CHICAGO: As he pitches on three days of rest for the second time in the postseason, Indians right-hander Corey Kluber has learned to use any means possible to speed up his body’s recuperative powers.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he might have made a visit to a local cryotherapy chamber if the Tribe training staff thought it might help.
Kluber, 3-1 in the playoffs with an 0.74 ERA, will take the mound against the Chicago Cubs on three days of rest in Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday night at Wrigley Field.
The only other time Kluber has faced that challenge in his career came in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. That day, Kluber lasted five innings and gave up two runs on four hits, taking his first postseason loss.
Kluber said before Game 3 of the World Series on Friday night at Wrigley Field that he didn’t do a whole lot different in his second start against the Blue Jays. If the World Series goes the full seven games, he will likely be asked to face the Cubs three times.
“Maybe just spend a little more time trying to do a couple different recovery methods,” Kluber said. “Aside from throwing a little bit shorter side session, it’s not all that different.
“I kind of had to feel my way through it when I pitched on short rest to figure out what would work for me. I think what we did worked well. I felt like I was good physically. So just kind of try to stick with that same plan this time.”
Kluber has said repeatedly that he will pitch any time he’s needed. But he’s so dedicated in his work ethic and such a creature of habit that one might think he would find the change in routine unsettling.
Indians manager Terry Francona said that might have been the case against the Blue Jays.
“We don’t ever just do something without talking to our players or the coaches. I had talked to Kluber a lot about this,” Francona said. “It was funny because the last time in Toronto his legs got tired quick, and he was laughing about it after. He said, ‘You know, I was trying to be so conscious of my legs,’ and he goes, ‘I looked up, and my stuff was exactly the same.’
“In other words, I think he understands now that it was probably mental. I think he’ll have a lot more sense of being able to be himself going into this start than he did the first time. And I thought the first time he did just fine.”
Asked about concerns about his leg strength, Kluber said: “Last time was my first time doing it, so I didn’t know what to expect how I was going to feel. Now that I do know that I felt fine, it’s just a matter of using those three days to recover. I’ll be fine tomorrow.”
Kluber doesn’t believe the Cubs have an advantage facing him again so soon. He was masterful in Game 1, giving up four hits in six innings and striking out nine in a 6-0 victory.
“I don’t really feel like there’s an advantage or disadvantage one way or the other,” Kluber said. “You can watch however much video you want to watch, you can read whatever numbers you want to read and skew things however you want to skew them to feel like you know what a pitcher or hitter’s going to do. But when you get out there, it really comes down to who executes.”
Kluber said there haven’t been any great revelations in his four playoff starts.
“It’s just as fun and exciting as we all imagined it would be,” he said. “There’s a great atmosphere, a lot of intensity around the game. These are environments that we always work toward playing, whether it be spring training or the offseason. The goal is to get to this point.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com.