Intentional walk in 2nd backfires on Clevinger Bauer faces Rox after rain-shortened outing Chisenhall, Zimmer homer in Indians loss

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1 Intentional walk in 2nd backfires on Clevinger By Jordan Bastian / 2:05 AM ET + 1 COMMENT DENVER -- It was a strategically sound decision. With two outs, first base open and Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela standing in the on-deck circle, Indians manager Terry Francona called for an intentional walk to Tony Wolters in the second inning on Tuesday night. One pitch later, the groundwork had been laid for the Tribe's 11-3 loss at Coors Field. "Those are things that kind of make you stay up at night," Francona said. Colorado's lineup dismantled Cleveland's pitching to the tune of 12 hits, including two home runs off the bat of former Indians slugger Mark Reynolds. Even in the wake of the lopsided score, though, it was the second-inning, bases-clearing double by Senzatela -- one pitch after Wolters removed his shin guard and trotted to first base -- that felt like the game's turning point. With the bases loaded, Clevinger attacked Senzatela with a first-pitch fastball low in the strike zone. Heading into the night, the Colorado pitcher had three hits in 21 at-bats, and each of those came on elevated heaters. None of that mattered, as Senzatela was in attack mode and he split the right-center-field gap with a line drive that cleared the bases and put the Indians in a 3-0 hole. Clevinger wore a look of disgust as the ball bounced through the outfield grass. Senzatela clapped his hands hard and jumped into the air in excitement upon reaching second base. "He was excited," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "Anytime you get a bases-clearing double early in a game to give you a three-run lead, it's huge. You don't expect that, obviously, out of the pitcher, against a guy like Clevinger, who's got a good arm. But it happens. That's baseball." Clevinger was understandably irked by the costly pitch to Senzatela, but it was an earlier plate appearance that really stuck with the pitcher. Out of the chute, Clevinger was struggling to find his rhythm and release point, and he noticed right away that his changeup did not have its usual bite in the thin Colorado air. To begin the second inning, the right-hander fired five fastballs to Carlos Gonzalez, who did not offer at any of them. Four eluded the strike zone and Gonzalez was rewarded with a leadoff walk. That free pass preceded a one-out single by Gerardo Parra and the eventual two-out intentional walk to Wolters. Without that first walk, perhaps the end result could have been avoided. Similarly, Clevinger walked Nolan Arenado on five pitches in the third, and Gonzalez followed with a two-run homer over the wall in right-center. "I really, honestly still feel like I beat myself," said Clevinger, who is now 2-3 with a 4.09 ERA through seven games for the Tribe. "If you eliminate the walks that happened, you're maybe looking at a 2-0 ballgame at the time. The walks killed me. They came back to haunt me." Senzatela saw to that in the second. "That was a tough pill to swallow," Clevinger said. "I don't have many words for that. I just left a fastball over the plate and the pitcher got three RBIs." Bauer faces Rox after rain-shortened outing By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com 7:51 AM ET + 6 COMMENTS The Indians considered a few options to start Wednesday's game against the Rockies, but Mother Nature helped make the decision for them. A lengthy rain delay in Kansas City on Sunday paved the way for right-hander Trevor Bauer to tackle Colorado on short rest. "I don't know about Mother Nature," Indians manager Terry Francona quipped. "I think Bauer kind of helped us out in the fact that he's resilient. When we talked to him, right away he was really excited about it." Francona said that Bauer referred to his start on Sunday as "a little more than a side day," considering the pitcher only logged 28 pitches in 1 2/3 innings before a long storm took him out of the game against the Royals. Bauer, who will be working with only two days of rest, was brilliant in his previous full outing. On May 30, he piled up 14 strikeouts in a seven-inning gem against the A's. Bauer will be opposed by Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland, who held the Mariners to two runs over six innings in his last start on Thursday. Entering this series, the Indians were batting.241/.324/.381 as a team against lefty pitching, with a record against left-handed starters. "We saw Freeland in Spring Training," Francona said. "I remember that day in spring, he not only beat us pitching, but he had a line-drive base hit. He looks really good." Three things to know about this game Freeland pitched against the Indians