Corey Kluber looks to continue rotation’s dominance

The Cleveland Indians starting rotation has been dominant in the second half, and Corey Kluber will look to cap off a great week for the group.

For those keeping track at home, the Cleveland Indians have shutout the Tampa Bay Rays in two straight games, and have Corey Kluber on the mound today. I’d say the odds for a third are quite high.

Kluber is currently coming off back-to-back complete-games, allowing one earned run and striking out 11 in both games. Those came against the New York Yankees and Colorado Rockies respectively, so it is hard not to get excited to see what he can do against a reeling Rays team.

He will be looking to follow-up what has been an amazing stretch for the rotation since his last start.

On Tuesday, Kluber pitched a complete-game in a 4-1 win over the Rockies. He has been followed by:

(Wednesday) Trevor Bauer: 7 IP, 1 ER, 9 K in 3-2 loss to the Rockies 

(Thursday) Danny Salazar: 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 8 K in 4-1 loss to the Rays

(Friday) Carlos Carrasco: 8 IP, 0 ER, 10 K in 5-0 win over the Rays

(Saturday) Mike Clevinger: 7 IP, 0 ER, 9 K in 3-0 win over the Rays

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Carrasco was even flirting with a no-hitter in his start, so the Indians have certainly been shutting down the Rays this series, aside from a backbreaking three-run home run Thursday night.

Just one month ago, it seemed as if the Indians were in desperate need to make a trade for a starter. But the front office let things play out and were smart to do so. Things were so good the team was even running a six-man rotation until Josh Tomlin went down with his current injury.

The main reason for the lack of a major winning streak this week is because the offense keeps disappearing on a regular basis, but the two straight wins have seen some nice contributions from the regulars, along with the newcomer Jay Bruce who has gone 4-8 in his first two starts with the Indians.

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And with today being a Kluber day, the only thing holding back the Indians from another win is the offense. Well, that or Kluber deciding to go to the beach instead of showing up at the ballpark. Although, it will be mostly Indians fans in attendance at Tropicana Field so it should be a fun environment.