As an homage to Corey Kluber’s many years with the organization, Cleveland made their starting pitcher sweat out a close game with minimal run support. This time, like many times in Kluber’s career, it somehow ended with a victory.
What Aaron Civale did wasn’t quite the majesty of throwing a no-hitter against a team on the same night they are giving away your bobblehead from the one inning you pitched for them the year prior, but his eight-strikeout performance over seven innings was arguably his best of the year.
Civale was dealing all game long with each of his six pitches, including his new split-finger changeup being used seven times and inducing a called strike or whiff three times.