on March 22 during Spring Training, holding the Tribe to one run over five innings, in which he struck out five, scattered four hits and walked one. Freeland also contributed the aforementioned two-run single off Cleveland pitcher Danny Salazar. Indians regulars Carlos Santana, Michael Brantley, Jose Ramirez, Yan Gomes, Lonnie Chisenhall and Edwin Encarnacion were in the lineup that day. With no designated hitter under National League rules, Francona has used first baseman Carlos Santana in right field a handful of times this season. The Indians manager did not want to do that at Coors Field, given the spacious outfield. That meant no Encarnacion in the lineup on Tuesday. For Wednesday's game, expect Encarnacion to be at first, with Santana on the bench against the left-handed Freeland. Although he's shown signs of improvement over recent starts, Bauer is still allowing a high rate of barreled balls. On the season, 20 of the 158 batted balls he's allowed have been barrels, which is a 12.7 percent rate. That's the second-highest in the Majors, among the nearly 150 pitchers with 100-plus balls in play against them. Chisenhall, Zimmer homer in Indians loss By Thomas Harding and Jordan Bastian / MLB.com 3:04 AM ET + 19 COMMENTS DENVER -- Rockies rookie Antonio Senzatela brought Indians right-hander Mike Clevinger's brief road dominance to a quick end Tuesday night. Senzatela delivered a three-run double in the second inning and threw 6 1/3 solid innings, as the National League West-leading Rockies won, 11-3, at Coors Field. Senzatela (8-2), who entered the night tied for the NL lead in wins, and Mark Reynolds, who homered twice to run his team-high total to 16 and tied a career high with five RBIs, lifted the Rockies to their third victory in the last four games.

2 "We're rolling and having a good time as a club," Reynolds said. "Everyone's contributing. Everyone's doing their jobs. Our pitching is unbelievable." The offensive onslaught helped the Rockies overcome Lonnie Chisenhall's solo shot in the fifth and Bradley Zimmer's two-run homer in the seventh, both off Senzatela. But the right-hander held the Indians to three runs on six hits and struck out four. In seven home starts, Senzatela is 6-1 with a 3.20 ERA and has gone at least six innings in all but one outing. The usually fastball-reliant Senzatela used more offspeed pitches than usual and kept Cleveland off balance with the exception of a few mistakes. Senzatela had been touched for four runs in three of his previous four starts. "I was thinking they were looking for fastball and I was going to throw off-speed," Senzatela said. "Today I had a really good changeup for me, and a really good slider." Senzatela's bases-clearing double came after No. 8 hitter Tony Wolters was intentionally walked to load the bases. Before then, Clevinger hadn't surrendered an earned run in two previous road starts. Carlos Gonzalez swatted his fifth homer of the season -- and first at Coors since April in the third off Clevinger, a two-run shot. Reynolds' first homer was a three-run shot off Zach McAllister in the fifth, and he followed that with a two-run homer off Nick Goody in the seventh. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Senz-sational: Clevinger struck out two of the first five batters and was in position for a double-play grounder when the Indians intentionally walked Wolters to load the bases in the second. But Senzatela, who came in hitting.143 with two RBIs, took Clevinger's first-pitch fastball into the right-center-field gap for a 3-0 lead. "You're trying your [hardest] to help," said Indians manager Terry Francona, referring to walking Wolters. "When that happens, I'm kicking myself. I would've probably kicked myself more if Wolters throws a base hit into left and we've got the pitcher sitting on-deck. Those are things that kind of make you stay up at night." More > Matter of time: Reynolds' early-season power surge propelled him into write-in candidacy on the Esurance All-Star Ballot, but he fanned in his first two at-bats and had 10 strikeouts in his previous 17 at-bats. That was forgotten when he took McAllister deep for an 8-1 Rockies lead in the fifth, and he followed that with a two-run homer, his 16th, off Goody. More > QUOTABLE "When he's hitting the ball like he did to right field, he gets more dangerous. That means he's covering. And you saw what he did with a breaking ball. I mean, for two months or whatever here, we saw that guy. What a lift he's given them. Shoot, he's hitting in the middle of the order and he's hitting home runs and driving in runs and making plays at first." -- Francona, on Reynolds, who played for the Indians in 2013 "I wouldn't say there's a weak spot in their lineup by any means. [Heck], the pitcher got three RBIs today. There's a lot of good talent over