Cleveland Indians dealt blow as Corey Kluber fractures forearm

Cleveland Indians RHP Corey Kluber suffered a fractured forearm in Wednesday’s loss to the Miami Marlins.

The Cleveland Indians could be without a key part of their pitching staff for the foreseeable future.

Two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber left Cleveland’s game against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday after being struck in the pitching arm by a ground ball. The team later revealed he suffered a non-displaced fracture of his right ulna, a bone in the forearm that stretches from the elbow to the pinky finger. Kluber will be re-evaluated after returning to Cleveland tomorrow to determine how long he will be out.

The injury occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning in Miami, when the Marlins’ Brian Anderson hit a comebacker towards the mound. The ball hit Kluber and rolled toward the first base line. Kluber was in immediate discomfort, his right arm dangling at his side, as he went to pick it up. He left the game right after and was replaced by Dan Otero.

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Kluber finished the game giving up three earned runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings. Miami went on to defeat the Indians 4-2.

The 33-year-old Kluber is coming off a 20-win season last year, but he hasn’t been his usual self so far in 2019. He came into play on Wednesday ranking 91st out of 94 qualified starting pitchers in WHIP and 84th in ERA. After today’s loss, he falls to 2-3 for the season with a 5.80 ERA. In the previous five seasons, he trailed only Max Scherzer in wins and is fourth in ERA at 2.85. He won the Cy Young Award in 2014 and 2017.

The loss of Kluber is another big blow to the Indians starting rotation. Mike Clevinger is already on the 60-day IL with a back injury and won’t return until at least June. The good news for the Indians, though, is that Trevor Bauer has largely supplanted Kluber as the ace of the pitching staff. Bauer is fourth in the American League this year with a 2.45 ERA.

With Wednesday’s loss, the Indians fall to 16-13 on the season and sit two games behind the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.