CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians will conclude their homestand with a three-game series against Kansas City starting Friday night. It will be a series in which the Indians’ starting rotation will become whole again. At least that’s the hope.
Right-hander Cody Anderson is scheduled to be recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Saturday. He will go back into the rotation and start that day against the Royals. Anderson looked like an emerging rotation mainstay at the end of last season, but unfortunately for him, he wasn’t able to carry it over into this year.
Anderson, 25, was called up at midseason last year and went 7-3 with a 3.05 ERA in 15 starts. That included an impressive 5-0 record and 1.09 ERA over his last five starts of the season. That strong finish earned Anderson a spot in the Opening Day rotation this year, but he didn’t stay there for long.
After four starts, Anderson had a record of 0-1 and a 7.65 ERA. In his last three starts his ERA was 9.64 and opposing teams hit .424 against him. He gave up 28 hits and five home runs in 14 innings. It was then that Anderson was sent to Columbus.
Indians officials weren’t giving up on him. But the team had some off days that allowed them to get by with four starting pitchers, so Anderson was sent to Columbus for an out-of-the-spotlight start, in the hopes that he could find some consistency. Manager Terry Francona said, “It was good for him to pitch in a game where the outcome won’t be on the back of his baseball card.”
That’s good because the outcome wasn’t: Anderson gave up four runs on seven hits, including two home runs in 5 2/3 innings. Nevertheless, he will be recalled to make Saturday’s start against Kansas City and, presumably, remain in the rotation. Indians officials hope that Anderson will be more consistent with his stuff, keep the ball out of the middle of the plate, and pitch closer to the way he did last year.
It’s an important moment for the Indians because their rotation is already had one major setback. No. 2 starter Carlos Carrasco is on the disabled list with a pulled hamstring that is expected to sideline him for at least another month. Trevor Bauer has replaced Carrasco in the rotation. If Anderson continues to struggle upon his return, the Indians’ starting pitching depth will be tested even more.