there." -- Clevinger, on the Rockies' lineup SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS It was Reynolds' career sixth five-rbi game. The last one before Tuesday came on April 13, for the Indians against the White Sox. MOVING UP THE LIST Gonzalez's homer, his fifth, was significant beyond being his first at home since April 25. It was his 202nd with the Rockies, which moved him past Dante Bichette into fourth place in club history. "You want to get a hit every time you go to the plate, but when you're struggling and the team is winning, the one thing you want to do when you go to the plate is just contribute," said Gonzalez, who went 2-for-2 with two walks and four runs scored. "Just make opportunities for the guy behind me. "It was great to see everybody doing their thing. Nolan [Arenado, with four strikeouts] had a bad game, but he's been doing a lot of good things. And when he strikes out four times and we score a lot of runs, that's a great thing." PARRA IN PAIN Rockies outfielder Gerardo Parra singled in his first two at-bats to run his hot streak to 14-for-23 in eight games. However, he suffered a right quadriceps strain while attempting a steal after the second hit, in the third inning, and left the game. The Rockies immediately placed him on the 10-day disabled list. They could be covered in the outfield, however, because they called up left-handed hitting Raimel Tapia earlier Tuesday. Tapia replaced Alexi Amarista, who was placed on the paternity list after his daughter was born. WHAT'S NEXT Indians: Right-hander Trevor Bauer (5-4, 5.83 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound at Coors Field for the Indians' 3:10 p.m. ET Interleague clash with the Rockies on Wednesday. In 100 2/3 innings over 17 career Interleague appearances, Bauer has gone 7-3 with a 2.77 ERA. Rockies: Lefty Kyle Freeland (6-3, 3.53 ERA) has a 3.94 ERA and four quality starts out of five outings in his hometown, at Coors Field. He'll start Wednesday's 1:10 p.m. MT finale of the two-game Interleague series against the Indians. Salazar to DL; Indians activate Chisenhall By Jordan Bastian / June 6th, COMMENTS DENVER -- One player returned, but another was lost for the Indians. Prior to Tuesday's Interleague game against the Rockies, Cleveland activated outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall from the disabled list and placed right-hander Danny Salazar on the 10-day DL with right shoulder soreness. The injury for Salazar was the latest setback in a tough season for the pitcher. Indians manager Terry Francona noted that Salazar is heading to Double-A Akron, where he will work with pitching coach Tony Arnold and Minor League pitching coordinator Ruben Niebla. After a few days of rest, the hope is that Salazar can resume throwing off a mound with a rehab assignment to follow shortly thereafter. "When he was with Tony, that's when he was really [good]," Francona said Tuesday. "He was young and he was on his way, and I think he has a good feeling about it. We kind of talked to him about a lot of different things. [Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway] and I talked to him yesterday, and he was on board with this.

3 "We want to be consistent with what we're doing, but we all felt like maybe it'd be good for Tony to see him and Ruben. Not that we're going to reinvent the wheel, but I think we all felt like it might be helpful." Recently moved to the bullpen, Salazar has posted a 5.40 ERA in 12 games (10 starts) this season, striking out 77 and walking 28 in 55 innings. Dating back to the start of last July, Salazar has turned in a 6.27 ERA with a.297 opponents' average, 1.69 WHIP and 21 homers allowed in 99 innings (22 games). Over the final three months last year, Salazar fought elbow, shoulder and forearm issues. Named an American League All-Star in 2016 for the first time in his career, Salazar, who had a 2.22 ERA in his first 15 starts last season, last started on May 27. While the right-hander has posted strong strikeout numbers (12.6 per nine innings this year), his command problems (11.2 walk percentage and 22.4 home run-to-fly ball rate) convinced Cleveland to move him to the bullpen for the time being. Salazar logged one scoreless inning against the A's on Thursday, then allowed one run on three hits in 1 2/3 innings against the Royals on Saturday. With Salazar shelved, Cleveland's bullpen will return to a traditional seven-man setup. Chisenhall rejoined the Indians after recovering from a concussion. In his return against the Rockies on Tuesday, he went 2-for-3 with a solo home run. He completed a two-game rehab assignment with Akron over the weekend and was cleared to join the Indians in Denver. Through 33 games, Chisenhall has hit.261 (.877 OPS) with six homers, 13 extra-base hits, 15 runs and 22 RBIs, while bouncing between right