Cruz’ First Inning Blast Proves To Be Difference As Indians Fall To Mariners On Opening Night, 2-1; Three Takeaways From The Loss

 

 

1. Kluber, Hernandez Deliver In Battle Of Aces- It was expected going in that the offenses would have a lot of trouble getting to both Corey Kluber and Felix Hernandez and that narrative held true by the end of the night. Though Hernandez pitched shutout ball in his outing, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner shouldn’t hang his head on his performance.

Aside from the two-run blast by Nelson Cruz that was set up by a Robinson Cano single in the at-bat before him, Kluber was excellent in all aspects of his game. He only walked one batter, that being Dee Gordon in the third inning. Besides those two sets of hiccups, Kluber was solid in his outing and allowed the Tribe to have a chance up until the very end.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Kluber’s outing was the fact that he completed eight innings of work on only ninety-one pitches. He was quick and efficient, forcing batters to put the ball in play with pitches they weren’t always thrilled to see.

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