What to Expect From Mike Clevinger’s Start Tonight

Mike Clevinger will get the start tonight in place of Josh Tomlin as the Cleveland Indians take on the Minnesota Twins.

The Cleveland Indians had a solid starting rotation all year, only to see Josh Tomlin and Danny Salazar begin to struggle once August rolled around.

Salazar only lasted four innings Friday night before being removed due to tightness in his right forearms, so he may be pitching injured which is a nightmare scenario for Indians fans.

But Tomlin does not seem to be dealing with any injuries. He just can’t keep the baseball in the park. Tomlin’s noted troubles with allowing home runs has led to him once again being skipped in the rotation, this time in favor of Mike Clevinger.

Clevinger did start Tomlin’s first skipped start on Monday, but the expectation was that it would be treated like a relief outing. He was pulled from the game after 1 2/3 innings of work on a day when eight pitchers made an appearance.

Clevinger’s start tonight should see him last a bit longer, given there isn’t a dire need to remove him from the game early. His longest outing of the season came during his first career win, when he went 5 2/3 innings in a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels on August 13.

Given his recent time in the bullpen, it would be hard to imagine Clevinger going any longer than five innings tonight. He is going to be a weapon for Terry Francona to use if the Indians make the playoffs, and may even be needed to make another start if Salazar finds himself out of action.

On paper, it appears like a start against the last-place Twins would be an easy outing for Clevinger, but the Indians’ 9-8 record against Minnesota this year says otherwise. The Indians have won the last five, but three of those have been one-run victories.

While the Indians should be able to handle the lowly Twins, expect tonight’s game to be another close one. With that in mind, Clevinger will not be given much room to work with. A few early runs, or a first-inning with 25-30 pitches may mean the bullpen gets up early, the same way it does when a starter struggles in a postseason game.

Next: 3 Takeaways from Friday's Win

These games against the Twins are must-wins before the Indians finish the season against the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers. So while Francona is putting his faith in Clevinger, another “bullpen day” is likely if the young pitcher gets in any early trouble.