Indians' new relievers make debut against Rangers (Jul 21, 2018)
The Cleveland Indians bolstered their already formidable relief corps by trading with San Diego at the All-Star break and netting left-hander Brad Hand and righty Adam Cimber.
The two were in uniform, if not a little the worse for the wear after a whirlwind couple of days and coast-to-coast travel, when the Indians defeated the Texas Rangers 9-8 in 11 innings on Friday at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, in both teams' first action since the Mid-Season Classic.
The Indians will send right-hander Carlos Carrasco (11-5, 4.12 ERA) to the hill for the middle game of the series while Texas will counter with ageless right-hander Bartolo Colon (5-7, 4.64).
Indians manager Terry Francona told MLB.com before Friday's game that he thinks Hand can serve as a strong southpaw option for the late innings, even garnering some save chances. Francona plans to use Cimber against tough right-handed batters in key situations.
"Now, we have another option," Francona said of both Hand and Cimber joining the team. "So, you may see a starter come out maybe five, six pitches before you would've before, because I think we have an answer coming around (in the later innings)."
Both Hand and Cimber saw action in their first game for Cleveland, with Hand giving up a two-run homer to Joey Gallo in the seventh before leaving in favor of Cimber, who allowed a hit in two-thirds of an inning.
Texas called up top hitting prospect Willie Calhoun on Friday from Triple-A Round Rock and placed outfielder Nomar Mazara on the disabled list with a sprained right thumb.
Mazara, who is hitting .272 with 15 home runs and a club-leading 58 RBIs, injured the thumb during the Rangers' three-game series with the Orioles in Baltimore right before the All-Star break. He did not play in the final game Sunday and can come off the DL on July 27.
"We don't have an exact feel for it," Texas manager Jeff Banister said about Mazara's injury. "I know since the injury there has been some improvement. We'll know more in the next couple of days. It just got to the point where it was best to put him on the DL."
Calhoun has played in 94 games at Round Rock. He is hitting .351 in his last 41 games since the beginning of June.
"Let's get him in-house and let him play," Banister said about Calhoun. "Obviously if Willie plays well, most everybody makes their case by what they do on the field."
Carrasco appeared out of the bullpen and threw one shutout inning against the Yankees on Sunday. In his most recent start, Carrasco gave up a run and five hits in five innings against the Reds on July 11. He is 3-0 over his past three appearances (two starts) with a 3.18 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings.
He is 2-3 with a 6.64 ERA in nine career appearances, including seven starts, against Texas.
The 45-year-old Colon will make his 20th appearance and 18th start of the season in Saturday's contest. He enters the game with 245 career wins, tied with Nicaragua's Dennis Martinez for most in major-league history by a native of Latin America and will be making a third attempt at the record after having gone 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA in his past two outings.
Colon is already the career leader for wins by a native of the Dominican Republic (previously 243 by Juan Marichal). He last started and took the loss in a 4-2 Rangers setback at Boston on July 11, when he gave up four runs (three earned) in six innings.
Colon was signed by the Indians as a non-drafted free agent in 1993 and won 75 games in six seasons with the Indians. He has a 7-5 record with a 4.07 ERA in 14 career starts versus Cleveland.
