Anderson exits early as Tribe falls in finale

CLEVELAND -- When the Indians decided to recall Cody Anderson from Triple-A Columbus to make his first Major League start since 2016, they knew he was unlikely to go deep into the game as he’s still getting stretched out as a starter. But they certainly weren’t planning for a first-inning departure.

Anderson allowed four runs on two hits and three walks through just two-thirds of an inning -- the shortest start of his career -- before the Tribe’s bullpen allowed six more runs in a 10-0 loss to the Mariners on Sunday at Progressive Field.

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“It's really frustrating,” Anderson said. “I had two goals, to get as deep as I can and save the bullpen, keep it close, didn't do either and it's pretty frustrating. Just gotta keep working to get the ball over the plate.”

With Corey Kluber (right ulna fracture) and Mike Clevinger (upper back strain) on the injured list, the team selected Anderson to start Sunday, bumping Trevor Bauer’s start back from Sunday to Monday before Jefry Rodriguez gets the ball on Tuesday. Bauer was placed between Anderson and Rodriguez to protect the bullpen, assuming Anderson would only be able to go a few innings. But after two walks and a single, Jay Bruce took him deep to right-center field for a grand slam. Anderson stayed in for two more batters before handing the ball off to Jon Edwards.

“[Location] was the biggest problem,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “Ball came out of his hand really good. He threw a couple really good changeups. He just couldn’t command the ball. It was deep counts and walks. Then he got into the stretch and got in trouble there.”

Sunday was Anderson’s first big league start since Sept. 24, 2016. He had missed the last two seasons as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. He made his return to the big leagues on April 13 in Kansas City, making three relief appearances with the Tribe before getting optioned back to Triple-A.

“It definitely was good to get the ball at the beginning of the game,” Anderson said. “I've just gotta do a better job. There's no excuse for that.”

The Indians went on to use six arms out of their nine-man bullpen -- Edwards, Tyler Olson, Dan Otero, Oliver Pérez, Tyler Clippard and Neil Ramírez. But they were given a brief break when catcher Kevin Plawecki took the mound for the second time this season -- fourth of his career -- and recorded three quick outs on six pitches in the 9th.

Tribe offense silenced

The Indians' bats were held hitless through 5 2/3 innings by Erik Swanson before Jose Ramirez, who was responsible for the team’s only two hits, doubled to right field. The loss snapped a five-game win streak against Seattle, which was their longest since a six-game win streak from June 19 to Aug. 22, 1999.

“Early on, [Swanson’s] got good ride on his fastball, so he’s kind of beating us and we were having trouble getting on top of it,” Francona said. “As he got into the game, you could see him gaining confidence. Started throwing a good changeup, which really gave us fits.”

Prepping for Anderson’s next start

In a relief appearance on April 21 against the Braves, Anderson threw 49 pitches, which is the most of any outing this season, including the Minors. The Indians wanted to increase his pitch count on Sunday, but he was pulled after 38 pitches. To keep stretching him out into a starter, Anderson went into the cage to throw two simulated innings to get in a little more work.

“Coming off what he did, man, that’s a long inning,” Francona said of the first frame. “So we took him out, gave him a breather. He went in the cage and threw two 15-pitch sim innings just to get him up to 65-68 [pitches], just so his next start won’t be handcuffed.”

“Just get the pitch count up is one thing, and finding the command of the fastball is going to be key,” Anderson said. “You can't pitch up here unless you can throw your fastball for a strike. I think moving forward, that's going to be the main focus.”