Cleveland Indians: Danny Salazar is Back to Normal

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Danny Salazar was able to overcome his recent struggles with a great outing Sunday in Texas.

Last week was a rough one for the Cleveland Indians. The team finished off the road trip with a record of 2-5, losing all the momentum from two weekends ago when Tyler Naquin and the Tribe made us all believe the magic was back.

It would be overdramatic to put too much emphasis on last week, but there is no denying the team returns to Progressive Field tonight with a lot of problems to address.

The road trip saw both the pitchers and the hitters struggle, with Danny Salazar being one of those who was having his job security questioned.

He started last Tuesday’s game in Oakland, five days after a one-inning outing in his return from the DL. Fans were hoping to see him return to his old form in Oakland, but a three-run home run in the first inning put the Indians in an early hole, while Salazar only lasted four innings.

The back-to-back miserable outings drew questions of whether Salazar was going to be able to recover before the end of the season. He is being relied upon to be a dominant force in the rotation, and with the poor play of Josh Tomlin, the Indians cannot afford for Salazar to struggle in September.

Sunday’s start in Texas was a great test for Salazar. The Texas Rangers are a possible playoff matchup for the Indians, so it was important to see if he could overcome his recent struggles and be a pitcher the team can rely on. He did just that.

Salazar struck out ten batters Sunday, the second time he has done that this season. But the most important aspect of his start was that he only allowed two runs in 5.1 innings of work against a great Texas offense.

He had not pitched more than four innings since July 19 against the Kansas City Royals, a game in which he picked up his 11th win of the season. He has not won a decision since, including Sunday’s 2-1 loss. But the fact he earned a loss Sunday will not take away from the positives of his performance.

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Another great sign from Sunday’s start was Salazar finishing with 98 pitches, another mark he had not reached since that July 19 start. Pitch count is not necessarily a great measure of success, but it shows his arm is back to full strength and that Terry Francona is confident enough to leave the pitcher in the game for as long as he can go. Salazar averaged a total of 56 pitches in his first three starts in August, going a combined seven innings in that span.

These positives being drawn from Sunday’s start are normal marks for Salazar to reach at any other point during the season, but were things not seen since he returned from the DL. Getting excited about Salazar going 5.1 innings would seem silly if brought up earlier this season, but there was real concern that he was not the same player after his one-inning outing on August 18.

Next: Takeaways from Sunday's loss

But after Sunday’s start in Texas, it appears Salazar is back to his normal self. He just needs the offense to give him some help next time he takes the mound.