Indians' Bauers thriving on road, faces Rangers again
Jake Bauers is turning the page after seeing an awful month of May carry into the early part of June. Bauers is batting 11-for-22 on the Cleveland Indians' current road trip heading into the Wednesday contest against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas. So what has changed for Bauers, who began the trek by becoming the first Cleveland player to hit for the cycle since 2016 in a 13-4 romp over the Detroit Tigers on Friday? "It's really kind of settling in and remembering who I am," the 23-year-old California native said of his recent success at the plate. "I'm not a guy who is going to launch 40 homers. I'm going to hit the ball hard, and whatever happens, happens." Bauers highlighted his three-hit performance on Tuesday by joining Roberto Perez and Tyler Naquin in belting back-to-back-to-back homers to open the seventh inning. It was the first time the Indians hit three consecutive homers in one inning since Matt Lawton, Victor Martinez and Casey Blake accomplished the feat against the Seattle Mariners on July 16, 2004. Jose Ramirez also went deep with a three-run shot in the third inning for his fifth homer of the season and first since May 14. The struggling Ramirez, however, is well off last year's pace, when he hit 39. Texas has been generous with the home run ball, having surrendered 16 in its past six games. "That's one of the things we talk about as a staff is limiting 'slug,' and that's concerning when you start giving up homers because that's the easiest ways to create runs," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. Keeping Cleveland in the park will be the responsibility of Texas left-hander Joe Palumbo (0-0, 9.00 ERA), who is expected to be recalled from Double-A Frisco and make his second career start. Palumbo, who said he'll keep his nerves in check on Wednesday, allowed four runs and struck out four in four innings against Oakland in his major league debut on June 8. "I'm going to go out there with the same game plan," the 24-year-old Palumbo said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Once I'm on the mound, I'm fine. I'm still going to be nervous, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm ready to get out there. "I'm just taking everything day by day. I'm just doing what I can do to stick around." Palumbo would be wise to keep an eye on rookie Oscar Mercado, who is 10-for-24 (.417) with four extra-base hits, five RBIs and seven runs on the road trip. Cleveland right-hander Adam Plutko (3-1, 4.63 ERA) will get the nod after securing winning his second straight start on Friday. The 27-year-old allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits in six innings of the blowout victory at Detroit, backed by Bauers' cycle. Plutko was taken deep twice in that contest and has surrendered eight homers in just four starts (23 1/3 innings) this season. He will face the Rangers for the first time, although he has handled Logan Forsythe (0-for-2) in a small sample size. Texas' Danny Santana is 7-for-16 with a homer, two RBIs and three runs during his four-game hitting streak. --Field Level Media |