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Game 4 Observations Civale Solid Lindor
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CLEVELAND - When it comes to a deep starting rotation, the Cleveland Indians are showing others so far why they were excited to get the 2020 season going.The foursome of Shane Bieber, Mike Clevinger, Carlos Carrasco and Aaron Civale all have been impre sive for the Tribe in one start apiece, and Tuesday in game one of a double header against the Chicago White Sox it was Civales turn to flex his pitching muscle in the Indians 4-2 win.Civale set a career-high in striking out nine White Sox batters, and his slider kept Chicago power hitters off balance all afternoon.The number four starter went six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, turning it over to a pen that again did a nice job in not allowing a run in three innings of work.The offense was paced by the long ball, as Francisco Lindor got things going with a two-run blast off Sox starter Dylan Cease in the first inning, and Bradley Zimmer hit a solo shot to lead off the second inning. The night cap will see Adam Plutko go for the Tribe against David Njoku Jersey Carlos Rondon for the White Sox.Heres a few observations from the game one win for the Indians putting them at 3-1 on the season.Civale Simply Superb The Indians starters have been nothing short of sensational for the first four games of 2020, and if this is any indication on how good they will be, this is going to be a fun season for the rotation.Tuesday in the first game it was number four starter Aaron Civales turn to take the mound, and he was very good against a much improved White Sox club looking to make noise in the AL Central.Civale hung in for six innings, 100 pitches, 67 for strikes. He set a career-high with nine Ks in the win, and allowed two runs on seven hits.Start with a game plan and stuck to it, it helped to get out to an early lead, but it helped me get comfortable, Civale said.Maybe whats as impre sive is the fact he only walked one batter, and through four games Tribe starters have walked just three batters, showing they are staying stingy with the free pa ses.The four starters have 39 strikeouts in the four games, and it looked like Civales slider was very good and tough to catch up to on Tuesday.He struck out two Chris Lykes Jersey batters apiece in the first, second and third innings, and then a single batter in the fourth, fifth and sixth to wrap it up. Civale is slated to be back on the mound Sunday in Minnesota against the Twins in the finale of the four-game set.I thought they made him work, there were some really tough innings, in the end it was good enough, Indians manager Terry Francona said.It seemed like they had base runners almost every inning, fortunately he ran a lot of deep counts, fortunately we were able to make some pitches.Getting to Cease EarlyThe Indians offense managed four runs in the win against White Sox starter Dylan Cease, thanks in part to an early onslaught of the long ball from Francisco Lindor and Bradley Zimmer.Lindor came up third after Cesar Hernandez again worked the count full and then slapped a single to right field to start the game. Scroll to ContinueHe launched his first homer of the season to the seats in right, quickly putting the Indians ahead 2-0.The next inning it was Bradley Zimmer, getting the start in center field hitting in Anthony Mack Jersey the seven hole, hitting his first homer of the year to right-center. Zimmer again is taking advantage of the chances given, and also singled on a 1-2 count in the third inning before grounding out and striking out in his last two at-bats.I feel good, I feel comfortable in my approach and having an idea of what I am going to do at the plate, Zimmer said.Zimmer is hitting .333 (3-for-9) with a homer and three runs batted in. He has struck out three times as well.When asked if he ever felt he would get back to playing at a high level, Zimmer seemed to know the long road ahead of him to get back to the Major League roster.I knew that I had a pretty good amount of time ahead of me, and that nothing would be easy, Zimmer said.I was pretty much last man on the totem pole, and I took that as a challenge, and I knew and understood what I had to do to get back to where I wanted to be, and I Duke Johnson Jersey just chipped away one at-bat at a time.Francona has spoken a lot about Zimmer and what hes brought to the team as he had to overcome injury and had to work his way back to the roster. So far so good as the former top prospect has done a nice job thus far for the Indians in four games.He helped us win a game today which is what we set out to do, Francona said. Cease lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits as the Indians peppered him. He didnt walk a batter and struck out one, lasting 64 pitches in the effort.(Almost) Record BreakingThe Indians pitchers have been excellent so far, and the starters are going to start getting some national headlines if they keep up the pace they are on.Tuesday Civale recorded nine Ks and the pen came in and recorded five more strikeouts, putting the Indians team total after four games at 54.The Indians Ohio brothers the Cincinnati Reds broke the Major League record for Ks as a team after four games, as they sit at 59. Having James Karinchak come in has been a help, and he struck out the side in the seventh for the Tribe. Closer Brad Hand allowed a leadoff double and eventually a run, but he struck out two more and closed out the game with a K of former Indian Edwin Encarnacion. Spreading the WealthFour Indians paced the offense in game one Tuesday, with Sean Taylor Jersey Cesar Hernandez, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana and Bradley Zimmer all contributing in the win with two hits.The team as a whole was outhit 11-9 by the Sox, and after the homers by Lindor and Zimmer the team didnt get an extra base hit the rest of the day.In the end, it didnt matter as they did enough to get the one-run win to move to 3-1.