Scott Kazmir peered in at the sign from his catcher, looking for a way to finish off Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton in the sixth inning on Sunday. With the count full, and a couple of fastballs already fouled off, the Indians lefty unleashed a changeup that dove away from Stanton’s swing.
Under pressure, Kazmir remained under control.
The same can be said of the Indians, who took care of business at Marlins Park with a 2-0 victory that sealed a series win of the three-game Interleague set. A contending club such as Cleveland is supposed to handle last-place teams such as Miami, and following a drubbing in the series opener, the Tribe did precisely that over the past two days.
“We knew what we had to do,” Indians left fielder Michael Brantley said. “We had to try to win the series. They took the first one out from under our feet. Our goal was to come out and win the next two, and we did it.”
Now, Cleveland (62-49) returns home for a crucial four-game clash with the American League Central-leading Tigers, with first place on the line. Detroit also won on Sunday, stretching its winning streak to eight in a row and keeping the second-place Indians’ deficit to three games in the standings.
Needless to say, the next four days could loom large for the rest of the Indians’ summer.
“It’ll be high intensity,” Kazmir said with a smile. “I think we’re ready for it. We feel like we’re in a good spot, so we’ll see what happens.”
Kazmir (7-4) continued his career renaissance with a stellar six-inning showing for the Indians, who have won 15 of their past 20 games. The left-hander held the Marlins (43-67) to two hits in his time on the hill, finishing with seven strikeouts and only one walk. For good measure, Kazmir contributed a single in the batter’s box, too.
The lefty’s performance, combined with three strong innings from the bullpen — which included a clean ninth inning that helped closer Chris Perez notch his 17th save of the year — pushed Cleveland to its Major League-leading 15th shutout of the season. It also represents the most shutouts in a single season for the Indians since they spun 17 in 1976.
“I’m thrilled,” manager Terry Francona said of the shutouts. “I wish it was 30.”
The franchise record is 26, set in 1948, which was a pretty good year for the Tribe.
Kazmir’s performance was just the latest in a growing list of strong outings this season from the lefty, who has trimmed his season ERA to 3.89 from 5.89 over his past nine outings. During that span, Kazmir has gone 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched), while holding hitters to a .173 (34-for-197) average.
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