Karinchak allowed an inherited runner to score and a hit over two-thirds of an inning to take a blown save in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Royals.
Karinchak allowed an RBI single to Royals shortstop Nicky Lopez. The run was charged to starter Shane Bieber, but Karinchak took a blown save officially. The 25-year-old Karinchak has yet to see a legitimate save chance this season -- he entered Wednesday's game with one out in the seventh inning. He's allowed a hit and a walk in two innings spanning three appearances. Emmanuel Clase earned the win Wednesday, while Nick Wittgren pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save.
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Indians' Nick Wittgren: Earns first save of season
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Wittgren picked up the save Wednesday against the Royals after pitching a scoreless ninth inning. He didn't record a strikeout nor he issued a walk.
Wittgren is part of a three-man closer committee alongside James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase, but he got the nod for the save opportunity here and didn't disappoint -- he retired Hunter Dozier, Kyle Isbel and Michael Taylor while only needing eight pitches to retire the side. This was a big bounce-back performance for the 29-year-old right-hander, who opened the year allowing three runs across two-thirds of an inning against the Tigers on April 3.
Clase (1-0) earned the win while pitching a scoreless inning with two strikeouts Wednesday against the Royals.
Clase pitched the eighth inning and looked absolutely dominant, tossing 10 of his 15 pitches for strikes and fanning two of the three batters he faced -- none other than Salvador Perez and Jorge Soler. Clase has recorded two scoreless outings to begin the season.
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Indians' Jose Ramirez: Goes deep twice Wednesday
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Ramirez went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in Wednesday's win over the Royals.
Ramirez was a synonym of offense for the Indians during Wednesday's win, as he plated the team's four runs after going deep twice -- he launched a pair of two-run shots, his first two of the campaign, in the sixth and eighth innings. Ramirez has hit safely in each of his first five appearances this season and has recorded two multi-hit games to date.
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Indians' Shane Bieber: Strikes out 12 in no-decision
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Bieber gave up two runs on three hits and four walks while striking out 12 across 6.1 innings Wednesday against the Royals. He didn't factor into the decision.
Bieber fanned 12 in his Opening Day start and repeat such feat Wednesday, as he continues to look dominant on the mound while posting back-to-back quality starts to begin the campaign. The 25-year-old was the unanimous winner of the American League Cy Young in 2020 and has started the 2021 season on the same note.
Indians' Triston McKenzie: Season debut comes in long relief
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McKenzie allowed one run on two hits and four walks and struck out five over 3.2 innings in Monday's 3-0 loss to the Royals.
McKenzie threw 58 pitches (32 strikes) as the first reliever behind starter Logan Allen. This was an expected assignment for McKenzie, who isn't likely to work as a starter until at least April 13. The 23-year-old right-hander is expected to have his workload managed in 2021. McKenzie was solid as a rookie in 2020 with a 3.24 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 42:9 K:BB over 33.1 innings in eight appearances (six starts). Fantasy managers will want to keep a close eye on how McKenzie is used this year, as he will likely have starts skipped while making the occassional relief appearance throughout the campaign.
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Indians' Amed Rosario: Reaches base twice
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Rosario went 1-for-2 with a walk in Monday's 3-0 loss to Kansas City.
Rosario was one of two Cleveland batters to reach base twice in this one, though he was unable to cross the plate in what turned out to be a shutout for the visiting Royals. He's now 3-for-8 with a walk and two runs scored in four games.
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Indians' Logan Allen: Saddled with loss
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Allen (0-1) took the loss after allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five across five innings Monday against the Royals.
Allen turned in a decent first outing of the 2021 campaign, with his lone blemish occurring in the second inning on a two-run blast. Unfortunately for the southpaw, the Cleveland offense failed to put any runs up on the scoreboard. Allen will search for his first victory in his next scheduled start, which lines up for Sunday against the Tigers.
Naylor will start in right field and bat seventh Monday against the Royals.
The lefty-hitting Naylor has now started in each of Cleveland's first four games, with three of those assignments coming against southpaws. Cleveland appears to be using a platoon of Ben Gamel and Jordan Luplow in center field, but Naylor and Eddie Rosario look to have clear paths to everyday roles at the corner spots. Through his first three games, Naylor has gone 3-for-12 with a pair of doubles and a run.
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Indians' Amed Rosario: Gets second straight start
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Rosario will start at shortstop and bat sixth Monday against the Royals.
Rosario will pick up his second straight start after going 1-for-4 with a run scored in Sunday's 9-3 win over Detroit. The 25-year-old could be part of a platoon at shortstop with the lefty-hitting Andres Gimenez, as both of Rosario's starts have now come against southpaws (Tarik Skubal on Sunday, Danny Duffy on Monday).
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Indians' Andres Gimenez: Sits against southpaw
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Gimenez is not in the lineup for Monday's game against Kansas City.
Gimenez will sit against southpaw Danny Duffy, just as he did against the left-handed Tarik Skubal on Sunday. He may not be quite in a strict platoon, as he did get the Opening Day start at shortstop against lefty Matthew Boyd, but the early indications are that he's something less than an everyday player. Amed Rosario will start for the second game in a row in his place.
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Indians' Ben Gamel: Out again versus southpaw
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Gamel is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Royals.
Cleveland is facing a lefty starting pitcher (Danny Duffy) for the third time in four games to open the season, so Gamel will once again find himself on the bench while platoon mate Jordan Luplow picks up another start in center field. Kansas City has yet to announce a starting pitcher for the second game of the series Wednesday, making it uncertain whether Gamel will re-enter the lineup.
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Indians' Jake Bauers: Sits against another lefty
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Bauers will be on the bench Monday against the Royals.
Danny Duffy marks the third southpaw that Cleveland has faced in the first four games of the season. Bauers appears to be in a clear platoon with Yu Chang at first base, as Chang will start ahead of him Monday, just as he did against the previous two lefties.
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Indians' Jose Ramirez: Swipes bag Sunday
Rotowire
Ramirez went 2-for-5 with a stolen base and a run scored in Sunday's 9-3 win over the Tigers.
Ramirez hit a two-out single in the first inning, then stole second and scored on an Eddie Rosario single. The 28-year-old Ramirez added a double in the sixth inning but didn't get home. Through the first three games of the year, the third baseman went 4-for-12 (.333) while hitting third in the order. He had a .292/.386/.607 slash line with 17 homers, 10 stolen bases, 46 RBI and 45 runs scored in 58 games last year -- fantasy managers who used an early pick on Ramirez will likely expect well-rounded production in 2021.
Hedges went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in Sunday's victory over the Tigers.
The right-handed hitter smashed a solo shot in the ninth inning off Tyler Alexander. The 28-year-old slashed .145/.231/.290 in 2020 and looks to turn his hitting around in 2021.
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Indians' Franmil Reyes: Crushes home run
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Reyes went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Sunday's victory over the Tigers.
Reyes cracked a two-run shot in the eighth inning off Buck Farmer. The 25-year-old looks to follow up on his 2020 campaign during which he slashed .275/.344/.450.