and center field. Lindor, Brantley on pace for All-Star starts By Jordan Bastian / June 6th, COMMENTS DENVER -- Francisco Lindor has paced the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot for American League shortstops two weeks running now, putting the Indians star in a strong position to start in the 2017 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard. Last week, Cleveland left fielder Michael Brantley was just outside the top three for the outfield. "I'm sure he will be in the top three," Lindor said confidently last week. "I believe in the fans." Lindor's words came to fruition on Tuesday, when the latest voting numbers were revealed. Brantley joined Lindor among the current leading vote-getters to start for the AL on July 11 in Miami. For the second straight week, the Indians had a player within the top five at every position. The Indians have not had a player voted into the starting lineup since 2001 (Juan Gonzalez). Brantley's place among the possible starting outfield is remarkable, considering the left fielder missed nearly all of last season while dealing with right shoulder and biceps issues. This year, Brantley returned from an August surgery on his biceps in time to make the Opening Day roster, and he has since turned in strong production. He ranks third in balloting with 554,620 votes, trailing only Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (1,251,543) and Angels outfielder Mike Trout (1,155,356). "[Brantley] has worked so hard," Indians manager Terry Francona said recently. "He was working during the playoffs, during the World Series -- when it probably wasn't a whole lot of fun to do that, in the offseason. And he worked so dang hard that when he came back, he's actually the same player as before, which is not easy to do." Heading into Tuesday's game, Brantley had a.309/.375/.448 slash line to go with five home runs, 10 doubles, 24 RBIs and 22 runs scored through 47 games. Brantley (an All-Star in 2014) ranked sixth among AL outfielders in both batting average and on-base percentage, and he had a 123 weighted Runs Created Plus, indicating that he has played 23 percent above league average. Lindor maintained his hold on the lead at shortstop with 842,166 votes, representing the fourth-most votes among all AL players. Other Indians players on the leaderboard for their position included: first baseman Carlos Santana (third with 420,336 votes), second baseman Jason Kipnis (third with 402,228), third baseman Jose Ramirez (second with 541,040), catcher Yan Gomes (fifth with 381,178), designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion (third with 447,275), outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall (10th with 348,816) and outfielder Abraham Almonte (13th with 302,402). Fans may cast votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot until Thursday, June 29, at 11:59 p.m. ET. On smartphones and tablets, fans can also access the ballot via the MLB.com At Bat and MLB.com Ballpark mobile apps. Vote up to five times in any 24-hour period for a maximum of 35 ballots cast. Following the announcement of the 2017 All-Star starters, reserves and pitchers, fans should return to MLB.com and cast their 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player on each league's All-Star roster. Then on Tuesday, July 11, while watching the 2017 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard live on FOX, fans may visit MLB.com to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2017 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote. The 88th Midsummer Classic, at Marlins Park in Miami, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM will have comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit AllStarGame.com and on social media. Indians notebook: Francisco Lindor remains first in All-Star voting; Danny Salazar placed on disabled list Ryan Lewis CLEVELAND: The Indians continue to be well-represented in fan voting for the 2017 All-Star Game. Francisco Lindor has maintained his comfortable lead among American League shortstops, leading his position with 842,166 votes. Lindor is fourth in total votes in the American League, trailing New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout and Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve. Jose Ramirez and Michael Brantley each moved up a spot in their respective positions from last week. Ramirez is now second among third basemen with 541,040 votes, passing Baltimore Orioles star Manny Machado. The Minnesota Twins Miguel Sano has taken over the No. 1 spot with 639,952 votes. Brantley is now third among outfielders, which would give him a starting spot on the All-Star team. He s now up to 554,620 votes, which might put him in second place with Trout questionable for the All-Star Game after undergoing thumb surgery.

