Reaction: Kluber Shines as Cleveland Indians Fall to Diamondbacks

The Cleveland Indians fell 3-2 to the Diamondbacks on Friday afternoon at Salt River Field, as Opening Day starters Corey Kluber and Josh Collmenter faced off against each other. It was a low-scoring affair, with the Tribe managing just four hits and four walks, and the Diamondbacks accumulating eight hits and two walks.

Key Moments
First Inning: Kluber Shows Off His Skills
Arizona tried to take advantage of Kluber in the first inning, but he quickly put a stop to that. A double by Chris Owings set the stage for a two-out RBI double off the bat of David Peralta, putting the Diamondbacks up by one. Kluber shut down the rest of Arizona’s hitters, pitching six innings and allowing six hits, two walks and just the one run. He also struck out nine of the 26 batters he faced.

Eighth Inning: Cody Allen Falters
Allen allowed his first runs of the season on Friday, when he came on in the eighth inning. The game was tied, thanks to an RBI double by Ryan Rohlinger in the top of the inning, but Allen gave the lead to the Diamondbacks almost immediately. A leadoff single by Rudy Flores was compounded by a fielding error that allowed Peralta to reach. Jake Lamb followed with an RBI double, and Blake Lalli added another run with a sacrifice fly.

Ninth Inning: Tribe Fails to Make a Comeback
The Tribe went down swinging, but it was too little to overcome Arizona’s two-run lead. Brett Hayes led off the ninth inning, reaching on a throwing error by the shortstop. A wild pitch advanced pinch-runner Ivan Castillo to third base, and Jesus Aguilar brought him home with a sacrifice fly. With two outs, Greg Allen walked, but Logan Vick followed with a fly out to end the game.

The Positives
Kluber’s pitches looked beautiful, despite the fact that he was clearly working on his breaking pitches and trying to get enough work in to get his pitch count up. He barely seemed to be trying, and still ended up with excellent results. In addition, Anthony Swarzak had a scoreless inning, striking out one batter.

The Negatives
The Tribe didn’t hit well, but they were also up against Collmenter, who has transitioned over the last few years from a long reliever to the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day starter. While Allen struggled in his outing, he’s been perfect in all of his appearances this spring so it’s best to overlook Friday’s struggles.

Check It Out
– Brandon Moss was hitless in three at-bats today, but the slugger is still hitting .286/.310/.750 this season. Other high slash lines include Mike Aviles (.313/.343/.313), Lonnie Chisenhall (.297/.366/.459), Michael Brantley (.321/.367/.357) and Michael Bourn (.400/.442/.525).

– The Tribe will face off against the Brewers at Maryvale Park on Saturday afternoon, as Zach McAllister faces off against Wily Peralta. Peralta has a 2.16 ERA in 8.1 innings this spring, while McAllister has a 3.21 ERA in 14 innings, along with 15 strikeouts. McAllister will continue the battle for the fifth rotation spot, especially now that Danny Salazar is out of the picture. Salazar was reassigned to Columbus on Friday, after a rough spring that saw him reach an 8.18 ERA in 11 innings.

Next: Weekly Wroundtable: Cleveland Indians’ Spring Training Surprises