CLEVELAND -- After
throwing a complete game in his last start at Progressive Field, Corey Kluber's
encore was even better. It just didn't have the same result.
The right-hander
struck out a career-high 13 in eight innings and set a team record by striking
out seven straight players. He left with a 3-1 lead but John Axford gave up a
three-run homer to Dayan Viciedo in the ninth as the White Sox rallied for a
4-3 win on Sunday.
The seven straight
strikeouts in the third through fifth innings broke the previous record of six
that was shared by Bob Feller, Bartolo Colon, Chuck Finley and Mitch Talbot.
With 24 strikeouts in his last two Progressive Field starts, he is the first
Indians pitcher to strike out 11 or more in consecutive home starts since
Dennis Eckersley on Aug. 13 and 23, 1976.
"It was just the
same thing as the whole game," said Kluber of the seven straight Ks. "We just
maybe got them to look for something else during those at-bats. It was really
just the same as the rest of the game, just attacking them and working ahead."
During that streak,
Kluber used a good mix of pitches to confuse Chicago batters. Three of the
third-strike pitches were sliders, two came on sinkers and two curveballs.
Twice, he got batters when there was a full count.
Of the 110 pitches
thrown by Kluber, 70 were strikes with 11 on first pitches and 23 that were
swings that didnât make contact. The only mistake that Kluber made came in the
first when Jose Abreu homered on a 2-1 sinker in the first inning for the
gameâs first run. Of Abreu's five hits against the Indians this season, four
have been home runs.
Said manager Terry
Francona of Kluber: "He just pitched his heart out. That's about as good as you
can pitch. The ball Abreu hit in the first inning was a good pitch. He just
made the adjustment and hit it out. That was in off the plate. After that, man,
he didn't give up anything."
"He did everything
today. He's so aggressive. With the bigger hitters in their lineup he'd come in
hard and that opened up the plate for everything else. He was working ahead.
The ball's got late movement both ways. He's just got a lot of weapons."
The performance was
also impressive considering Kluber was working with a new catcher in George
Kottaras, who was called up from Columbus on Saturday. Kottaras was signed
during the first week of the season and didnât have the advantage of working
with any of the Indians' starters during spring training.
Kottaras said he
watched plenty of video on Saturday. After a feeling-out phase during the first
two innings, they were locked in the rest of the game.
"It's just one of
those things that happens when you make good pitches. I got in a groove there
in the middle of the game," Kluber said. "He got on the same page with me
really quick and we got in a good groove there and kept it rolling. I didn't
shake too much at all."
In his last two home
starts, Kluber has pitched 17 innings and allowed only two runs with one earned.
His home ERA is 2.43 compared to 5.87 on the road.
Many wondered why
Francona would elect to pull Kluber after eight innings when he was pitching
well. But at 110 pitches and with Axford converting 9 of his first 10 save
opportunities, Axford has been solid. Unfortunately he hasnât been against the
White Sox as the two blown save chances have come against them. Since giving up
a walkoff home run to Alexei Ramirez on April 13, Axford had pitched six
straight scoreless innings.
"Heâs at 110
(pitches), got a two-run lead. If the first guy gets on, he's got to come out,
and I don't think that fair to him," said Francona of the decision.
With the loss the
Indians failed to get their first series sweep and three-game winning streak of
the season. They open a four-game set against Minnesota on Monday.
George Kottaras makes history in his first game as an Indian
