Pregame Notes: Cleveland Indians try to shake off extra innings loss in Game 2

It was a tough loss for the Cleveland Indians last night. Corey Kluber tossed another incredible game, throwing nine innings of one-run baseball, but the Tribe was unable to score against left-hander Chris Sale.

There’s no time to pout, as the Indians will match up against another steady southpaw in Jose Quintana on Tuesday night.

Quintana hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his last four starts while walking no more than two batters through those four outings. Despite the hot streak, Quintana enters the night with a 2-3 record and a pedestrian 4.39 ERA through seven starts this season. He threw six innings without allowing an earned run against the Tribe in his lone start against the club in mid-April.

Opposite Quintana will be the Tribe’s No. 2 man Trevor Bauer, who was outstanding in his last outing against the St. Louis Cardinals. Bauer allowed just one run and fanned 10 against the Cards last week and enters tonight’s game with a 3.67 ERA in seven starts. Bauer has been much better than his 2-1 record alludes, as the bullpen hasn’t done him any favors early this season.

While it isn’t Kluber versus Sale, this appears to be another low-scoring contest between division foes. Here’s the starting lineups:

News & Notes:

-The Tribe is just 1-4 over the last five Bauer starts and, despite a handful of strong performances, the team’s only win came against the Blue Jays, a start in which the hard-throwing righty allowed six earned runs.

-After adding 12 strikeouts in last night’s dominate performance, Kluber now has 30 strikeouts in his last two outings. He is the first pitcher to record that many strikeouts since Randy Johnson in 2001.

-After a disappointing two starts with the Tribe, veteran left-hander Bruce Chen announced his retirement from baseball yesterday. 

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