The Cleveland Indians are off to an interesting trend during the first week of spring training.
It appears that opposing hitters are in for a rough go every other day.
The Indians opened play Sunday with a dominant 5-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
That was followed by an 8-6 defeat against the Kansas City Royals.
But sure enough, the next day saw the pitchers lock in and hold the Seattle Mariners to only one run.
Wednesday saw the Arizona Diamondbacks score nine runs, so it was time to see if the trend held up Thursday.
It did in a big way.
Aaron Civale, Logan Allen, and Nick Wittgren combined for six scoreless innings, Yu Chang homered twice, and Mike Freeman went yard as well.
It's #CLESpring, but it's still an @Indians win! pic.twitter.com/YxHs57JBsb
— FOX Sports Cleveland (@FOXSportsCLE) March 4, 2021
Aaron Civale Sets the Tone
Aaron Civale got the start Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers and was perfect.
He struck out three batters in three innings of work and didn’t allow a hit or a walk.
That is quite the day for a pitcher trying to be right behind ace Shane Bieber in the rotation.
Aaron Civale, Beautiful Curveball…and Insta K Strut. 🌈 pic.twitter.com/noG42sDxsr
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 4, 2021
Logan Allen came in next and did the exact same thing, just in two innings.
He had two strikeouts of his own and didn’t allow a hit or a walk in his two innings of work.
The only blip on the day came when Blake Parker allowed one earned run in his one inning.
This came after Nick Wittgren provided a scoreless inning of relief.
But the offense put three runs on the board early and DJ Johnson‘s scoreless eighth inning held the score at 5-1.
The game was called after eight innings as the Brewers seemingly had enough.
Positives All Over the Box Score
The pitchers having a dominant day should be no surprise given the expectations fans have for the entire staff.
Eight innings of one-run work with Civale leading the way is something fans would love to get used to in 2021.
And this was without even having Emmanuel Clase or James Karinchak take the mound late in the game.
There were also some pleasant surprises on offense.
Infielder Yu Chang blasted two home runs and Mike Freeman added one of his own.
The offense finished with only five hits, but having three be home runs usually gets the job done.
The pitching is the top story from this win and that has become the theme in all three wins this week.
Oddly enough, Shane Bieber has one of the two losses so far.
Obviously, there is no need to panic about that.
The Indians will be on television Friday as they take on the Chicago Cubs.
The game is set to be broadcast on MLB Network.
Can the pitchers break the trend of only being dominant every other day?
We shall see.
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