Scoring runs against Trevor Bauer became a difficult feat last season. These days, just getting a hit off the Cleveland Indians right-hander ranks as an accomplishment.
Bauer carries a streak of 10 hitless innings into his third start of the season, a Wednesday afternoon tilt at Detroit.
Bauer (1-0, 0.64 ERA) was removed after seven hitless innings against Toronto on April 4 after throwing 117 pitches. The only hit he allowed in his first start at Minnesota on March 30 was a fourth-inning triple to Jorge Polanco, who also scored the only run against him.
Manager Terry Francona said he wished he could have left Bauer in longer to chase a no-hitter against the Blue Jays but Bauer’s pitch count, driven up by six walks, forced his hand.
“I didn’t want to take him out,” he said. “I told him I hate it. He goes, ‘I hate it too, but I know it’s the right thing.’ I care too much about him and this organization to hurt somebody. I would have loved to have seen it because I don’t doubt that he would have kept pitching and probably not given up a hit the way he was throwing.”
Cleveland went on to record a 4-1 victory.
“To be honest, I don’t really care about a no-hitter or not,” Bauer told the team’s website. “I care about putting up zeroes for the team and winning. … So, if I throw a no-hitter, that’s great. If not, that’s great too, as long as we win the game.”
He became an elite pitcher last season when his 2.21 ERA ranked second in the American League.
Bauer has an 8-5 record and 5.63 ERA in 16 appearances against the Tigers, including 15 starts. That doesn’t speak of Bauer’s dominance against Detroit last season. He won all four of his starts with a 1.23 ERA while striking out 40 in 29 1/3 innings.
Cleveland will be seeking its sixth consecutive victory. It won the series opener on Tuesday, 8-2, to snap Detroit’s five-game winning streak. The Indians blasted four home runs, including a leadoff shot by ex-Tiger Leonys Martin.
Bauer’s mound foe has been racking up strikeouts this season. Left-hander Matthew Boyd (0-1, 3.18 ERA) has recorded 23 in 11 1/3 innings.
He was unfortunate to get a no-decision while holding the New York Yankees to one run on five hits in 6 1/3 innings on April 3. He notched a career-high 13 strikeouts in that game.
The strikeout total was the most by a Tigers pitcher since Max Scherzer punched out 14 batters in August 2014. Boyd had a career-high 26 swings and misses on his 98 pitches, 13 with his slider.
“He had all his stuff going and he kept them off-balance,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “You use what you can as a pitcher and when it’s hard to see spin, you keep spinning it.”
The always-modest Boyd said he’s not looking for strikeouts.
“It just happens,” he told the Detroit News. “You can’t dictate if the guy is going to put a bat on the ball or not. Once it leaves my hand, it’s out of my control.”
Boyd is 1-3 with a 3.09 ERA in eight career appearances, including seven starts, against Cleveland.