CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Guardians were at Fenway Park coming out of the All-Star break for a four-game series. It was raining and right-hander James Karinchak kept flipping the ball in the air with his right hand and talking to himself.
When he wasn’t doing that, he was going to the rosin bag to get a better grip on the ball. Boston fans were on him hard. Booing and telling him to get on with the game.
“They were loud,” said Karinchak. “I enjoyed it for sure. The fans make the game fun.”
Karinchak pitched 1 2/3 innings on July 25 in a 3-1 loss to Boston. He closed the game for Cleveland, retiring five straight, four on strikeouts.
Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley, broadcasting the game for the Red Sox, said Karinchak, “would make coffee nervous.”
That’s OK with Karinchak, too.
Asked about flipping the ball in his right hand while he’s on the mound, Karinchak said, “I’ve been doing that my whole life. It’s just how I play the game.”
As for the conversations he has with himself when he’s pitching, Karinchak said, “It depends on the day. It depends how I’m pitching. Usually I’m telling myself what I’m trying to do, what I’m trying to execute.”
When manager Terry Francona was asked about Karinchak’s conversations with himself, he said, “He talks to everybody. I’m guessing there are people in the upper deck who probably hear him.
“After that inning Wednesday, I thought we clinched something. I look at Carl (Willis, pitching coach) and said, ‘Did we clinch something?’ He got pretty excited. But that’s part of him. That’s OK.”
Karinchak came off the mound screaming after striking out Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo in the seventh to strand a runner on third in 7-4 victory.
A right shoulder injury kept Karinchak from joining the Guardians until July 2. He allowed three runs in his first two appearances, but has followed that with nine straight scoreless appearances. He’s struck out 18, walked five and allowed four hits in 10 2/3 innings in that stretch.
“He’s been attacking the strike zone much better,” said Francona. “Usually he does that with the breaking ball, while scattering his fastball. But he’s been throwing his fastball for strikes, too. When you have to respect two speeds, and he’s throwing two pitches, he’s going to be in pretty good shape.”
Another look at a familiar opponent
Houston’s Justin Verlander, in the running for his third Cy Young award, made his big league debut against Cleveland on July 4, 2005. Cleveland’s lineup, which handed Verlander and Detroit a 6-0 loss, included Grady Sizemore, Coco Crisp, Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez and Alex Cora.
Verlander (14-3, 1.81) hasn’t pitched for Detroit since 2017, but when he took the mound at Progressive Field on Thursday night it was his 54th start against Cleveland, his most against any team. He’s 21-24 with a 4.61 ERA against the team formerly called the Indians.
Some felt Verlander, 39, would not return after he underwent Tommy John surgery following the 2020 season. He made just one start in 2020 and 2021.
Francona was not one of them.
“I’ve heard too many stories how maniacal he is about his work ethic and his attention to detail,” said Francona. “When Houston re-signed him after Tommy John (two years for $50 million), people were saying, ‘That’s a lot of money.’ I remember thinking, I’m betting on this guy.”
Verlander, facing Cleveland for the first time since 2019, entered Thursday’s game having won eight of his last nine starts.
Now he starts hitting
The Guardians stood pat at the trade deadline except for one move. They sent veteran catcher Sandy Leon to the Twins for right-hander Ian Hamilton.
When the G’s designated Leon for assignment on July 8, they told him they wouldn’t keep him at Triple-A if another big-league opportunity arose. Well, when the Twins came calling, the Guardians were true to their word, but the move came back and bite them.
Leon, who drove in four runs for Cleveland in 33 games in 2020 and 2022, went 2-for-3 with two RBI for the Twins on Wednesday as they beat Detroit. The victory allowed the Twins to keep their one-game lead over the Guardians for first place in the AL Central.
“It’s a peculiar trade when it’s in your division,” said Francona, “but every spring when we’re trying to sign a non-roster guy, I always tell them, ‘The one thing you can count on is the guys we work for are as honest as anyone I’ve ever seen. They treat people right.’
“Chris (Antonetti) wasn’t going to get in his way because he knew it was a major league opportunity. The same thing for Chernie (GM Mike Chernoff).”
Finally
The Guardians started four rookies against Verlander in Steven Kwan, Nolan Jones, Will Benson and Tyler Freeman. They started three against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday -- Kwan, Oscar Gonzalez and Freeman. Overall, they have six rookies on the 26-man roster. ... Francona said Friday’s game will be started by some combination of rookie Kirk McCarty and Bryan Shaw. The two have combined for wins in their last two appearances with Shaw serving as an opener. Francona said if McCarty was needed Thursday night, a roster move would have to be made to get a pitcher for Friday.
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