Indians shoot for No. 17 against Orioles (Sep 09, 2017)
CLEVELAND -- The team that refuses to lose will try to win another game Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field.
The streaking Cleveland Indians, who have won a franchise-record 16 games in a row, will try to extend the record to 17 games on Saturday, when they host the Baltimore Orioles in the second game of their three-game series.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter had a front-row seat for Cleveland's 16th consecutive win Friday night, when four Indians pitchers combined on a four-hit 5-0 shutout.
"I thought we pitched pretty well, but they've got another level going on the way they're pitching," said Showalter. "Any mistake we make is magnified because of how well they are playing. They are playing good defense and getting very good pitching. That's a good combination."
The Indians' numbers during their streak get more remarkable with each victory.
During their winning streak, they have outscored their opponents 114-28. Indians pitchers have thrown five shutouts during the streak, and have a major league-high 17 shutouts for the season, the most shutouts in a season by an Indians team in 41 years.
Indians pitchers have held the opposition to two runs or fewer in 12 of the 16 games.
In their 16-game winning streak Indians starting pitchers are 14-0 with a 1.80 ERA.
"We're feeding off the energy of each previous outing and it's fun," said Friday night's winning pitcher Mike Clevinger. "I feel like it's more so just the standards get set and the bar gets higher and higher and then you try to meet that bar each time you go out there."
During their streak, the Indians have jumped on the opposition early. They have scored first in all 16 games of the streak, and in the first three innings of those games they have outscored the opposition 56-11.
"Scoring first certainly helps," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "But it's not always easy."
Cleveland will send right-hander Josh Tomlin to the mound Saturday. Tomlin is 8-9 with a 5.20 ERA, but those numbers are deceiving. He spent the month of August on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. He hasn't lost since June 25.
In six starts since his last loss, Tomlin is 4-0 with a 3.12 ERA. In 34 2/3 innings he has held opposing teams to a .228 batting average while striking out 27 with only four walks.
Tomlin's only start against Baltimore this season came on June 20, when he pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up five runs on four hits and received no decision. In eight career appearances against the Orioles he is 3-3 with a 5.72 ERA.
The Orioles Saturday starter will be Gabriel Ynoa (1-0, 3.68). Ynoa will be making his first major league start this season and only the fourth start of his major league career. He started three games for the Mets last year. Saturday will be Ynoa's first start in the majors since Oct. 2, 2016, for the Mets.
Ynoa has started 21 games at Triple-A Norfolk this year, going 6-9 with a 5.25 ERA in those games. In five relief appearances for the Orioles this year he is 1-0 with a 3.68 ERA. In two career relief appearances against Cleveland, both this season, Ynoa has no record and a 1.69 ERA.
