Zach Plesac started the 2021 season with two great starts.
He went a combined 13 innings, allowing two earned runs.
Then the wheels fell off against the Chicago White Sox.
First was a 0.2-inning outing that came on a night when Carlos Rodon threw a no-hitter.
Next up was another matchup against the White Sox in which Plesac allowed six earned runs to that lineup once again.
The Cleveland Indians right-hander got his third crack at the Chicago lineup Sunday and looked great.
Plesac went 5.2 innings and didn’t allow a single run as the Indians cruised to a 5-0 victory.
Blanked 'em!#OurCLE | #Windians pic.twitter.com/yuamAsNAth
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) May 2, 2021
Third Time is Always a Charm
The White Sox do have a lineup that ranks among the best in the American League.
So Plesac struggling early on against the team was different than if he had done it against the Detroit Tigers.
Also, it is rare to start the season with so many outings against the same club.
But the 26-year-old figured it out Sunday and won the duel against Lucas Giolito.
He also barely got any early run support.
Cesar Hernandez hit a home run in the third inning and another run came around to score in the fourth.
The final three runs all came after Plesac left the game.
Terry Francona applauds Zach Plesac's gutsy, 5.2-shutout-inning effort: "Above all else, he competed his rear end off."#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/o7pc4NTHjP
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) May 2, 2021
The Indians desperately need Plesac to live up to expectations.
Logan Allen was already demoted for his rough start to the year and Triston McKenzie is facing his own troubles early on.
Shane Bieber remains elite and Aaron Civale is looking fantastic as well, even though the latter isn’t posting strikeouts at the former’s rate.
But few can keep up with what Bieber is doing.
This leaves Plesac as the much-needed dominant third arm in the rotation.
Finally being able to shut down the White Sox was an amazing sign and also gave the Indians the series win.
Back at .500
This Indians team is consistent in being inconsistent.
Sunday’s win pushed the club to 13-13 on the season in what was yet another example of an amazing job by the pitching staff.
Plesac kept a clean sheet and was followed up by Bryan Shaw, James Karinchak, and Emmanuel Clase doing the same.
Few teams are going to have success against the bullpen trio on any given night.
In true Karinchak fashion, he struck out all three batters he faced.
The only real negative from the game was Daniel Johnson.
The young outfielder got called up over the weekend and followed up a hitless Saturday by striking out five times Sunday.
That is the ‘ole platinum sombrero right there.
Austin Hedges was next up with three on the day.
The Indians need to stay patient with Johnson, but five strikeouts at any level of the game is a brutal look.
There is no time to rest as a four-game series with the Kansas City Royals awaits.
Are the Royals for real this year?
We are all about to find out.
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