Cleveland Indians: Corey Kluber looking to finish off a resurgent first half

Cleveland Indians ace Corey Kluber is on the mound tonight as he looks to finish off what has been a resurgent first half of the season.

Corey Kluber allowed a combined 21 earned runs in 37.1 total innings in his first six starts before hitting the disabled list. Since then he has allowed seven earned runs in 51 innings.

Kluber has been unstoppable since returning to the rotation in June, and is currently riding a streak of five straight games with 10+ strikeouts as he prepares to take the mound in primetime.

His ERA has dropped from 5.06 to 2.85 since the beginning of June, and he has emerged as one of the top contenders for this year’s AL Cy Young award.

His resurgence saw him named as the AL Pitcher of the Month in June, and he was also named to this year’s All-Star Game. He won’t be able to pitch in Tuesday’s game, but fans would much rather have him going tonight in a game that actually matters.

His Indians are looking to sweep the Detroit Tigers, and will be without Jason Kipnis tonight as he hit the 10-day DL after injuring his hamstring Saturday night.

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Kluber has actually struggled in his two starts against the Tigers this season, allowing a combined 11 earned runs in 9.1 innings, but both starts came before his DL stint. He has been an entirely different pitcher since then, and has the chance to prove to the Tigers that those first two starts were just flukes.

He went eight innings in his last start which was the 1-0 debacle against the San Diego Padres, but the offense has rebounded since then.

An 11-2 destruction of the Tigers on Friday was followed up with a 4-0 victory Saturday night. Now it’s time to finish off a sweep in honor of Tito.

Next: Clevinger has earned a spot in the rotation

The game is on ESPN meaning fans around the nation should be in for a great showing by Kluber, who can continue making history by striking out 10 Tigers batters.