4 First baseman Carlos Santana (third, 420,336 votes), second baseman Jason Kipnis (third, 402,228 votes) and catcher Yan Gomes (fifth, 381,178 votes) all held their ranks in their respective positions. Edwin Encarnacion, meanwhile, dropped to third among designated hitters with 447,275 votes. Outfielders Lonnie Chisenhall (10th, 348,816 votes) and Abraham Almonte (13th 302,402 votes) also dropped. Salazar on disabled list Indians pitcher Danny Salazar was placed on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday with right shoulder soreness. He had recently been placed in the bullpen to work out some issues after a rough start to the season. Salazar is 3-5 with a 5.40 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched. No timetable has yet been given for his return. Salazar s placement on the DL allows room for Chisenhall to be activated from the seven-day concussion disabled list. Chisenhall was placed on the DL on May 7 and appeared in two rehab assignments for the RubberDucks. He s hitting.261 with six home runs and 22 RBI. Indians mailbag Have a question you d like to see answered in an upcoming Indians mailbag? You can submit your question via Twitter or via to rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Please include your question, first name and home town. Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: Cleveland Indians activate Lonnie Chisenhall; Danny Salazar placed on disabled list PAUL HOYNES DENVER -- The Indians have placed right-hander Danny Salazar on the 10-day disabled list and activated outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall in time for Tuesday night's interleague game against the Rockies at Coors Field. Salazar, bothered by a sore right shoulder, was removed from the starting rotation after his start against the Royals on May 27. He made two relief appearances after that and was being considered to start Wednesday's game against the Rockies. The Indians changed their minds after he threw 1 2/3 innings in Saturday's 12-5 loss to the Royals. Now he's on the disabled list. Chisenhall was on the seven-day concussion DL. He played rehab games with Class AA Akron on Saturday and Sunday before joining the Indians on Monday in Denver. Indians have sent Danny Salazar to AA Akron to work pitching coach Tony Arnold. Coordinator Ruben Niebla will check in as well on Salazar. -- paul hoynes (@hoynsie) June 6, 2017 He's hitting.261 (24-for-195) with six doubles, six homers and 22 RBI. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: Francisco Lindor maintains his All-Star voting lead, and Michael Brantley moves into the starting outfield ZACK MEISEL CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Francisco Lindor joked last week that he hopes the Indians can send a private jet full of their players to the All-Star Game in Miami. Well, the way the balloting is shaping up, Lindor's light-hearted wish might come true. Lindor maintained the lead as the American League's starting shortstop next month. And he might have a seat mate for the flight. Michael Brantley has joined in on the effort, as he ranks third among all AL outfielders in the balloting. The top three vote-getters at the position will earn an All-Star nod. That top three also includes Los Angeles' Mike Trout and New York's Aaron Judge. Trout's status for the game is in question, as he underwent thumb surgery last week. Elsewhere in the league's latest voting update, Jose Ramirez ranks second among AL third basemen, behind Minnesota's Miguel Sano. Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis rank third among first and second basemen, respectively. (Santana sits just 55,000 votes behind first-place Miguel Cabrera, compared to Kipnis, who trails Houston's Jose Altuve by nearly 600,000 tallies.) Yan Gomes ranks fifth among catchers, Edwin Encarnacion ranks third among designated hitters and Lonnie Chisenhall and Abraham Almonte rank 10th and 13th, respectively (and incredibly), among outfielders. Lindor leads all AL shortstops in home runs, though Houston's Carlos Correa used a scorching month of May to pass him in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Lindor ranks third among AL shortstops in WAR (2.0), behind Correa (2.3) and Boston's Xander Bogaerts (2.2). Brantley boasts a.309/.375/.448 slash line, with 10 doubles, five home runs, 24 RBI and seven stolen bases. The 2014 All-Star missed all but 11 games last season because of injuries to his shoulder and biceps. Judge and Trout hold a firm grip on the top two outfield spots. Brantley owns a 35,000-vote advantage on Boston's Mookie Betts for the No. 3 spot. Lindor leads Correa by about 180,000 votes. Brantley building an All-Star case The Indians have not had a player voted in as an All-Star Game starter since 2001, when Juan Gonzalez represented the franchise. Asdrubal Cabrera started at shortstop in the 2011 All-Star Game, but only because Derek Jeter suffered an injury in the days leading up to the annual exhibition. Aside from Cabrera, the last Indians shortstop to start the All-Star Game was Lou Boudreau in 1948.

