Cleveland Indians: Josh Tomlin pitched well in Tuesday’s loss

The Cleveland Indians were shut down on offense by Dallas Keuchel, wasting a decent outing from Josh Tomlin in what was his second straight great start.

Cleveland Indians fans were expecting Dallas Keuchel to dominate on Tuesday, but Josh Tomlin‘s performance was a pleasant surprise.

Keuchel mowed down the Indians lineup, pitching the entire game and allowing just two earned runs on six hits. The two runs came on solo home runs, so the damage was limited.

Tomlin didn’t get the win, but he did have another great outing after his first two horrible starts to begin the season. He went six innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits. He also struck out six, compared to the five struck out by Keuchel in nine innings.

His line was nearly identical to his last start, in which he went six innings and allowed three runs, with the difference in that game being his offense put up 11 runs against the Minnesota Twins.

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The run support isn’t always going to be there, but the results will usually go in the Indians’ favor if Tomlin can have outings like the one he had last night. The offense isn’t going to have to face a pitcher like Keuchel every night, who is 4-0 with a 1.22 ERA so far this season.

The fact Tomlin has now had two solid starts in a row should be enough to end any talk of him losing his job any time soon. He looked lost after his first two starts, and replacing him became a realistic option if his April kept trending in a negative direction.

But as with most pitchers, he quickly fixed things after a slow start and has settled in as the team’s fourth starter.

One could try to make the argument that in a close game, allowing three runs doesn’t qualify as a great start. However, Tomlin is not a pitcher who is going to be perfect.

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He is going to allow several runs a game, which most pitchers do. The offense has to be able to put up more than two runs, although they get a pass due to the opposing pitcher being Keuchel.