CLEVELAND, Ohio – Shane Bieber’s staggering 27 strikeouts in two starts for the Cleveland Indians are just the start of some pretty eye-catching numbers for a starting rotation rated the best in baseball after a week of play.
Bieber tied the 1954 record set by the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Karl Spooner with 27 strikeouts in his first two starts of the season on Thursday in Cleveland’s 2-0 victory in Minnesota. The 25-year-old right-hander is 2-0 and has not allowed a career earned in 14 innings while walking just one batter and hitting seven base hits.
Bieber’s game plan on Thursday was to keep Minnesota hitters out of balance. After facing the Twins five times last year, and knowing that the two clubs have nine more clashes this season, Bieber wanted to stick with his plan as long as possible.
“Sandy and I (Leon) were on the same page from the beginning and were able to make adjustments from the beginning,” said Bieber. “That’s what it’s about when you pitch in the division against teams that have seen you a lot and can make adjustments quickly.”
Those adjustments came in handy when Minnesota capitalized on some Bieber mistakes in the sixth with consecutive singles by Byron Buxton and Max Kepler. Facing a full count from Josh Donaldson, Bieber buried a curved ball in the ground that the Twins’ third baseman pitched a second time in the inning. Bieber then had Jorge Polanco line up to the center to end the threat.
“That was one of those pitches where I wasn’t trying to bury him as much as I did, but fortunately we did set it up and maybe we did a little guessing,” Bieber said of the curve to Donaldson. “I made him fish a little bit.”
Bieber became the fourth pitcher in baseball history to record 10 or more strikeouts without allowing a run in his first two starts, joining Jacob deGrom (2019), Nolan Ryan (1978) and Spooner. Bieber’s goalless 14-inning streak ties Scott Lewis to fourth for the age of a Bieber pitcher to start a season in Indian franchise history.
Francona said Bieber’s departure was “pretty good” against a deep Minnesota lineup and acknowledged that it was probably the understatement of the year.
“He ran pitches from the first pitch,” said Francona. “You can launch any launch on any account. That really, really helps him. When they entered an aggressive mode with runners on base, he was able to spin the ball, including some full counts where he got a little swing and miss out of the zone. “
Bieber’s fellow starting pitchers have followed suit in an Indians rotation that is now 5-0 with a 1.53 ERA, allowing just eight runs in 47 innings in the young season. In seven starts, each pitcher in the Indians’ rotation has lasted at least six innings and allowed two runs or less. That matches the major league record previously set by the 1993 Atlanta Braves.
Rookie reliever James Karinchak, who recovered his first professional save with a ninth inning of six pitches, praised the Cleveland starters for their consistency.
“They are giving us the ball late,” Karinchak said. “The bullpen is also doing a pretty decent job, but I mean the headlines are honestly on another level.”
Francisco Lindor, who faced Bieber a few at-bats during the intra-field games of summer training camp, said there is a strategy to beat the MVP All-Star as a hitter, but declined to elaborate on what that might be. focus.
“I will not help the other teams, but yes, there is a way,” said Lindor. “Good luck. It wasn’t fun hitting him at summer camp.”
Bieber said after Thursday’s win that he feels safe with all his pitches right now, being able to throw them where he wants to throw them and get the right action on them. Leon, catching Bieber for the first time in a regular season game, said the right-hander could attack hitters on both sides of the plate with his full arsenal, including cutters and tradeoffs.
“When you have four pitches and you can pitch any of them at any count, that’s amazing,” said Leon.
Bieber and his teammates recognized the meaning of Thursday’s victory in a shortened season, and that the clubhouse was full of energy after the game, as much as it could be with established social distance protocols.
“We know how important this series is,” Bieber said. “Going out and doing what we did tonight set the tone for the rest of the series. The plan is to continue that in all facets of the game: get ahead early and hopefully close them. ”
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