Having a 19-inning game within a 162-game season has ramifications on a pitching staff. On Monday, the Indians’ bullpen felt the brunt of those consequences.
Needing fresh arms available to log multiple innings, the Indians designated relief pitchers Joba Chamberlain and Tom Gorzelanny for assignment and called up pitchers Michael Clevinger and TJ House.
The Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 on Friday but needed 19 innings to do it. Saturday’s scheduled starter, Trevor Bauer, ended up getting the win by throwing five scoreless innings. It led to the Indians having to piece together Saturday’s game with Zach McAllister getting the start and Shawn Morimando getting called up from the minors at the expense of utility man Michael Martinez. Sunday’s game also didn’t go as planned, as Corey Kluber was hit hard and catcher Chris Gimenez had to pitch two innings.
It effectively made Chamberlain and Gorzelanny casualties of the bullpen’s situation heading into the final homestead before the All-Star break.
“[It was] kind of the fall-out or the ramifications when you play a 19-inning game,” Francona said. “You try to wait and hope [on Sunday] with Kluber you’d go deep. Well, that didn’t happen.”
Chamberlain had been a strong investment by the Indians, turning a non-roster invite to spring camp into 20 solid innings of relief with a 2.25 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Gorzelanny logged only three innings for the Indians, allowing seven runs. He wasn’t able to make a large impact in the Indians’ bullpen, especially with such a short timeframe, but Chamberlain had certainly earned his spot.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if both of them get claimed,” Francona said. “And I hope they do, for their sake. They deserve it.”
Clevinger returns to the Indians hoping to improve upon his three major league starts in May in which he posted an 8.79 ERA. In Triple-A Columbus, he’s 8-0 with a 2.79 ERA in 13 starts. For the upcoming week, Clevinger will appear out of the bullpen and then possibly return to starting in the minors.
“I think it can be good for him to pitch out of the bullpen for a week,” Francona said. “We also think that one: He can help us in the bullpen, because he’s certainly stretched out and two: He might be a guy down the road that can help us win some games in the bullpen.”
House began the year in Triple-A Columbus as a starter but was recently converted to the bullpen with better results. Acting as a reliever, he has a 2.16 ERA in 8⅓ innings pitched.
“For whatever reason, things have really kicked up,” Francona said. “So, we want to get a look. It’s another guy that can give us some length because he’s been stretched out. We really want to be cognizant of that.”
Brantley’s vibes
The Indians are still without outfielder Michael Brantley as he rehabs his surgically repaired right (non-throwing) shoulder. He recently received a second anti-inflammatory shot and sought a second opinion.
Now that the team is back from the road trip, there are some positive vibes surrounding Brantley’s situation.
“We finally got our eyes on him [Monday], which was nice. He’s really excited,” Francona said. “He’s genuinely excited about where he’s at. I’m looking forward to seeing this. I think for a while there he was cautiously optimistic, which I get. I think right now he feels pretty good. Just the look on his face, it’s good to see him feel like that.”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ.