No matter the swoons or the losing streaks racked up at various points this season, the Indians have been able to count on starting pitching almost without fail in 2014.
It came through again Wednesday night to keep Cleveland in playoff contention, as Carlos Carrasco tossed a two-hit shutout to lead the Indians past the Astros, 2-0, at Minute Maid Park.
The win was crucial, as the Indians entered Wednesday trailing the Royals by five games for the second American League Wild Card spot and held steady due to Kansas City’s win over the White Sox.
Carrasco logged arguably the finest outing of his career, limiting the Astros to two infield hits and striking out a career-high 12 for his first career shutout. He needed 98 pitches to complete the outing.
“He just pitched with so much confidence and attacked the entire night,” said manager Terry Francona. “There’s no other way to say it: He was just so good.”
If your name is sitting next to Sandy Koufax, you know the outing was special. Carrasco joined Koufax as the only other pitcher in MLB history to strike out 12 or more batters on 98 pitches or less in a shutout.
He did it via a nasty mix of locating his fastball — Carrasco only issued one walk — and finishing batters off with a devastating split changeup.
“The command was there today, just throwing everything for strikes so it was quick,” Carrasco said, and indeed the game was a brisk two-hour, 20-minute contest.
Nothing exemplified that command more than Alex Presley’s at-bat in the ninth. With one out, Carrasco slipped on the first pitch and fell behind 3-0 before rebounding to force a full count and induce a lazy fly-ball out.
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