Clippers, Kluber Shut Down Indy Again; Inch Closer to Locking Up a Playoff Spot

I’m keeping the same lead from yesterday’s post, given the fact that Corey Kluber was coming up and making his first start: heading down the stretch, it’s been a guessing game about what kind of start Columbus will get from its pitching. Part of that has to do with rotation mainstays—such as Josh Tomlin and Jeanmar Gomez, now followed by Carlos Carrasco—heading to Cleveland to be replaced by young guys from Akron. Part of it has to do with an unpredictable offense.

On Tuesday it was a slow start on offense. Last night, it was not having any realistic expectations for Kluber, who henceforth in this space will be called Marky Mark. Say hello to your mother for me! Marky Mark had a tough task: take over the rotation spot held (admirably, of late) by Carlos Carrasco who was on to Cleveland and looking sharp, no thanks to Justin Germano. Add that onto the pressure of being acquired in a big trade this summer, and it was possibly a recipe for struggle for Kluber. But after literally hitting the first batter he faced—and with some timely hitting from The Funky Bunch—Marky Mark felt the vibrations and held Indianapolis to one run through six innings.

After drilling the leadoff man, Kluber immediately settled down and got the next hitter to ground into a double play. The Indians got a leadoff single followed by a walk in the second to set up their only real scoring chance against him, and a one-out single made it 1-0 Indy. But, Kluber got a big strikeout-throw-out double play to escape the second, and settled in for the remainder of his start.

Kluber pitched around a couple of base runners in the fourth, a leadoff walk in the fifth, and a two-out single in the sixth, and finished six innings allowing just the one run on four hits while walking two and striking out four. Thanks to Matt McBride and Josh Rodriguez, who led the charge for the bats by grabbing four hits and driving in two runs, Kluber notched the win in his first start as well.

Indians’ starter Brad Lincoln was sharp early, but in the third the Clippers knocked him out quickly. McBride led off with a homer to left, and then catcher Luke Carlin drew a walk. The Indians’ coaches had seen enough, and went to the bullpen and Joe Martinez. Rodriguez greeted him with a triple to drive in Carlin and give Columbus the lead, and after a ground out Ezequiel Carrera slapped a single that drove in JRod to make it 3-1. Back to back doubles by Carlin and Rodriguez in the seventh added a run to make the final tally of 4-1.

Columbus got solid relief from the usually-shaky Carlton Smith (1.0 IP, one hit), Zach Putnam (1.0 IP, nothing across), and Saul Rivera (1.0 IP, 2 BB, 1K) who grabbed the save. It was nice to have three innings of relief that didn’t tax the normal set-up/shut-down guys from the pen, as they will presumably be needed into the weekend and (hopefully) into the playoffs.

The Clippers have five games left—all against Toledo—and start their final home stand (just two games) today at Huntington Park. Start time has been adjusted to 4:35 to account for the OSU game tonight, and the Clippers will be giving away OSU prizes all game long (between innings) and showing the Ohio State game on their scoreboard big screen after baseball is done. Heck, you can go down onto the field and watch it! David Huff (7-2, 4.81 ERA in 11 starts) takes the hill for Columbus against—I wish I was making this name up—Charles Furbush (3-3, 5.42 ERA in eight starts) for the Mud Hens.

Playoff Watch…

…the Clippers’ are mustering up the moxie at the right time. This four-game winning streak has almost sewn up a playoff spot, though the IL West race is still neck-and-neck. Here’s a look at the various playoff standings shake out as of right now:

Buffalo’s slide continues. They split a double-header yesterday, pushing them back to third. Louisville’s win made the hopes slimmer still for both teams chasing them for the Wild Card. And, by virtue of that, it gives Columbus at least a 4.5-game cushion with five games to play (though Syracuse and Louisville each have a make-up game to play if it becomes necessary). The other two division races are wrapped up, with Scranton/WB winning the IL North and Durham running away with the IL South. The only races left are for the IL West, and then by extension the Wild Card.

And Finally, If The Season Ended Today…

…the playoffs for the Clippers would shape up as follows:

Round 1 (five game series):

9/8 Durham @ Columbus
9/9 Durham @ Columbus
9/10 Columbus @ Durham
9/11 Columbus @ Durham*
9/12 Columbus @ Durham*

*if necessary