Triston McKenzie’s last ten days as a Cleveland Indians have been a roller coaster ride that rivals most Cedar Point attractions...
The young right-hander has been sent down and called up between Columbus and Cleveland twice thanks to the injury to starting pitcher Zach Plesac on May 26th, paired with being the 27th man and starter for the club’s doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox on Memorial Day.
With McKenzie being sent down to Columbus following his start Monday, he showed resiliency by battling back after a nightmare second inning, where he allowed four earned runs on three hits and two walks, by rattling off nine strikeouts in his last eleven faced, including a club record eight in a row. He broke the previous record of seven consecutive strikeouts by Corey Kluber, which was set on May 4, 2014.
He finished the day with four hits allowed, two walks, and ten strikeouts, matching his career-high in his debut against Detroit last August, all in five innings of work.
The offense showed up today early and often, as infielders Cesar Hernandez and Amed Rosario hit back to back home runs to start the game. Hernandez followed up his first home run with yet another in the third inning, the first multi-home run game of his career.
Following an infield single by center fielder Bradley Zimmer to tie the game in the sixth, the clubs were deadlocked heading into extra innings. From there? Things unraveled for the Tribe.
Rodon finished the day with eight strikeouts, and allowing nine hits and one walk in six innings for the White Sox.
James Karinchak was only allowing a .080 batting average to opposing hitters heading into action Monday afternoon. That didn’t stop the Southsiders from tacking on three runs on two hits and a walk in the eighth inning against Karinchak, including a two-run bomb to right-center field by outfielder Adam Eaton.
To say that Cleveland played sloppy on defense is an understatement. The club had three errors in total, and many puzzling decisions throughout the game, including the rundown in the second inning that allowed for catcher Zach Collins to score.
The Tribe will look to split the doubleheader with the White Sox behind pitcher Cal Quantrill (0-1, 2.03 ERA) against Jimmy Lambert, who will make his first MLB start.