CLEVELAND, Ohio – Friday was a good opening night for the Indians at Progressive Field. Some may call it intriguing even if all the seats in the house were empty.
Shane Bieber, who was denied the first opening day by the coronavirus on March 26, waited 120 days for a second chance. It’s hard to believe that it could have been so much better. Six scoreless innings and 14 strikeouts, a club record for opening day, in a 2-0 win over the Royals showed that Bieber knows how to stay focused.
The pre-game ceremony honoring the Black Lives Matter Movement showed full acceptance of MLB and MLBPA. After the two sides embarrassed themselves and the game with nearly three months of nasty negotiations, as the country faltered with the coronavirus, staggering unemployment, and riots over the murder of George Floyd, it was good to see them agree. in something besides a field expanded tiebreaker that will put money in your two pockets.
The Indians chose to wear their blue road jerseys for the game instead of their red or white Indians on the chest. So we know how players feel about a proposed name change. Francisco Lindor said before the game policy had nothing to do with the decision. It’s funny, it seems that everything that happens in this country is about politics.
Poor Tyler Naquin. He may have had a start against the Royals and left Danny Duffy on Friday night, but on Monday he fouled his right big toe in an exhibition game against the Pirates. He suffered a broken hairline and had to drain his toe, which doesn’t sound nice.
All of this after Naquin spent the offseason rehabbing from a torn ACL on his right knee.
The Indians only had five hits on Friday night, but they made most of them count. Oscar Mercado, hitting ninth, led Jordan Luplow with a single in the fifth. Leading hitter César Hernández followed with a double to score Roberto Pérez for a 2-0 lead.
Mercado spent most of last season hitting the top of the order. But manager Terry Francona amassed his first four spots with hitters Hernández, José Ramírez, Lindor and Carlos Santana. He has dropped Mercado to 9th because he can run and “acts like a second starting hitter.”
There was no discussion by Mercado. “You have to look in the sense that I know what I can do with my legs,” he said. “The top four players are very good hitters and we are going to make a lot of things happen, especially on the base paths. Especially with them all being switch hitters.
Bieber was not only fit mid-season, but also catcher Roberto Perez, who won almost every defensive award a catcher could win last year. He helped Bieber escape a sticky first inning by shooting Adalberto Mondesi in an attempted second-base steal. In the fourth, he chased a third strike pitch that momentarily eluded him, stopped him with a dive, and tossed Ryan McBroom out from the seat of his pants at first to end the inning. In the fifth, showing that his off-season right ankle surgery was successful, he went from first to third with Mercado’s single.
In a traditional season, you could say one less and 161 to go after Friday’s first game. When you said it seemed like the season would last forever. After Friday night, one was missing and 59 were missing. That not only highlights the brevity of this season, but the importance of each victory.
With that in mind, this is what happened in the rest of Central AL on Friday night: The Reds beat the Tigers, 7-1. Detroit’s Matthew Boyd allowed four runs and six hits in five innings. Newcomer CJ Cron homered for Detroit’s only run. The Twins beat the White Sox, 10-5, when Max Kepler hit a home run twice. Lucas Giolito allowed seven runs over three innings. Yoan Moncada doubled, homered and drove three runs for Chicago.
The Tribe’s bullpen is still full of if, ands, or buts, but it was good on Friday night. Adam Cimber, Nick Wittgren and Brad Hand retired nine of the 12 batters they faced and did not allow a hit. Cimber, dealing with the three-hitter rule for the first time, retired two right-handers to start the seventh, walked left-handed Nicky Lopez, and ended the inning by retiring Frenchy Cordero, another left-handed hitter, on a grounder to second.
Fans always say that this team or that team needs a leader, but those are hard to find players. Mike Napoli and Jason Giambi, both position players, played that role perfectly during their time with the Indians. Josh Tomlin was another leader.
It’s harder for a pitcher because they don’t play every day, but you’re wondering if Bieber can fill that role. If you want to lead by example, going out and doing what you did on Friday night is not a bad place to start. Especially coming out of his 15-8 season last year.
“Yes, I think it is a place where I feel comfortable and that is a place that I embrace,” said Bieber. “I’ve been in that role and that place multiple times with other teams: in college, in high school, and moving up in rank with the Indians. . That said, this staff and this rotation, we have a lot of guys who are also capable of leading, so it’s kind of exciting together. “
A variety of Cleveland Indians face masks available online today. (Fanatics.com)
New Indian face masks for sale: This is where you can buy Cleveland Indians-themed facial liners for coronavirus protection, including a mask ($ 14.99) and a 3-pack ($ 24.99). All MLB proceeds donated to charities.
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