Corey Kluber wasn’t going to allow the Nationals to score any runs, no matter how many times they put a man in scoring position before making an out.
Kluber escaped three hazardous jams during his eight scoreless innings on Sunday, leading the way to a 2-0 win over Washington that gives the Indians four victories in their past five games.
“He was so good all day,” Tribe manager Terry Francona said. “From pitch 1, he was aggressive with his fastball. I don’t think he even threw a changeup today. Even vs. left-handers, he just was in attack mode. That was really fun to watch. I wish we could have had about five [runs] just to give a little cushion, but that was really fun to watch.”
Kluber (5-4) allowed seven hits, but he did not issue a walk. He also racked up eight strikeouts, more than one of which came in a critical moment.
The right-hander entered Sunday’s start coming off an outing in Texas where he limited the Rangers to one run over eight innings, which went a long way in snapping Cleveland’s eight-game losing streak. On Sunday, he got his first career win at Progressive Field.
“Right in front of our eyes, we’re seeing a kid mature into a really good pitcher,” Francona said.
Things first got dicey for Cleveland in the fourth, but Kluber stayed calm. The Nationals had nobody out and men on the corners after John McDonald fielded a potential double-play grounder and threw the ball into right field.
Kluber responded by setting down the middle of Washington’s lineup, sending Adam LaRoche, Jayson Werth and Ian Desmond back to the dugout with nothing but strikeouts to show for their plate appearances.
“I tell you what, that guy that threw for them today, the stuff that he had, that’s probably top-five stuff that we’ll see all year,” Werth said. “He had some really good stuff, especially when he had to make pitches. He even stepped it up a little bit. He has stuff. We had our chances, obviously, but [he] outpitched us.”
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Cleveland broke through against Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg. Jason Kipnis walked, stole second base and reached third on catcher Jhonatan Solano’s wild throw into center field. Four pitches later, Kipnis came home on a single by Carlos Santana.
The Indians added an eighth-inning run on a sacrifice fly by Kipnis. Vinnie Pestano closed out the game in the ninth, earning his first save of the season and Cleveland’s first overall save since May 23.
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