The Indians got another good outing from their rejuvenated Cy Young Award winner and the Mariners were left with concerns about their emerging young starter in a 5-3 Cleveland win that opened a four-game series at Safeco Field on Thursday night.
Tribe right-hander Corey Kluber entered the evening leading the American League in strikeouts with 83 and trailing only Washington’s Max Scherzer (85) for the Major League’s most so far this season, but Kluber blew past Scherzer with 13 punchouts. He struck out the side in the fifth inning, punched out two more in the sixth, and struck out the side again in his seventh and final inning.
“He works so hard. He doesn’t run out of gas,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “His last pitch was probably his best fastball of the night. He’s kind of built himself so he can go out and do what he needs to do for as long as he needs to.”
Cleveland got a solo homer from Brandon Moss in the second inning, scratched out three runs in the fourth inning with the help of an error by Mariners shortstop Chris Taylor, and added an insurance run in the sixth on a Jason Kipnis fielder’s choice RBI.
The Mariners got a couple of homers — a solo shot from Mike Zunino in the third and a two-run blast by Dustin Ackley in the sixth — but they also got a scare. Starter James Paxton, who had been emerging as a left-handed force in May, exited the game with two outs in the fifth inning with discomfort in the middle finger of his left hand. He was slated to be re-evaluated on Friday.
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