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It looks like Corey Kluber has found his place.
The MLB veteran pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings in his regular-season debut Sunday with the Rays.
The former Yankee led Tampa Bay to an 8-0 win over the Orioles to sweep the opening series against the AL East doormats. Kluber, however, was not completely happy with his performance over the weekend.
“I didn’t really control counts the way I’d like to eventually. But at the end of the day, I made good pitches when I needed to to keep them off the scoreboard,” he said.
Pitching on his 36th birthday, Kluber allowed three hits, walked four, and struck out five batters over the span of 87 pitches. Kluber began to lose steam in the fifth inning, getting pulled from the game after walking Cedric Mullins and giving up a single to Ryan Mountcastle.
Rays manager Brian Cash emphasized that his priority is keeping Kluber healthy. Last season, the right-hander spent three months on the injured list due to a strain in his right shoulder.
“We’d like all of our guys to get out there and pencil in 30 starts. But saying that, you have to manage the workload,” he said.
“I don’t want to put words in [Kluber’s] mouth, but the days of throwing 220 innings are probably not there anymore,” Cash added. “He understands that.”
Kluber echoed the manager’s sentiments and discussed how his focus is pitching inning-by-inning.
“I don’t really concern myself with the workload or pitch count. I view it as I’m going to keep going out there until he takes the ball from me,” the 2014 and 2017 Cy Young Award winner said. “I try to take it hitter by hitter and not try to look at the big picture like that.”
Starting pitching depth is one of the Yankees’ prime concerns for this season. It was nearly put to the test after Jordan Montgomery was hit in the left leg by a Xander Bogaerts ground ball on Sunday night. Montgomery, however, was able to stay in the game and pitch 3 2/3 innings in the Yankees’ 4-3 defeat.
In 2021, Kluber posted an ERA of 3.83 in his 16 starts with the Yankees and recorded a no-hitter in May against the Rangers. Currently, he’s on a one-year, $8 million contract with Tampa Bay.
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