Tribe pitchers racking up strikeouts

By foxsports
Published

 CLEVELAND -- The Rockies are one of the hardest teams to strike out in baseball but you wouldn't have known that from this weekend's series against the Indians.

 During the three games at Progressive Field, Tribe pitchers struck out Colorado hitters 38 times as Cleveland posted a sweep. It is the first time that the Indians have posted at least 11 strikeouts against the same opponent in a three-game series.

 Corey Kluber and the bullpen combined for 15 strikeouts on Friday, followed by 11 K's on Saturday and 12 strikeouts on Sunday. The Rockies came into the series striking out an average of just 6.7 times per game.

 Charlie Blackmon, who is the third-toughest hitter in the National League to strike out, had four in 12 at-bats while Troy Tulowitzki, who is the NL's leading hitter, struck out five times in 12 at-bats and had just one hit.

 "Klubs was really good, but I think every game is different," Terry Francona said. "Maybe there's some unfamiliarity. That certainly can lead to that when you don't see pitchers and it's your first shot. You can watch all the video you want, but it’s hard until you see guys."

 On Sunday, Josh Tomlin posted eight strikeouts with five being called third strikes. It is the second straight game that the left-hander has tied his career high.

 "When you get ahead of the count 0-2, 1-2 you have a couple pitches to play with," Tomlin said. "You have a couple different pitches to play with and they are a pretty aggressive team."

 With the game tied at four in the ninth, Scott Atchison struck out the side and got a key one with two outs and a runner on second when he got Blackmon swinging. It was redemption for Atchison, who was part of a four-run seventh on Saturday where the Rockies rallied to tie the game.

 "I think we've shown we have a pretty good staff. The strikeouts happen I don't think anyone worries and that’s why we get some," Atchison said.

  While the starting rotation has struggled, the Indians' entire staff lead the Majors with 508 strikeouts and have posted double digits in 27 games this season.