Rockies at Indians
Corey Kluber looks to continue his dominant run on the mound when his Cleveland Indians host the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday to open a two-game interleague series between a pair of teams in playoff position. Kluber joined Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers since 1913 to strike out at least eight in 12 straight starts when he fanned 11 to beat the New York Yankees last time out.
“All three are guys I grew up watching and idolizing,” Kluber told the Plain Dealer, “so to be mentioned with them is definitely an honor.” Kluber, who is still five games behind Johnson’s all-time record of 17, owns one of the Indians' two victories in their last seven contests but they own a three-game lead over Kansas City in the American League Central. The Rockies hold down the first of two wild-card spots in the National League after winning six of their previous nine games and send 22-year-old German Marquez to the mound in the series opener as he goes for a fifth straight win. Nolan Arenado has hit safely in a season high-tying eight straight games (13-for-32) for Colorado, which outscored Cleveland 19-4 in two victories at home June 6-7.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Colorado), STO (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH German Marquez (9-4, 4.11 ERA) vs. Indians RH Corey Kluber (9-3, 2.77)
Marquez has strung together five consecutive quality starts while winning four of them, but settled for a no-decision last time out against the New York Mets when he gave up three runs over six innings. The Venezuela native struck out a season-high 10 in the previous start at Washington, improving to 4-2 with a 3.86 ERA in nine road outings. Marquez, who is 3-0 since the All-Star break, is 2-0 in two career interleague starts.
Kluber registered his third complete game of the season last time out when he permitted one run on three hits with one walk and improved to 7-1 with a 2.22 ERA at home in 2017. The 31-year-old Alabama native has struck out 172 in 123 2/3 frames overall this year, fanning double digits in nine of his last 10 starts. Carlos Gonzalez owns a homer against Kluber, who won his only start against the Rockies in his career.
WALK-OFFS
1. Former Cleveland INF Mark Reynolds went 3-for-6 with two homers and five RBIs in Colorado’s series against the Indians in June.
2. Cleveland 2B Jason Kipnis went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Sunday after returning from almost a month on the disabled list with a hamstring injury.
3. The Rockies fell to 59-1 with a lead after eight innings following a 3-2 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday, ending the longest streak to begin a season in team history.