The Cleveland Indians were back in action Monday against the Kansas City Royals and a hit parade broke out.
Both teams combined for a total of 30 hits on a day when Shane Bieber took the mound for the Indians.
Unfortunately, he did get roughed up to the tune of three earned runs in 1.2 innings of work.
But as we all know, this is the time of year when pitchers are simply working on their stuff.
There is no need to panic about the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner.
Shane Bieber gets Carlos Santana to ground out to end the first. The two were smiling, yelling to each other as Bieber walked off the field. pic.twitter.com/CVfIO89map
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) March 1, 2021
Bieber Headlines Rough Day for Pitchers
Bieber did still finish with three strikeouts, which was good enough to lead the eight Indians pitchers who took the mound against the Royals.
Scott Moss also had a bad day, allowing three earned runs in two innings.
The good news from Monday was seeing Emmanuel Clase throw an inning.
The centerpiece of the Corey Kluber deal missed last season because of a PED suspension and now figures to be a go-to option for Terry Francona late in games.
Clase allowed one run on three hits and had one strikeout in an inning of work.
An ideal day for Bieber in the regular season will be him getting in at least six innings and handing the ball over to the likes of Clase, Nick Wittgren, James Karinchak, and even Sam Hentges.
Phil Maton and Blake Parker, who are also fighting for jobs, each had two strikeouts in the game.
Positives From Monday’s Loss
The biggest positive from this one was Bobby Bradley launching a home run over a deep right field wall.
Indians beat reporter Mandy Bell provided the perfect diagram of the blast.
Bobby Bradley just utterly destroyed a ball that hit off the structure (my lovely diagram shows where) in right field. pic.twitter.com/jGWRk4akYR
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) March 1, 2021
Franmil Reyes also had a triple as it was a big day for the sluggers in the lineup.
And let’s not forget about Ernie Clement, who came in for Reyes in the cleanup spot and drove in two runs of his own.
A loss in spring training is nothing to worry about and it was good to see the offense go off for 14 hits against a divisional foe.
The worst part of the day was Jose Ramirez and Nolan Jones combining for four strikeouts in the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
The most important thing in March is that the Indians don’t look like a total disaster.
Bieber having a rough start and the bullpen keeping the game close, until the end, was something to be happy about.
The Indians will look to bounce back Tuesday with a matchup against the Seattle Mariners.
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