CLEVELAND – Two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber
Trenton Cannon Color Rush Jersey , who is pitching like he wants to add a third Cy Young to his resume, will be on the mound Friday night as the Cleveland Indians begin a nine-game homestand with the opener of a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins.
Kluber (10-2, 1.99 ERA) has gone six starts, 41 innings and 168 consecutive batters since he last walked a hitter. His last walk came over a month ago, on May 8.
In six starts since then, Kluber is 5-0 with a 1.09 ERA, 46 strikeouts and no walks in 41 innings. Kluber this season almost has more wins than walks. He has 10 of each.
One of those 10 wins came against the Twins, on April 17, a 6-1 victory in which Kluber pitched 6 2/3 innings
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How good has Kluber been this year? His ERA in his two losses and his two no-decisions is 2.30. He could very easily be 14-0.
His two losses were by the scores of 2-1 and 3-2. The score in one of his no-decisions was 3-2. In the other no-decision, the Indians were winning 2-0 in the seventh inning when Kluber was removed from the game.
In 20 career starts against Minnesota, Kluber has a record of 9-5 with a 3.21 ERA.
Cleveland returns home after going 4-3 on a trip to Detroit and Chicago, although the Indians have scored just eight runs in their last three games.
“We’ve been scuffling to score some runs the last few days,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.
The Twins come to Cleveland having just lost two of three games in Detroit.
Kluber’s mound opponent of Friday will be right-hander Kyle Gibson (1-4, 3.45). Gibson’s only win came in his first start of the season, on March 31. Since then, he is 0-4 but with a decent 3.75 ERA.
Gibson’s biggest problem has been a lack of run support from his teammates. In Gibson’s 13 starts, the Twins have scored an average of 3.6 runs per game.
Gibson’s last start against Cleveland came June 3 when he received no decision in a 7-5 Minnesota win. In that game
Cheap Sam Darnold Jersey , Gibson pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and two hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. In 14 career starts against Cleveland, Gibson is 2-6 with a 5.60 ERA.
Minnesota’s lineup for Friday’s game will have a different look after the Twins on Thursday optioned struggling third baseman Miguel Sano to Class A Fort Myers. After hitting .264 with 28 home runs and 77 RBIs last year, Sano this year was batting .203 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs, and he had struck out in nearly half (66) of his at-bats (148).
“He needs to be the guy we think he can be. He’s not there right now,” Twins manager Paul Molitor told MLB.com. “We have to take a step backwards here and determine the steps moving forward.”
The Twins are also expected to activate first baseman Joe Mauer off the disabled list on Friday. Mauer has been sidelined since May 18 with a neck strain. The Twins will announce another roster addition to replace outfielder Jake Cave, who was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Thursday.
The Clippers have a new backcourt duo.
Kentucky point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the 11th pick of the NBA draft by Charlotte, who traded him to the Clippers on Thursday night. The Clippers had drafted forward Miles Bridges of Michigan State with the 12th overall pick and sent Bridges and two future second-round picks to the Hornets for Gilgeous-Alexander. LA also picked Boston College guard Jerome Robinson.
Gilgeous-Alexander feels he’s a good fit for the Clippers.
”I feel like they don’t have an alpha dog point guard right now and a guy that brings ultimate leadership to the group,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on a conference call. ”I feel that’s one of my biggest attributes and what I bring to the table.”
Robinson
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Jerome and Gilgeous-Alexander could be the future of the Clippers backcourt one day.
”I think (Robinson) is a fabulous talent,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. ”Everyone in the country knows how well he shoots it. What they don’t know is his playmaking ability as well. Playing with him would be super fun, and I can’t wait.”
Gilgeous-Alexander said he watched a lot of Chris Paul in the pick-and-roll system, James Harden and Patrick Beverley in trying to make himself an all-around player. Now he’ll be suiting up for Paul’s former team.
Gilgeous-Alexander grew up in Canada and played for the Canadian Junior National Team. He played high school basketball in Tennessee and one season at Kentucky.
At Kentucky, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 14.4 points
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He said he was looking forward to going against Beverley in practice and learning from what he does defensively.
”It’s a great feeling,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. ”Just being able to play in the NBA, first and foremost. You feel like you fit well and somewhere you want to go to, so it’s an even better feeling right now.”
Robinson was an unheralded recruit out of high school in Raleigh, North Carolina, and he stayed in school for three years. Last year with the Eagles, he averaged 20.7 points per game and improved his NBA stock.
He’s not new to Los Angeles, either. Robinson spent last summer working out with other NBA players like Russell Westbrook and Emmanuel Mudiay before returning to Boston College for his final season.
”It was unbelievable. It was life-changing going against some of the best competition in the world,” Robinson said. ”There’s nothing like it. It was an amazing feeling.”
The Clippers went into the draft with the idea of getting the best players available.
”Super
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