Game #25 Observations: Little Offense Needed as Shane Bieber Seals Another Indians Win

Put another sweep in the books.

For the second series in a row, the Cleveland Indians swept their opponent aside, polishing off the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday night with a 2-0 victory. The Tribe has now won six straight, nipping at the Minnesota Twins’ heels near the top of the AL Central standings.

Offense was hard to come by for both teams in this one.

With Pittsburgh, the source of that struggle was obvious, and its name was Shane Bieber. Cleveland’s ace put forth yet another dominant night on the mound, which is becoming par for the course in 2020.

As for the Indians’ offense, the issue was a lack of impact at-bats. They finished the game with seven hits, each was of the single variety. While Cleveland generated hard contact on eight batted balls, extra bases just weren’t in the cards.

The Indians had an opportunity to blow the game open in the eighth, loading the bases with no outs. Instead of running away with the contest, Cleveland scored only once on a poorly executed fielder’s choice. The next three hitters went down quietly, effectively eliminating the threat.

Despite this, the Indians still left the game victorious, thanks to the elite pitching we’ve come to know from the leader of their rotation.

Here are a few observations from the win.

Double-Digit Whiffs for Bieber

For the second straight game, Bieber finished the night with eleven strikeouts to his name. He had Pittsburgh whiffing throughout the contest, allowing six hits and zero earned runs.

His approach varied a bit from what we saw during his last start. Last Saturday, Bieber used a relatively even distribution of fastballs and curves when taking on Detroit. Against the Pirates, he heavied up on the former, throwing a four-seamer on 34% of his 99 pitches and offering just 20 curveballs.

The attack was effective, to say the least. Bieber was able to get 12 called strikes on his fastball, while generating a 60% whiff rate with his curve.

For much of the night, Bieber avoided any semblance of trouble. The only true adversity he faced came in the sixth inning, as Kevin Newman and Josh Bell led off the frame with back-to-back singles.

If this threw Bieber off in any way, it hardly showed. He struck out the next two batters on ten pitches before inducing an inning-ending flyout from JT Riddle.

With yet another quality start under his belt, it’s safe to say Bieber’s Cy Young campaign is chugging right along.

The Bullpen is Still Going Strong

No, Pittsburgh’s offense isn’t currently known for its productivity. Still, with such a marginal lead, Cleveland’s bullpen couldn’t afford any mistakes.

None occurred, as the unit continues its impressive 2020 performance.

The Indians received quality outings from Oliver Pérez, Nick Wittgren and James Karinchak. Combined, the three allowed one hit and one walk while striking out three.

As usual, it was Karinchak who stole the show. He came right at Pittsburgh hitters with his trademark curve, throwing it on all but four of his 16 pitches. Collectively, the Pirates swung at five of them, putting just one in play and whiffing on the rest.

Once Karinchak was done, Cleveland handed the ball to closer Brad Hand, who’s beginning to show signs he may be settling down on the mound.

Hand used an even distribution of pitches, throwing six sliders and six fastballs while locking in the save. Combined, he was able to generate a called or swinging strike on 42% of his offerings.

Overall, five of Hand’s last six outs have come via the strikeout. Though further judgement will require a larger sample size, there’s no denying the fact he’s notched back-to-back solid showings.

Way to Geau Beau

Beau Taylor’s season has been a bit of a struggle, to say the least. The backup catcher entered Thursday’s game without a single hit on the year, a big reason why this game marked his first start since August 8.

Yet, give credit where credit is due, Taylor had himself a decent night at the plate.

He notched his first hit of the season, which also happened to knock in the first run of the night for Cleveland.

One inning later, Taylor caught former Indian Erik Gonzalez making a late attempt to steal third, casually picking him off to remove a potential scoring threat.

While Taylor wasn’t credited for the RBI, he was able to put Cleveland’s second run on the board when he grounded into a fielder’s choice Pittsburgh failed to cash in on. The Pirates attempted to throw home on the play, but catcher Jacob Stallings was pulled off the plate, allowing Franmil Reyes to score.

Taylor will likely lose his roster spot once veteran Sandy León returns to the team. For this game, though, he was an unlikely (and much-need) source of run production for the Indians.

Cleveland now returns home, looking to continue its dominance over the Tigers in a three-game set this weekend.