhere. I know I did it.” LA Times LOADED: 06.14.2017 Dodgers Notes: Adrian Gonzalez goes back to DL with disc problem, Dodgers activate Joc Pederson By BILL PLUNKETT | PUBLISHED: June 13, 2017 CLEVELAND — Adrian Gonzalez went nearly 14 years before going on the disabled list for the first time in his major-league career. He took less than four weeks to go back. The Dodgers placed their veteran first baseman on the DL on Tuesday with lower back discomfort. Gonzalez has been dealing with a herniated disc for some years and the issue flared up again Sunday. He was removed from the game against the and underwent an MRI on Monday. The MRI examined by Dr. Robert Watkins showed the same herniated disc in Gonzalez’s lower back that he has been dealing with since his days with the Padres. Gonzalez did not travel to Cleveland with the team and was scheduled to get a second opinion from a doctor in San Diego on Tuesday before a recovery plan is put in place. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Gonzalez had “a bit of an exhale” after the MRI did not uncover a new issue or something potentially more serious. “It’s not something where right now we know that surgery is needed,” Roberts said. “A lot of it is just wear and tear from his workload over the years. So now with potential rest or an (epidural) injection, it’s managing it per his tolerance.” Gonzalez received an epidural injection early in the 2016 season and got a good deal of relief from it. He has not received one this year, according to Roberts. There is no timetable for Gonzalez’s return at this point. “I think right now we’re just going to wait for that second opinion and figure out what’s best for Adrian,” Roberts said. “Can I see it happening (before the All-Star break)? Yes. Is it probable? I don’t want to put Adrian or us in a corner. I’m hopeful.” The Dodgers already brought Gonzalez back faster than planned once. In early May, the 35-year-old Gonzalez went on the DL with a combination of issues — elbow tendinitis that began in the spring and discomfort in his back and neck that followed. He returned earlier than anticipated when outfielder Andrew Toles was lost for the season with a torn ACL. In 20 games since returning, Gonzalez showed some improvement at the plate, batting .254 with six doubles, one home run and 12 RBI. But he is still on pace for career-worst numbers offensively with just that one home run in 182 plate appearances and a .643 OPS. PEDERSON PLAN Gonzalez’s second DL trip changed the Dodgers’ plan for outfielder Joc Pederson. He had been expected to spend as much as a week on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City – as much to complete his recovery from a concussion and neck injury suffered in an outfield collision with Yasiel Puig on May 23 as to have him work on the problems that led to a .200 average and only two home runs in his first 35 games this season. But he was activated from the DL to replace Gonzalez on the active roster. “I talk about being able to adjust in this game. It calls for that,” Roberts said. “Joc, physically, feels fine. Ideally, I would have liked for him to stay there and get more at-bats. But circumstances called for him to be here.” In three rehab games over the weekend with Oklahoma City, Pederson hit two home runs while going 3 for 9 with four RBI and said it was “extremely helpful” to have time to work with OKC hitting coach Shawn Wooten. “It was a good place to be – see some pitching, get some at-bats, get some innings in the field and get some work in,” Pederson said of his brief rehab assignment. “I feel like I’m in a good spot.” With Gonzalez out and Pederson back, Roberts said Chris Taylor will become the primary left fielder with Cody Bellinger moving back to first base. ALSO The draft resumed with the third through 10th rounds Tuesday. The Dodgers continued to load up on college talent, taking catcher Connor Wong from the University of Houston in the third round and four college pitchers after that – Riley Ottesen (Utah), Wills Montgomerie (Connecticut), Zach Pop (Kentucky) and Connor Strain (Evansville) – as well as outfielder Zach Reks of Kentucky. Tuesday’s game in Cleveland began a stretch of 20 consecutive days before the Dodgers’ last off day before the All-Star break. They will play on 26 of 27 days before the break. Roberts said right-hander Kenta Maeda (bumped from the starting rotation last week) could make a spot start during this stretch to give the other starters an extra day off and to keep Maeda’s pitch count built up. “But most of all, he has to pitch well,” Roberts said.