The Cleveland Indians have quickly overcome a tough first series that opened their 2019 season, but they took a tough blow to their starting rotation this week. The Indians placed pitcher Mike Clevinger on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, but he is expected to miss six to eight weeks with a back injury. Indians manager Terry Francona confirmed the news in a press conference, where he said that the hurler won't even be able to pick up a baseball in that time span. What the team initially called a "significant injury" is now described as a major muscle strain in his right upper back.
Clevinger left his start on Sunday afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field with "tightness" in his upper back, which led to an MRI 24 hours later. He left after five innings and had 10 strikeouts in the game already without giving up a run. Over his first two outings this season, Clevinger had thrown 12 scoreless innings, including 22 strikeouts.
The right-hander is coming off a productive season a year ago, where he went 13-8 with a 3.02 ERA over 32 starts for the eventual AL Central Division Champions. He threw a career-high 200 innings on the season and struck out 207 batters. So far this season, the Indians are off to a 7-3 start after an 8-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday. They have a half-game lead on the Tigers in the Central, as they will play two more times this week at Comerica Park.
Clevinger left his start on Sunday afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field with "tightness" in his upper back, which led to an MRI 24 hours later. He left after five innings and had 10 strikeouts in the game already without giving up a run. Over his first two outings this season, Clevinger had thrown 12 scoreless innings, including 22 strikeouts.
The right-hander is coming off a productive season a year ago, where he went 13-8 with a 3.02 ERA over 32 starts for the eventual AL Central Division Champions. He threw a career-high 200 innings on the season and struck out 207 batters. So far this season, the Indians are off to a 7-3 start after an 8-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday. They have a half-game lead on the Tigers in the Central, as they will play two more times this week at Comerica Park.
