Cleveland, OH (92.3 The Fan) – The Indians finished their homestand the same way they started it – with a win. They beat the Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday to complete a four-game sweep.
The Indians got off to a quick start in the first inning, stringing together three-straight hits with two outs. First, Jake Bauers hit a double off the wall. Carlos Santana followed it up with a double of his own and Tyler Naquin capped things with a single to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.
Spicy start for the boys today. --#RallyTogether pic.twitter.com/Rm6zmyuWVT
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) April 7, 2019Mike Clevinger continued his hot start to the season. The 28-year-old pitched five shutout innings, allowing just one hit. He was removed after just five innings due to upper back tightness.
Clevinger got into some trouble in the fourth inning when he walked Socrates Brito and gave up a double to Freddy Galvis. He responded with three-straight strikeouts. It was his first win of the season.
Mike Clevinger was unhittable through 5 IP before being pulled for a yet-to-be-disclosed reason with just 75 pitches (I saw nothing to indicate injury so I'm thinking maybe a blister?)- 47% CSW rate- Sitting 96 on his FB.- 21 swinging strikes. @Mike_Anthony13 is a machine pic.twitter.com/1lhoCDiGRf
— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) April 7, 2019Clevinger hasn't allowed a run and has 22 strikeouts in 12 innings this season. The Indians improve to 6-3 on the season and are 2-0 when Clevinger gets the start.
Naquin's Big Day – Naquin finished 3-for-3 with a double and one RBI. It was easily his best game of the season. He raised his batting average to .304 and has five hits in his last three games.
Steady Hand – The Indians allowed their first run of the game in the eighth inning and Toronto put runners on the corners. Brad Hand came in and got a double play to prevent any more damage from being done. He stayed in and pitched a perfect ninth inning to get his fourth save of the season.
Up Next – The Indians are off on Monday before starting a nine game road trip. Corey Kluber is expected to get his third start of the season on Tuesday against Detroit. Jordan Zimmerman is the projected starter for the Tigers. The Tribe finished 5-1 on their first homestand of the season.