5 Voting for the annual exhibition ends on June 29. Cleveland Indians send Danny Salazar back to his roots: Can it save his season? PAUL HOYNES DENVER - A trip to the bullpen didn't fix Danny Salazar, so the Indians are trying something new. They put Salazar on the disabled list Tuesday in order to create a spot on the 25-man roster for outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall. But Salazar isn't going to stay with the big-league club during his 10-day DL stay with a sore right shoulder. The Indians sent him to Class AA Akron to work with pitching coach Tony Arnold. Ruben Niebla, the minor league pitching coordinator, is going to work with him as well. What the Indians are doing is sending Salazar, who has struggled since last year's All-Star break, back to his roots. "He's going to be with Tony Arnold," said manager Terry Francona. "The reason we did that is that he has such good history with Tony. Maybe this will give us a different look at Danny." Arnold had been a pitching coach in the Indians' minor-league system since He worked with Salazar in 2009 at Class A Lake County, 2012 at Akron and 2013 and 2014 at Class AAA Columbus. Danny Salazar on his recent struggles and a possible trip to the bullpen "When he was with Tony, he was young and on his way," said Francona. "He had such a good feeling about it. Mickey (Callaway, pitching coach) and I talked to Danny about a lot of things on Monday. He was on board with this. "We want to be consistent with what we're doing, but I think we all felt that it would be good for Tony and Ruben to see him. Not that we're going to reinvent the wheel, but we felt like it might be helpful." The Indians took Salazar out of the rotation after his May 27 start against the Royals. Mike Clevinger, who started Tuesday night against the Rockies, was pitching too well to be optioned to Columbus. Instead the Tribe put Salazar in the bullpen. He made two relief appearances, the last coming on Saturday. Francona said Salazar's right shoulder started to hurt after the second appearance. "He had some swelling in his shoulder after the second time he pitched out of the pen," said Francona. "He checked out OK, but he's a little tender." The Indians didn't want to continue to pitch Salazar in relief if he was sore, so they put him on the DL. "He'll take a couple of days (off) then he'll start to ramp back up as long as he feels OK," said Francona. "This can be in a controlled environment. Hopefully, maybe in four or five days, he can throw a couple of innings. "Then we'll go from there, but it certainly will depend on how he feels." This is Salazar's second trip to the disabled list since August. The Indians placed him on the DL in August because of soreness in his right elbow. In September, he strained his right forearm on Sept. 9 and did not pitch for the rest of the regular season. Salazar did make two relief appearances in the World Series. Salazar went to the All-Star Game last year. He was 10-3 with a 2.75 ERA in 17 starts. Since then he's 4-8 with a 6.16 ERA in 20 appearances, including 18 starts. He's allowed 60 earned runs, 45 walks and 103 hits in 87 2/3 innings. He's still striking out a lot of batters, 77 in 55 innings this year and 120 since the break, but he throws way too many pitches and struggles to get past the fifth inning. Last year Salazar experienced a lost second half. If Salazar returns to his roots and finds no answers, he could be looking at a lost season this year. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: Rockies rout Indians behind Antonio Senzatela, Mark Reynolds, but Gerardo Parra injured PATRICK SAUNDERS Antonio Senzatela walked off the mound at Coors Field on Tuesday night with cheers ringing in his ears as many in the crowd of 39,508 serenaded him with a standing ovation. It was the second time Colorado s 22-year-old starter brought the crowd to its feet on this perfect June night. His bases-loaded double in the second inning was the beginning of the Rockies onslaught of big hits in an 11-3 rout of Cleveland. Asked what he liked better, the big hit or another victory on the mound, Senzatela flashed his big grin and said: Both of them. A three-run double and six innings. That was a good day for me. It was a good day for everybody, except outfielder Gerardo Parra, who suffered a strained right quadriceps and will be placed on the 10-day disabled list beginning Wednesday. Rejuvenated slugger Mark Reynolds hit home runs No. 15 and 16 and tied a career high with five RBIs, the sixth time he s done so. Carlos Gonzalez launched a two-run homer of his own. Senzatela pitched 6 innings, giving up three run on six hits. Expecting the Indians to be looking for his fastball, the right-hander used a variety of off-speed pitches to keep hitters guessing. I think he threw more changeups tonight than any other game, manager Bud Black said. But he had good fastball command. He did some fine pitching tonight.

