CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Indians have so many outfielders on their roster that it’s easy to forget one of them. Out of sight really means out of mind.
It happened to Oscar Mercado, a regular early in the season before he was benched. He came out of obscurity to make a surprising start on Saturday night in Detroit before becoming an option on the team’s alternative training site at Classic Park in Eastlake after making an appearance as a pinchrunner on Sunday.
On Wednesday night, Jordan Luplow made a surprising appearance in the lineup. It was Luplow’s first launch since August 11, a span of eight days. .083 (1-for-26) handball average from Luplow had a lot to do with that downtime.
On Wednesday, however, he faced off against his former Pittsburgh Pirates teammates and left-hander Steve Brault. Last season, Luplow hit .320 (41-for-128) with 14 homers and 30 RBI against lefties. His only hit this year was a home team off White Sox referee Matt Foster.
“I’m just ready to ride,” Luplow said. ‘I mean I feel like my swing was in a good place, just didn’t get the consistent time and saw a lot of pitches. It was hard. That I have to find a way to work that round and get through. “
The Indians received Luplow and Max Moroff from the Pirates on November 14, 2018. The Indians sent Erik Gonzalez, Tahnaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza to the Pirates. Gonzalez started on third base Tuesday night in the Indians 6-3 win in 10 innings.
“It’s different, man, on this side of the locker room, this side of the dugout,” Luplow said of playing at PNC Park. ‘It’s a little weird to see the guys you’ve been playing with or came with or were roommates with on the other side. At the end of the day, we all compete on the field. It’s the same kind of thing. ”
Luplow said he will speak to Brault before Tuesday’s game.
“Brault can throw someone behind me to see if I’m awake,” Luplow said with a laugh. ‘I could see he was doing that. No, it will be weird, but once we get into that box, the game is over. We cried a little under the tents before the game last night and said a few things to each other. ”
Indian manager Sandy Alomar.John Kuntz, cleveland.com
No. 1: Who starts on Saturday for the Indians?
The Indians needed a fifth starter on Saturday against the Tigers at Progressive Field. Acting manager Sandy Alomar said the decision has not yet been made.
“The organization is still talking about it,” Alomar said on Wednesday.
Lefty Logan Allen is a candidate. He hasn’t thrown up since hitting three innings against the Cubs at Progressive Field on August 11th.
Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac are unavailable because they have not been to Classic Park in Eastlake for 10 days. They were optional on Friday.
Alomar replaces Terry Francona, who is in Cleveland awaiting surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.
Wednesday was Alomar’s 10th game as acting manager this season. He was asked if he managed as he managed it as Francona manages the team.
“I try to manage the situation that is before me and also try to maintain what Tito has done here,” Alomar said. We have a lot of collaboration between Sarby (Mike Sarbaugh) and Huddy (Kyle Hudson, first base coach) and Carl (Willis, pitching coach).
‘Running (playing) is a part that I am more familiar with, so I have an idea, but here we just take chances when they are there. If they are not, we do not take chances and let the boys play the game. ”
Indian bullpen coach Brian Sweeney watches as left-hander Scott Moss warms up in the bullpen during Spring Training II.John Kuntz, cleveland.com
Nr. 2: Life in the bull
Brian Sweeney is enjoying his first year as a bullpen coach.
“I remember Atch (Scott Atchison, former bullpen coach) saying, ‘The bullpen is like the offensive line of football,'” Sweeney said. ‘It’s important to know who you’re down. Earlier in Spring Training II we had to figure that out. Who will we be? What kind of group will we be? When the boys spoke, they began to create their own identity. They have chips on their shoulders.
‘The bull – it was a question mark. There was a question mark for people about the bullpen. And that’s OK. But they wanted to show you that there should not have been. That they have chips on their shoulders. These guys have been really flexible pitching in different roles. They have been unselfish in things. These are all their words. They communicate really well and they pick each other up. It was really cool to set that tone early, so when the season started, we knew what to expect at a game. ‘
The bullpen entered Wednesday night’s game with second best ERA at 2.63 and the lowest handball average against .198 in the AL.
Indian DH Franmil Reyes.AP
No. 3: As a conclusion
On Sunday afternoon, the Indians began making noise in the dugout and it was moved to Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. Yu Chang en Greg Allen stings on the path at the top of the diving facade. Franmil Reyes was singing. Luplow, asked how it started, said, “I think it was that day game in Detroit. I think everyone was so tired and just what was going on. They were just like let’s go, let’s bring this energy It happens on day games.You have to fool yourself, fool yourself to have energy.It’s the one man and then the next and then the next thing you know Franmil sings and we have guys who fill cups and they “It’s crazy now. Hopefully we keep going.”James Karinchak leads MLB relievers with 24 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings. Alomar said Wednesday he would try to stay away from Karinchak after stepping up 1 1/3 innings on Tuesday. . .Carlos Santana has hit five go-ahead homers in the ninth inning or later since the start of 2019. He has hit 13 overall, all with the Indians.
A variety of face masks from Cleveland Indians are available online today. (Fanatics.com)
New Indian face masks for sale: Here you can buy Cleveland Indians face masks for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($ 14.99) and a 3-pack ($ 24.99). All proceeds from MLB donate to charity.
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