They also flew home with another broken pitcher (but we'll get to that.)
Here's a few talking points from the series, some of the good, and some of the bad:
The Good
Trevor Bauer continued his stellar start to 2019 with another strong outing, picking up his fourth win in a 7-4 Tribe victory.
Bauer struck out 10 over 7 innings of work but did give up 4 earned runs and 4 walks, so it wasn't perhaps the dominant display he might have envisioned. Thankfully the offense backed him and Bauer did his part not to relinquish the lead.
His overpowering fastball regularly challenged the Marlins hitters who were plagued by his 95-mph heat all evening. When combined with that trademark Bauer slider, the Miami lineup watched in vain as the ball just disappeared from them.
Another positive came in the form of Carlos Gonzalez, who is beginning to settle in with his new club after a decade in Colorado.
Called up in mid-April having had little-to-no spring training, Gonzalez instantly slotted into the Indians outfield and has been a model of consistency, his veteran presence helping bring stability to an uncertain outfield situation.
In the third inning of game one, CarGo connected on a Sandy Alcantara changeup that flew off his bat with an exit velocity of 108-mph. The pitch was left up in the zone and Gonzalez pounced on the mistake, and the ball shot over the wall for a 3-run homer, giving his starter a comfortable lead.
Gonzalez's impact with Cleveland is beginning to show and fans will hope he can sustain this sort of form over the entire year. He has certainly made a good first impression on me.
Carlos Santana also enjoyed a successful time in Florida, collecting two homers in the series, doubling his tally for the season. Santana started the season hot at the plate but has cooled off a bit in recent weeks, so hopefully this Miami trip is a sign that he's found his groove again.
The Bad
Corey Kluber - where do we begin?
As if he wasn't already having a rough start to his season, things got much worse for the Indians ace in game two.
Already struggling with his fading velocity and erratic location, Kluber had to battle a 102-mph line drive to the forearm as well.
He lost.
Kluber absorbed the full force of that Brian Anderson hit in the fifth inning and somehow it didn't leave an exit wound the size of a bowling ball. He was instantly in pain and couldn't use his arm to throw the ball to first base. Kluber's famously stoic face showed clear signs of discomfort as he walked around the mound, and his grimace was uncomfortable to see.
The injury has been diagnosed as a non-displaced fracture of the right ulna (the long bone in your forearm), with a return timetable as yet unknown. He is set to be re-evaluated in Cleveland today to determine just how long the Tribe will be without one of their key men.
It's a huge blow to both Kluber and the Indians, as our previously dominant rotation is now missing two of it's primary pieces (with Mike Clevinger still recuperating from his back injury too). With the assumption that the starting pitching staff would remain elite in 2019, Cleveland's path to another AL Central crown was predicted to be relatively stress-free. Now that Kluber and Clevinger are expected to miss an extended period of time, it puts a huge emphasis on the lineup to pick up the slack.
I'm hopeful that Kluber could return by September and play a significant role in the postseason, but it's too early to tell just how far this is going to set him back.
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The Indians return home for an off-day before welcoming the Mariners to town for a three-game series beginning Friday night. Japanese phenom Yusei Kikuchi is expected to represent Seattle in game one and will face our own Shane Bieber, who already has one win over the Mariners this season, on April 16th.