6 The rookie improved to 8-2 to take the major-league lead in victories. The Indians slugged him twice a solo homer by Lonnie Chisenhall in the fifth and a two-run shot by Bradley Zimmer in the seventh but Senzaleta is now 6-1 with a 3.18 ERA Coors. Though he s never pitched above Double-A until this season, he s clearly unfazed by pitching at 5,280 feet. Black loves how Senzatela attacks opposing hitters. It doesn t matter who you face, or where you play, Black said. Day game or night game, windy or cold, rainy, hot, it doesn t matter. You go out and compete, and that s what he does. The Rockies, owners of a record and in sole possession of first place in the National League West for all but six of their last 43 games, continue to prove they re the real deal. It s fun, man, said Reynolds, who recorded his first multi-homer game of the season, but the 24th of his career. We are rolling and have a good time as a club. Everybody is doing their job and everybody is contributing. But Tuesday s victory was costly. Parra s injury occurred in the third inning and put a sudden end to his hot streak. He pulled up lame on an attempted steal of second base. Parra did not even attempt to slide and was in obvious pain as he walked slowly back to the dugout. Parra, who s hitting.318, threw his batting helmet to the turf after the injury and then slammed his helmet in anger again after he reached the dugout. He was was 2-for-2 with two singles before the injury. He has been on tear of late, batting 14-for-23 (.609) over his last eight games. He s going on the disabled list, Black said. Hopefully it s not too bad. We ll see how this sets up over the next couple of days. Sometimes these things are tough to read right off the bat. We re hoping for the best on this one that it s a mild strain and hopefully he ll be back in a couple of weeks. Tuesday night s game changed in the second inning. Colorado had two outs and two on with catcher Tony Wolters (and his.308 average) coming to the plate. Naturally, Indians manager Terry Francona played the percentages and had starter Mike Clevinger intentionally walk Wolters, figuring that pitching to Senzatela, with three hits and two RBIs on his big-league résumé, was the smart move. So Clevinger delivered a 94 mph, first-pitch fastball low, but over the plate, probably not expecting Senzatela to swing from his heels and drive the ball into the gap for a three-run double. But he did, becoming just the third pitcher in Rockies history to smack a three-run double. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the other two were Willie Blair (June 19, 1993 at San Diego) and Jorge De La Rosa (April 20, 2010 at Washington). That s nice, Senzatela said when told the news. Gonzalez put Colorado in front 5-0 in the third with a two-run homer into the Rockies bullpen beyond right-center field. Gonzalez put his beautiful swing on Clevinger s 93 mph fastball, driving the ball 430 feet. It was Gonzalez s fifth homer, but his first at Coors Field since April 25. Denver Post LOADED: Jon Gray, sharp in simulated game, moves step closer to rejoining Rockies rotation PATRICK SAUNDERS It s been 54 days since Jon Gray pitched in a game, so it s easy to understand why Tuesday was such a big deal for the Rockies hard-throwing right-hander. The more and more this went on today, the more it felt like a real game, Gray said after pitching a simulated game at Coors Field. The good thing is, now I know I m heading in the right direction. Gray, Colorado s opening-day starter, threw 35 pitches. He unleashed all of his pitches fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. Even more important, he took PFP (pitchers field practice) and moved laterally around the mound. Gray, 25, said he felt no pain from the stress fracture in his left foot that s kept him sidelined since his third start of the season on April 13 at San Francisco. It felt good to move around and field some bunts and stuff, Gray said, who was 0-0 with a 4.38 ERA before his season was interrupted. I didn t feel much pain or anything like that. So everything is shaping up the right way and I just can t wait to get back out there. Gray will be reevaluated on Wednesday and if the exam goes well, the club will schedule another simulated game. After that, he would likely begin a a minor-league rehab assignment, but exactly how many he will need remains undetermined. Gray certainly has a chance to rejoin the Rockies rotation before the end of June, perhaps even sooner. I personally feel like I would only need two (rehab starts), if today was a good indicator, he said. Manager Bud Black said recently that Gray would need at least three rehab starts. Told that Gray said he would need only two, Black laughed and quipped: Two-and-a-half. But then Black said Gray s progress and schedule will be determined by pitch counts. We have to get him to a certain level where we feel comfortable with him going into a big-league game, Black said. We want him to be able to pitch into the sixth inning, and if the pitch count is low, then into the seven. So pitch count is the determining factor. To be ready to compete in the majors, Gray needs to be able to throw 80 to 90 pitches in a start. When Gray returns, the Rockies will have an abundance of young arms, including rookie starters Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, German Marquez and Jeff Hoffman in the starting rotation. That means difficult decisions are on the horizon. Black, however, doesn t perceive it as a dilemma.

