CLEVELAND — At first glance, it appears that the wheels are falling off the best starting pitching staff in the American League.
At least where the Indians’Josh Tomlin and Danny Salazar are concerned.
August has been miserable for Tomlin, 0-4 with a 10.02 ERA in four starts. Salazar lasted only one inning when he returned from the disabled list on Thursday. That left the Tribe open to second-guessing for its decision not to send him on a rehab start after he missed two weeks with right elbow tendinitis.
The Indians’ starters have a 13-11 record and 4.82 ERA since the All-Star break, as compared to 39-23 and 3.70 before it.
But there is no need to panic.
Consider that when Tomlin’s troubles began with an Aug. 5 loss to the New York Yankees, the Indians held a two-game lead in the American League Central. After Sunday’s victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, the advantage had been boosted to seven.
Part of that can be attributed to the roller-coaster season of the second-place Detroit Tigers. But there is no reason to consider drastic measures. There is no reason to doubt Salazar’s stuff. There is no reason for fans’ confidence to waver, not when — in terms of merit and current performance — the Indians’ top three are Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer.
Especially not when the Tribe has pitching coach Mickey Callaway, who has more of a track record of success with starters than Browns coach Hue Jackson has with quarterbacks.
Tomlin continued to struggle Saturday night in a loss to the Blue Jays and has given up an AL-high 32 home runs this season. That makes some question manager Terry Francona’s loyalty to his fifth starter. But Francona is not going to dump a pitcher who opened the season 11-3 with a 3.43 ERA. It is going to take more than one bad month for Francona to become disillusioned with a player he believes in, who knows how to pitch and how to get the most out of his abilities, even with rookie Mike Clevinger tucked away in the bullpen.
Nor is it time to start freaking out over Salazar. The 26-year-old might be one of those players prone to streaks, just like hitters. He’s already had one elbow surgery, in August 2010, and may need time to reassure himself that he’s healthy.
The Indians have the depth in their rotation to survive slumps. In July, Bauer lost three consecutive starts on both sides of the All-Star break and they never fell out of first place. They have the chemistry to pick each other up.
“If everybody pitches the way they can, that allows a guy to struggle for an outing or two without showing up so much,” Callaway said Sunday. “The problem was Carrasco struggled, Salazar struggled, Bauer had a rough patch, Tomlin had a rough patch and it all came at one time.”
Callaway remains upbeat, saying, “The body of work as a whole has been really good.”
He conceded that the starters’ routines were messed up coming out of the All-Star break and the issue has lingered in the second half. He said the Indians always worry about pitchers wearing down.
“We’ll continue to battle some of those battles, but overall I’m very confident,” he said. “We’ve always been a staff that’s finished strong and once we get rolling here … “
The track record for strong finishes is relatively short. The Indians’ rotation has a combined 81 career starts in September/October — Carrasco 23, Kluber 21, Salazar 16, Tomlin 12, Bauer 9 — and Salazar has the best career ERA (3.80).
But Kluber has returned to his 2014 Cy Young form. Bauer struck out a career-high 13 in a no-decision against the Blue Jays on Friday. Carrasco, who compiled a 2.22 ERA in July, carried a 6.66 ERA in August into Monday night’s game at Oakland, but had averaged 7.25 strikeouts.
The Indians’ rotation is deep and talented, led by Kluber and one of the best pitching coaches in the game. With Francona pushing the right buttons, the Indians seem equipped to handle the physical and mental challenges the stretch run will bring. If he deems it’s an automatic loss every time he sends Tomlin to the mound, something will be done.
Now is not the time for that. It is time to have faith in the best rotation in the American League and the strong support staff behind it.
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