Kluber quietly slipping back into Cy discussion

CLEVELAND — It was a pitch out of Corey Kluber’s vintage collection. After it left the right hand of the Indians’ ace, the baseball spun in the direction of the front hip of White Sox catcher Omar Narvaez. Then, the two-seamer obeyed the orders given through the pressure applied and the flick of Kluber’s fingers.

Narvaez straightened up and lifted his arms, hoping to avoid being hit by the offering, but it ran back over the inside part of the plate for a called strikeout. With that second-inning punchout, Kluber made it known that Chicago would be in for a long night in what developed into a 3-1 victory for the Indians on Tuesday.

“Every time he toes the rubber,” Indians closer Cody Allen said, “you know you have a chance to see something special.”

What Kluber gave Cleveland this time around was pretty standard for the rotation’s leader.

Kluber went six innings. He struck out seven. He walked two. He flinched only once, allowing a solo homer to Justin Morneau. It was not an overwhelming outing, but an effective one, and there have been plenty of those of late for the 2014 American League Cy Young Award winner.

Vintage Kluber. Two-seamer to the front hip, runs back over plate for called third strike. pic.twitter.com/0fUCdCgrHu

— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) August 17, 2016

Vintage Kluber. Two-seamer to the front hip, runs back over plate for called third strike. pic.twitter.com/0fUCdCgrHu

Over his past seven turns, Kluber has fashioned a tidy 1.65 ERA, piling up 49 strikeouts against 11 walks in 49 innings. In that span, the right-hander has posted a 0.98 WHIP to go along with a .213 …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com