Cleveland Indians broadcaster Rick Manning could not stop commenting on his love of day baseball during Thursday’s win over the Baltimore Orioles.
We are right there with you, Rick.
The weather was perfect and that was great news for starting pitcher Eli Morgan.
Morgan, as you may recall, made his MLB debut in May during what appeared to be a hurricane.
That ended up being a disaster so luckily, he got another shot Thursday afternoon under the sun.
Eli Morgan's Bugs Bunny Changeup (by request) 🐰 pic.twitter.com/Qi9NMDF2Xg
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 17, 2021
Eli Morgan Looks Good, Not Great
Morgan finished his day after throwing 67 pitches in 3.2 innings.
He did allow three earned runs, but also had five strikeouts against the Orioles lineup.
The best part of all is the fact he did not allow a single walk.
So what do we make of this short start?
Well, it is much better than what he have seen from Triston McKenzie as of late.
Morgan was on a pitch count regardless and nearly finishing four innings allowed the game to be turned over to the bullpen.
That is the plan in place with himself, Cal Quantrill, and Jean Carlos Mejia on the mound.
Emmanuel Clase and James Karinchak were not even available, yet the depth in the bullpen proved to be plenty after Morgan did his job.
The goal now is to see Morgan work up to a normal pitch count throughout the next few weeks.
First, Terry Francona has to keep him in the rotation, but at this point it would be a shock if Morgan was sent down again for an extended period of time.
There are just not enough starters available to start demoting the healthy ones.
While Morgan was average, the fact the offense showed up yet again versus a weak opponent was the key in this win.
Some Love For The Utility Man
We finish this article with some love for Yu Chang.
He has struggled throughout the season as he has been placed all over the field in a utility role.
This means not getting everyday work and also playing a different position potentially every time he gets a start.
But Chang never faltered and Thursday was a much-needed breakout performance.
Chang drove in four runs, highlighted by a two-run blast over the left field wall late in the game.
YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! 🙌 🙌#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/Tq6XSIpkEw
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) June 17, 2021
Jose Ramirez and Bobby Bradley also had home runs on the day, but the dugout had to be most thrilled for Chang.
The Indians have put him in a tough position and he proved he is capable of great things.
Any fans who want Chang cut have to realize that any person in the utility role is going to struggle at times.
That is the nature of the role and why that player does not have a permanent starting spot to begin with.
It is also unrealistic to expect a top prospect to assume that role, as it would totally shatter one’s development.
Morgan did his job, Chang thrived, and the Indians took care of business against a bad team.
So yeah, we do love some day baseball.
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