[July 31, 2014]CLEVELAND -- It was a marquee
pitching matchup that lived up to the hype, and it was right-hander
Corey Kluber who came out on top. The Cleveland right-hander tossed an
85-pitch, three-hit shutout to beat ace right-hander Felix Hernandez and
the Seattle Mariners 2-0 Wednesday night at Progressive Field.
"You rarely see two guys that good and that on top of their game
to boot. The way Felix was throwing the only way to beat him was the
way Corey threw," said Francona.
"That was fun," said Kluber of the matchup with Hernandez.
"Obviously it's a challenge whenever you go against one of the best
pitchers in the game."
Kluber gave up three singles, struck out eight and did not walk a
batter. But his most impressive stats were his pitch count, 85, and
the fact that only 16 of those pitches missed the strike zone.
"Sixteen balls? That's like, what? Two an inning? That's
phenomenal," said Francona.
"That guy is good, what he did tonight was not a fluke, trust me,"
said Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon. "He's shut down some pretty
good offenses for the last couple of years, including one that I was
a part of (Tigers). All the credit goes to him. He's on quite a
stretch."
Kluber (11-6) was masterful as he continues to establish himself as
the new No.1 starter for the Indians, who earlier in the day traded
their former No.1, right-hander Justin Masterson, to St. Louis.
Hernandez (11-3) lost for the first time since June 13. Hernandez
pitched seven innings, holding the Indians to four hits. He struck
out five and walked two.
In his first career appearance vs. Seattle, Kluber was in control
from start to finish as he extended his streak to 18 consecutive
innings without allowing an earned run. In his last three starts, a
span of 26 2/3 innings, he has struck out 28 and walked one.
"Corey had solid stuff and he located everything, in, out, up, down,
he changed speeds, that was really impressive. It wasn't like he was
just throwing it down the middle," said Francona.
Kluber and Hernandez cruised through the early innings.
Hernandez came into the game with a 1.50 ERA in four July starts and
Kluber entered with a 1.97 ERA in four July starts.
Kluber held Seattle scoreless on three hits through the first five
innings. Thanks to two double plays, he faced only 16 batters during
that span, one over the minimum. He faced just 28 batters in the
game overall.
Hernandez retired the first 12 batters he faced in order, but
Cleveland reached him in the fifth inning for two runs.
Third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall got the first hit off Hernandez, a double
to right field. Designated hitter Nick Swisher reached on an infield
single. Later in the inning, catcher Yan Gomes doubled down the right
field line, scoring Chisenhall and Swisher to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead.
It was the Kluber and Hernandez show after that.
"Felix has so many ways to beat you. That 88, 89 mph changeup -- that's
not fair. Felix is really hard to score off. Corey didn't have a lot of
wiggle room," said Francona.
"(Kluber) got ahead with multiple pitches and his fastball was going
over for strikes, so it was really tough tonight," Mariners third
baseman Kyle Seager said. "Both starters were great, though. Felix only
had that one rough inning."
Seattle's only three hits were all singles -- by Seager in the second
inning, by second baseman Robinson Cano in the fourth inning and by
first baseman Logan Morrison in the fifth inning.
Following Morrison's hit, Kluber got catcher Mike Zunino to ground into
an inning-ending double play, starting Kluber on a streak in which he
retired the last 13 batters he faced to finish the game.
NOTES: Before Wednesday night's game, the Indians traded RHP Justin
Masterson, their opening day starter, to St. Louis for minor league
outfielder James Ramsey. In 19 starts this year, Masterson, who will
become a free agent after the season, was 4-6 with a 5.51 ERA. ...
Indians LHP T.J. House will be recalled from Triple-A Columbus to take
Masterson's place in the rotation. House will start Saturday against
Texas. ... After hitting .165 in June, Seattle LF Dustin Ackley entered
Wednesday's game batting .390 in July.
