Cleveland Indians: Corey Kluber continues to be the unquestioned ace

Corey Kluber helped his Cleveland Indians end a three-game losing skid Thursday night in what was one of his best starts of the season.

Corey Kluber has been an unstoppable force since returning from the disabled list on June 1.

That continued Thursday night when the ace struck out 11 New York Yankees in his complete-game effort in a 5-1 win for the Cleveland Indians.

The ace has started 12 games since returning from the DL, striking out at least eight batters in all 12 starts and reaching double-digit strikeouts ten times, which puts him among some special company.

The fact Kluber missed an entire month of the season may hurt his chances of winning the Cy Young award, but there is still plenty of time in the season. Perhaps Chris Sale will go through a rough patch, while the Klubot only gets stronger.

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Whether he wins the award or not, Indians fans are witnessing greatness every time Kluber takes the mound. With all the uncertainty surrounding the rest of the rotation, it is nice to have a true ace who puts his team in a position to win every time he starts a game.

Just the fact he joined a club that includes Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Nolan Ryan should make fans appreciate Kluber’s presence on this team. Decades from now, he may be looked at the same way people now look at Bob Feller.

The Indians being a contending team makes his success that much sweeter, and his win Thursday night was a big one for the Indians. Tuesday’s loss in Boston could have been a turning point for other teams, but it is hard for anyone to get down when Kluber is on the mound.

Even with Sonny Gray on the mound for the Yankees, the Indians jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to three errors by the Yankees in the first inning. Put the ball in play and good things will happen, while any lead for Kluber spells doom for the opposing team.

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It is easy to take Kluber’s dominance for granted, but fans should really be tuning in when he pitches and taking in his work. There is nothing quite like Kluber picking up a big strikeout and casually walking off the mound as if nothing special happened.