If there is any player from the 2014 that deserves a little more recognition for his efforts, it is Corey Kluber. A Cy Young candidate, Kluber completed one of the top 30 seasons as an Indians starter ever, one of the top 15 since 1940 and unquestionably the best since 1974. We’ve already concluded tallying his assault on the record books, but now it is time for a deeper look into exactly how this greatness was achieved, one game at a time. Links back to each post game are included for more detail.
April
Kluber came into the season as the Indians number two pitcher and things didn’t work out to well to start, losing his first game against the Athletics after giving up five runs in 3.1 innings. The Indians would lose just this game of the series and Kluber would pitch just one more game this year where he allowed at least five earned runs, struck out two and pitched less than four innings.
He was a little better off in his next three games against San Diego, Chicago and Toronto, at least making it through the sixth in each start, but allowing nine earned runs overall and striking out just 17 in 20 innings. Excluding these first four games from his season numbers would drop his already impressive ERA to 2.12 and raised his K/9 to 10.6.
On April 24th, Kluber turned over a new leaf and set the standard for the rest of the year. He threw his first of 11 double digit strike out games, coming incredibly close to a complete game shut out against the Royals. It was just a seventh inning Nick Swisher error after an infield single that cost Kluber his single unearned run. This was an especially important early season game as it came against the ultimate Wild Card winning Kansas City team.
Kluber had another play-off caliber challenge in the Angels to end the month. In it, he was unable to pitch through the fifth, the last time that could be said until September. He took the loss in that game as well, but after starting out 2-3, he would finish the year by going of 16-5.
May
In Kluber’s next three starts, he cemented his role on the team during a time of turmoil for the Indians rotation. Against the White Sox, Rays and Blue Jays, he added another 21.2 innings, 31 strike outs and just five runs allowed winning the final two of the three. Starting with the game against Tampa, the Indians would win each of Kluber’s next six starts.
After three easier starts, it was time to take on some stronger competition and against the Tigers, he went seven innings and gave up just three runs. This was generally his upper limit for the rest of the season as he allowed more than three just three more times for the rest of the year. The Indians would go on to win this game 5-4.
On May 24th, Kluber threw his second game with no earned runs allowed, throwing seven shut out innings against the AL East winning Orioles. He struck out nine more in seven innings and easily nabbed his fifth win of the season as the Tribe rolled Baltimore 9-0.
To finish the month, Kluber struck out double digits for the third time of the season, K’ing 12 Rockies while allowing two in 7.1 innings. With the ultimate 5-2 win, his record jumped to 6-3.
June
To begin June, Kluber had a stretch of three very average games that may have ultimately been the difference between starting the All-Star Game and not getting there at all. In two games against Boston (6/4 and 6/15) and another against Kansas City, he pitched just 16.2 innings and struck out only 13. In addition, after walking more than three batters just once in his first 14 games, he did so against the Red Sox and walked a total of eight in the three matches. He walked just 51 on the season and this and August were his only months with more than ten walks in a single month.
On June 20th, Kluber got a rematch against the Tigers and although he was better, giving up just two runs in seven innings, the Indians would ultimately lose 4-6. He would throw seven his next time out as well, but in order to guarantee avoiding a loss, he allowed no runs for the third time, this time against the Diamondbacks. In that game, he struck out eight, giving him more K’s than innings in a game for the first time in June after doing so in each May start. He would finish June on the road against the Dodgers, taking a tough 1-0 loss. An Andre Ethier 7th inning lead-off triple lead to the only run of the game as the Indians were one hit for the second game in a row.
July
July started with Kluber’s third start of the season against the Royals, White Sox and Tigers. While Kluber won all three starts, pushing his record to 10-6 despite taking three losses in June, but not all wins are created equal. In the two games against play-off teams, Kluber allowed one run against the Royals and struck out ten in 8.1 innings and two runs with ten strike outs in 8.2 innings against the Tigers. Against the White Sox between the two starts, he allowed four runs and struck out just five, his worst start in over a month.
Kluber missed the All-Star Game, despite leading the league in WAR and strike outs, but came back with a vengeance. In addition to the Tigers win, Kluber added two straight games with no earned runs allowed, completing both against the Royals and Mariners. An unearned run cost Kluber another shut out as it did back in April. This time, it was the infamous Ryan Raburn spike that gave up the sole Royals run. Against Seattle, things were much different. Kluber threw possibly the best game by an Indians pitcher since Len Barker’s perfect game in 1981. He allowed just three hits and struck out only eight, but most impressively, he threw just 85 pitches (69 strikes) while out dueling Felix Hernandez for his first career complete game shut out. If the Cy Young voters need a tie breaker when deciding which starter to choose, they should look to this game, when Kluber K’d the King.
August
After the two complete games, Kluber kept things going with a one run, 7.1 inning start against the Reds, a six inning shut out against the Yankees and a one run, 7.2 inning game against the Orioles. The Indians won all three of these games and Kluber officially won two, moving to 13-6 on the year.
This began Kluber’s worst stretch of the season, the time when many thought he may have hit his limit. In two games against the Twins and White Sox, he allowed three runs twice (he had went 12 starts without allowing at least three runs in two straight games) and struck out just 16 across 15.1 innings. While this K-rate seems acceptable, it came after he struck out 27 in his first three games of the month and ten in three of five July games.
September
In the final month of the season, Kluber was especially special, but it didn’t start out that way. In his first start against the Tigers, he had his worst game of the season, giving up five runs and striking out just two in 2.2 innings. This dropped his record to 13-9, but it is always the darkest before dawn and Kluber was about to shine.
He would go on to win each of his final five games, including his third complete game that would have been a shut out if not for an unearned run against the White Sox. He allowed two and struck out seven in 8.1 innings against the Twins on September 11th, but that was just the beginning. Against the Astros, Twins and Rays to end the year Kluber struck out 39 batters, allowed three runs and pitched 23 innings. To that point, he had never struck out as many as 14 batters in a game, but he did it in two of his final three games. In doing so, he became the first Indians pitcher to end the season with three straight games of at least 11 K’s, pushing him to sixth in single season strike outs in Indians history.
While there were a few bumps in the road, it is hard to imagine a stronger end to a better season for Corey Kluber. While his defense did cost him a few times and his offense didn’t back him as much as it could have, that just makes what he did even more impressive. Hopefully, the Cy Young voters can look beyond his backers and see this amazing ride the Klubot took Tribe fans on for the entirety of the 2014 season.
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