BOSTON _ Despite still dealing with a mild quadriceps strain, Indians ace Corey Kluber looked like his normal self in a 6-0 win over the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the American League Division Series.
There were some concerns about Kluber's strained quad in his first career postseason start, and questions about whether it would affect him into October. Those doubts were mostly put to rest with his seven shutout innings. But he might have had issues pushing off the rubber.
Per BrooksBaseball, Kluber's fastball velocity was down from 95.5 mph at the end of the regular season to 93.4 in that postseason start. He overcame the difference with command, stifling the Red Sox's league-best offense. It was in line with his 93.3 average velocity for the 2016 season as a whole, but it was a dip between his last start in Detroit and Friday in Game 2.
"I think probably pushing off a little bit is probably not 100 percent, but I'm not too sure how many guys at this time of year are one way or another," Indians manager Terry Francona said on Monday. "But, he had so much movement. Fortunately, he kept it in the zone."
Kluber could still be dealing with the effects of his strained quad. Though it was good news for the Indians that he's already delivered one stellar postseason outing.
