Pennant primer: Pitching powers Indians into race
Various playoff projections say the Cleveland Indians, five games back in the AL Central and 3½ games removed from the second wild-card spot, have a 7% to 12% chance of reaching the postseason.
Those may seem like fairly long odds, but the Indians know all about making a late-September push. They have their season-ending 10-game winning streak from last year to prove it.
Cleveland is making a move at the right time again this season, coming to life behind a sturdy pitching staff that has made up for the club's middling offensive production.
By allowing the Chicago White Sox just two runs and sweeping them over the weekend, the Indians improved to 21-12 since the beginning of August. That hot stretch has roughly coincided with Carlos Carrasco's return to the rotation, and the events are not entirely unrelated.
Carrasco came within an out of completing his first career shutout Sunday, settling for throwing 8 2/3 innings of four-hit ball with no walks as the Indians blanked the White Sox 2-0. The sweep, accomplished despite scoring only seven runs, helped atone for the disappointment of losing three of four at home against the second-place Detroit Tigers earlier in the week.
"Every game means something for us. Every game," Carrasco told news reporters. "Everyone in the rotation is pitching great. We need to do that."
His performance extended a spell of brilliance by the Indians starters that traces back to Aug. 9, the day before Carrasco rejoined the rotation after a highly effective 3½-month stint in the bullpen, where he was sent due to early-season struggles. In the 25 games since Aug. 9, Cleveland starters have registered a 1.84 ERA while striking out 168 in 161 2/3 innings.
Right-hander Corey Kluber, who has gone 14-9 with a 2.47 ERA in a breakout season, has established himself as the ace of the staff. And youngsters Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer have claimed rotation spots after spending time in the minors earlier this season.
But nobody has pitched better than Carrasco, the former high-level prospect who missed the 2012 season after undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery and has had an uphill battle coming back.
In six starts since leaving the bullpen, the hard-throwing Venezuelan has gone 4-0 with a 0.70 ERA, striking out 42 while walking four in 38 2/3 innings and holding hitters to a .179 batting average.
"You put a guy in the rotation and you certainly hope for the best, but my goodness, he looks so strong,'' manager Terry Francona said. "Sometimes you wonder, OK, after a couple starts, maybe they get a little fatigued, because you haven't stretched them out. He just looks like he's getting stronger."
Carrasco's emergence gives Cleveland one more weapon in an imposing power-pitching rotation. He's the lead fireballer with a fastball that has averaged over 97 mph in August and September, according to Brooksbaseball.net, followed by Salazar (96), Kluber (95) and Bauer (94.5).
That ability to overwhelm hitters could be the decisive factor as the Indians head down the stretch seeking a second playoff appearance in a row under Francona. They face the Los Angeles Angels in a makeup game today, then host the Minnesota Twins for three before heading to Detroit for a big weekend series.
"You see Corey go out (Saturday) night and deal,'' closer Cody Allen said. "Salazar did it a couple nights ago. It's awesome to see (Carrasco), T.J. (House) and Trevor pitch well. We're getting some very, very good starts, which is awesome. When you get starts like that, you have a good chance of winning the game.''
PENNANT PRIMER
Days left in the season: 21
Sunday's big mover: Kansas City Royals. The emotions surrounding Sunday's tribute to Derek Jeter at Yankee Stadium were not exactly foremost in the Royals' minds. For one, they were dealing with the uncertainty regarding left-hander Danny Duffy, who left Saturday's game after one pitch with a shoulder ailment and was undergoing an MRI. Then there was the matter of the playoff race to attend to.
The Royals kept their focus and pitched their second shutout of the weekend, winning 2-0 behind Yordano Ventura and three relievers to secure their first season series over the New York Yankees since 1999. More important, K.C. stayed two games ahead of Detroit, which avoided a sweep by the San Francisco Giants.
Sunday's big loser: Oakland Athletics: Oakland relievers walked five batters in the ninth inning to blow the lead in a deflating 4-3 loss to the Houston Astros, the A's eighth defeat in their last 10 games. It was the first time all season the Astros won a game they trailed going into the ninth, after losing in their first 65 such occasions. The A's fell to seven games behind the Angels and effectively waved goodbye to their chances of defending their AL West title. Oakland was up four games Aug. 10.
"It's all about winning games,'' manager Bob Melvin said when asked about the wild card being the focus now. "You never know what kind of run you could go on. It's too far out for us to look right now.''
Today's can't-miss game: Royals at Tigers: This will be the first of six times the clubs meet in the final three weeks, with implications for both the AL Central crown and wild-card. In trying to fend off Kansas City's challenge to their division hegemony, the Tigers have the advantage of experience and their 9-4 mark against the Royals this season. Kansas City counters with youth, speed and a nearly impenetrable group of late-inning relievers. Justin Verlander, coming off a start in which he gave up six earned runs in 6 2/3 innings, opposes Jeremy Guthrie in tonight's opener.