Diminished velocity no hindrance to Kluber

BOSTON — The pitching line in the box score was pristine: Seven innings and no runs allowed. In terms of results, Indians ace Corey Kluber was in fine form in his win over the Red Sox in Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Friday.

What Kluber’s incredible command masked, however, was the fact that his pitch velocity had dropped from its usual levels. The right-hander was making his first start after a bout with a mild quadriceps strain, which necessitated a 10-day rest period leading up to his outing against Boston.

“Pushing off a little bit is probably not 100 percent,” Indians manager Terry Francona said prior to Game 3 on Monday at Fenway Park (6 p.m. ET, TBS). “But I’m not too sure how many guys at this time of year are [at full strength], one way or another.”

Francona said “pushing off” was slight issue for Kluber in Game 2. May explain velo drop. Kluber’s command made up for it in 7 shutout IP. pic.twitter.com/Re4Gv9Qz0t

— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) October 10, 2016

Francona said “pushing off” was slight issue for Kluber in Game 2. May explain velo drop. Kluber’s command made up for it in 7 shutout IP. pic.twitter.com/Re4Gv9Qz0t

During Friday’s seven-inning performance, in which Kluber struck out seven and scattered three hits, his average four-seam fastball velocity was 93.4 mph, which was down from 95.5 mph in his final regular-season start on Sept. 26, and his average for the final month (94.2). There were also noticable drops in pitch speed on Kluber’s two-seamer, curveball, cutter and changeup.

All of that said, Kluber featured …

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