Carrasco tosses Indians' 3rd CG in 4 games
The Cleveland Indians' starters are so good right now, they're beginning to feel pity for the club's underused relievers.
On Saturday, Carlos Carrasco became the latest Indians starter to throw a gem, allowing just four hits over nine scoreless innings to help Cleveland beat Detroit 6-0 for its eighth straight victory. Carrasco's third career shutout also marked the third time in four contests an Indians starter has thrown a complete game.
The only pitcher who didn't factor into the Indians' impressive run of complete-game outings was Danny Salazar, who still managed to secure the win after allowing three runs over 5 2/3 innings Friday in Detroit. Alas, the hard-throwing right-hander apparently had a good excuse for handing the ball over to the bullpen early.
"The reason I didn't throw a complete game is I wanted the relievers to play, too," Salazar joked to Cleveland.com's Zack Meisel after the Indians' victory Saturday.
| Date | Pitcher | Opp | IP | H | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/21 | Corey Kluber | TB | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| 6/22 | Trevor Bauer | TB | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 6/24 | Danny Salazar | @DET | 5.2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| 6/25 | Carlos Carrasco | @DET | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
To nobody's surprise, it's been the Indians' rotation that has fueled the season-high winning streak that has Cleveland ahead of Kansas City by five games in the AL Central. Indians starters, as noted by Meisel, have a 1.78 ERA during the streak and a 2.62 mark in June.
"Everything that we're working on in the bullpen, we're bringing into the game," Carrasco told MLB.com. "We've got a little bit of competition between us. 'OK, so (Corey) Kluber and (Trevor) Bauer had a complete game, let's do that, just try to put zeros on the board and try to go deep in the game.'"