Corey Kluber finally looked like the pitcher the Yankees saw back in May, before a shoulder injury sidelined him for three months.
In his fourth start back from an extended IL stint, Kluber shut down his former team through six shutout innings in an 8-0 Yankee win over Cleveland on Friday night, giving the veteran righty some tangible evidence that he was moving in a desired direction in his first starts back in action, even if they didn’t yield results.
“I think I’ve gotten more confident each time out with where I’m at,” Kluber said. “Results aside, I’m talking about execution and navigating a lineup, things like that. Obviously the results are nice to contribute to a win, but I feel like each time out has had something I can build off of.”
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In his longest outing since coming back from the IL, Kluber scattered just four hits, walked two and struck out four, helping the Yanks cruise to a much-needed laugher.
“I feel like I made adjustments quicker tonight,” Kluber said. “When I didn’t execute a pitch, I think I recognized it and made the proper adjustment and corrected. That was the biggest difference for me.”
It was a struggle for Kluber when he initially returned on Aug. 30, getting burned by a grand slam to finish with five earned runs over four innings. It didn’t get any easier from there, as his first three starts back in the rotation yielded 14 hits and 11 runs over 11.2 innings of work, hardly the pitcher the Yankees saw holding an ERA of 3.04 before his injury on May 25.
But things are finally starting to fall into place.
“The more reps I get, the better in tune I get with the feel of stuff when I’m out there,” Kluber said. “Not to say the more I pitch, it’s always gonna be great, but I think I personally have a better feel for what’s off when I don’t execute a pitch and once you identify it, actually being able to do it.”
For Kluber, his recent stretch is reminiscent of earlier in the season, when he pitched to a 5.40 ERA over his first four starts of the year, then settled in to allow just seven runs over his next 35.1 innings, including a no-hitter in Texas on May 19. Kluber has seemed to need time to settle in after long breaks, and this is looking like no exception.
“I think they’re individual from each other,” Kluber said. “I think that I’ve definitely had stretches before where it takes me a little bit to kind of get into a groove or feel the way I want to, and when I get to that point, I’m usually able to ride it out pretty good.”
Kluber looked strong on Friday night, potentially giving the Yankees back a much-needed efficient starter to back up Gerrit Cole while Jameson Taillon remains on the IL. Kluber will need to maintain that efficiency down the stretch when the Yanks meet the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Rays over their final nine games of the season, and on Friday, he looked to be trending towards his vintage veteran self from back in May.
“He looked like he did when he threw a no-hitter against us in Texas,” said Joey Gallo, who was in the opposite dugout on Kluber’s historic night in May. “Not knowing what he’s gonna throw in any count, balls moving off the plate every which way. When he threw that no-hitter against us in Texas, that was what it was like. You had no idea what he was gonna throw.”
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