• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Cleveland Daily

Cleveland Sports News, Rumors & Highlights

  • Home
  • Guardians News
  • Cavs News
  • Browns News
  • Contact
  • About

Terry Francona Made Rare Pitching Staff Mistake Monday Night

By Steven Kubitza July 20, 2021 @kubitzawrites

Manager Terry Francona of the Cleveland Indians looks on during the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on May 14, 2021 in Seattle, Washington.
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

 

The Cleveland Indians are continuing to roll with a young starting rotation, and J.C. Mejia was back on the mound Monday night in Houston.

The overwhelming positive from his start was that he had eight strikeouts in only 4.1 innings of work.

However, it was that final one-third of an inning that ruined the night.

Mejia took the mound in the bottom of the fifth with the Astros leading 2-1.

He was now going through the order for a third time, which is usually a time when young pitchers start to falter.

The opposing team has now had two looks at you and effectiveness can fade.

That is exactly what happened as Mejia put a runner on before allowing a Yordan Alvarez home run to make it 4-1.

Mejia was chased from the game and his offense could not do enough to take back the lead.

Should fans be blaming Terry Francona for this one?

Terry Francona is one win away from tying Mike Hargrove for second most wins all time by an Indians manager (721). 🙌 @Indians | #OurCLE pic.twitter.com/BIDH9OXAkj

— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) July 19, 2021

 

Giving Young Pitchers A Chance

This is an interesting discussion because it was still only the start of the fifth inning.

Mejia came on and after allowing a single, he did record a strikeout.

So it was not like he collapsed right away.

Really curious as to why JC Mejia came out to face the heart of the Astros lineup for a third time when he was already at 80 pitches and there’s approximately 75 relievers on the active roster.

— Kevin Scheid (@Scheidology) July 20, 2021

Fans obviously took to social media in real time to question why Francona let Mejia stay on the mound following the home run.

But once again, it was a 2-1 game before the blast and even a 4-1 deficit is not cause for major alarm.

This discussion is entirely different if this was a playoff game, but Mejia leaving with four earned runs to his name still set up the offense to mount a comeback.

The right-hander left the game after 98 pitches, which marks a new career-high.

 

Offense Deserves Blame Here

To be clear, this is not one big Francona apologist argument.

But solely blaming the manager for the loss in a game where the offense fails to score more than three runs is a bit much.

These young pitchers also need to gain more experience and Mejia in particular was making his first start in 12 days.

Trying to push him against a top team was not a terrible idea and Francona ultimately pulled the plug soon after the home run.

The brutal part of the loss was the offense going 2-6 with runners in scoring position.

Franmil Reyes being thrown out at second on an RBI hit was also a bit of a rally killer.

Losses are going to happen and this was number 44 for the Indians on the year.

Ultimately, the lack of a proper starting rotation means Francona is going to have to lean on young, inexperienced pitchers on a near daily basis.

Mejia only allowing four earned was not the worst possible outcome of the night, and the hope is the offense can step it up Tuesday with Triston McKenzie on the mound.

Recent News

Sandy Leon #4 of the Cleveland Guardians tags out Byron Buxton #25 of the Minnesota Twins during the eighth inning of game one of a doubleheader at Progressive Field on June 28, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Fans React To Guardians 5th Straight Loss
Luke Maile #12 and Emmanuel Clase #48 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrate a 6-5 victory in 11 innings against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on June 21, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Fans React To Guardians Being In First-Place Tie In Division
A general view as the game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Cincinnati Reds is delayed due to rain at Progressive Field on May 18, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio.
2 Players The Guardians Should Consider Trading At The Deadline

Filed Under: Cleveland Guardians Rumors And News (Updated Daily), Cleveland Indians News And Rumors (Updated Daily) Tagged With: cleveland indians, Terry Francona

About Steven Kubitza

Steven has been an Indians fan since the day he was born. Lucky enough to not remember the World Series losses in the 90s, he will never forget the magic and the heartbreak of Game 7 in 2016. He wore the No. 13 playing baseball growing up because of Omar and still rocks a Cody Allen jersey for good luck.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search Cleveland Daily

Footer

Privacy Policy

Terms And Conditions

Contact Us

Copyright © 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - ClevelandDaily.com is not affiliated with the Cleveland Indians or Major League Baseball.