CLEVELAND: In the Indians’ 8-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals Thursday night, manager Terry Francona was put in the position of having to weigh the team’s immediate and long-term interests.
Francona has often spoke this season to the balance of keeping an eye on today and tomorrow. In this case, it was whether to push Corey Kluber any further. Kluber had thrown four innings (61 pitches) and the Indians trailed 3-2.
He was also coming back from a strained right hamstring. And, with the Royals having the top of their lineup coming up, Francona chose to pull Kluber instead of pushing him another inning.