Salazar tries to bounce back after rough first start off DL
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Cleveland Indians hope that good news in the short term will lead to encouraging prospects for the long run when they send right-hander Danny Salazar to the mound to face the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.
Coverage begins at 9:30 p.m. on SportsTime Ohio
The pitching pairing has the look of a mismatch, with the first-place Indians sending their second-biggest winner (Salazar, 11-4, 3.57 ERA) against the last-place Athletics' second-biggest loser (left-hander Sean Manaea, 4-8, 4.73 ERA).
However, that is presuming a healthy Salazar shows up, and that is far from a sure thing.
Salazar had to be pulled after one inning in his last start, Thursday at home against the Chicago White Sox. He was seeing his first action since returning from a disabled-list stint caused by a sore elbow, a 17-day layoff during which he received a cortisone shot.
The 26-year-old reported no discomfort after the 34-pitch debacle in which he allowed three runs on one hit and three walks.
Salazar looked so out of sorts, he was sent to the bullpen to throw the equivalent of three more innings, just to get in a good workout.
"The main thing," Salazar said afterward, "was to feel good, and I did. I feel great."
He didn't look great, though, and that is what concerns the Indians.
In fact, Salazar hasn't look good since the start of July, after having been one of baseball's best pitchers while posting a 10-3 record and a 2.22 ERA.
His ERA in four July starts ballooned to 6.14, the ninth highest in the American League, and nobody in the majors has been worse in August, when his ERA has exploded to 27.00 in two starts.
Bring on the A's, who wish they had Salazar's problems.
Oakland had to fine two players Monday for fighting, including the guy who was on the receiving end of a punch that gave him a concussion.
A's manager Bob Melvin said he expects to have Danny Valencia back in the lineup Tuesday. He was the one who got upset when Billy Butler reportedly questioned his loyalty to his shoe-endorsement company before the Friday game in Texas.
Butler hasn't played since the fight and now finds himself on the seven-day concussion disabled list. Valencia recorded two hits in the Athletics' contests Friday and Saturday before not starting the past two games. He struck out as a pinch hitter Monday.
The A's looked like a team in disarray Monday in a 1-0, series-opening loss to the Indians. They managed just six hits off Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco, who had been roughed up for 33 runs in his previous 30 1/3 innings.
The lack of offense cost A's rookie Andrew Triggs, who failed to record his first major league win despite six shutout innings.
"You feel for him," A's manager Bob Melvin said of Triggs. "You can't help but pull for a guy who's a great team guy."
If there is a positive for the A's entering the Tuesday game, it is that their eight-game loser appears to be in better form than the Indians' 11-game winner.
Manaea has recorded all four of his wins at home while compiling a 4-3 record and a 3.45 ERA in 12 starts.
The rookie has never faced the Indians.