7 History tells you that things are going to happen, Black said, noting that left-hander Tyler Anderson went on the disabled list Sunday with left knee inflammation. The more reinforcements you have, the more good options you have, so that s a good thing. It tells you about the strength of our team as far as depth and talent. Ottavino update. Right-handed set-up man Adam Ottavino (shoulder inflammation) should provide a major boost to the bullpen when he returns from the disabled list. He s scheduled to throw a bullpen on Wednesday and could come off the DL on Saturday when the Rockies are in Chicago. Ottavino says his shoulder feels great, and Black was even more optimistic. His arm feels as good as it s felt since spring training, so he s in a really good spot, Black said. Footnotes. Utility player Alexi Amarista went on the paternity list Tuesday when his wife game birth to their third daughter, Amy Alannah Amarista Gile. Amarista was replaced on the 25-man roster by outfielder Raimel Tapia, who was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque. Amarista is expected to rejoin the Rockies Thursday in Chicago. The Rockies and Cleveland opened a rare two-game series Tuesday night. The last time the Indians played in Denver was June 20-22, The Rockies swept the three-game series. Looking ahead Indians RHP Trevor Bauer (5-4, 5.83) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (6-3, 3.53), Wednesday 1:10 p.m., ROOT TV, 850-AM Bauer is on a K-filled run of late, with 45 strikeouts in his last five full starts, over 30 innings (not including a rain delay-shortened outing last week). The rookie Freeland is coming off a start in which he hit three batters and walked two, but he never buckled in a quality start, allowing just two runs in six innings as the Rockies won at Seattle. He ranks 15th in the National League in ERA in large part because he ranks second in the NL in forcing weak contact, with a 59.0 groundball rate. Denver Post LOADED: Rockies Gerardo Parra goes on DL with strained right quadriceps PATRICK SAUNDERS Gerardo Parra s impressive comeback season hit a detour Tuesday night. The Rockies veteran outfielder strained his right quadriceps in the third inning of Colorado s 11-3 win over Cleveland at Coors Field. After the game, manager Bud Black said Parra will be placed on the 10-day disabled list. Parra s injury put a sudden end to his hot streak. He pulled up lame on an attempted steal of second base. Parra didn t even attempt to slide and was in obvious pain as he walked slowly back to the dugout. Parra, who s hitting.318, threw his batting helmet to the turf after the injury and then slammed his helmet in anger again after he reached the dugout. He was was 2-for-2 with two singles before the injury. He has been on tear of late, batting 14-for-23 (.609) over his last eight games. He s going on the disabled list, Black said. Hopefully it s not too bad. We ll see how this sets up over the next couple of days. Sometimes these things are tough to read right off the bat. We re hoping for the best on this one, that it s a mild strain and hopefully he ll be back in a couple of weeks. Parra missed significant time last season, his first with the Rockies. He sprained his left ankle during a collision with shortstop Trevor Story and went on the disabled list on June 17. He did not rejoin the Rockies until Aug. 17 and the ankle injury bothered him for the rest of the season. Black did not say who would replace Parra on the 25-man roster, but it s likely to be outfielder Raimel Tapia, who was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque Tuesday to take the place of utility player Alexi Amarista. Amarista went on the paternity list Tuesday when his wife game birth to their third daughter, Amy Alannah Amarista Gile. Amarista is expected to rejoin the Rockies Thursday in Chicago, but Tapia is now likely to remain with the team until Parra s return. David Dahl, who was battling Parra for the starting job in left field during spring training, has been out of action since the second Cactus League game with a painful stress reaction injury to his ribs. The injury has not healed as quickly as the Rockies had hoped and Dahl is back at the team s facility in Arizona, receiving treatment. Ian Desmond, originally signed to play first base, will continue to the majority of starts in left field. Cleveland Indians' Mike Clevinger has one of those nights against Colorado Rockies BY PAUL HOYNES, CLEVELAND.COM phoynes@cleveland.com DENVER - When an American League starting pitcher says the best thing he did was run the bases on his scheduled day to pitch, it's clear what kind of game he had. Mike Clevinger had one of those games Tuesday night against the Rockies at Coors Field. His changeup had no movement so he scrapped it early. He gave up a three-run double to the pitcher he was facing, Antonio Senzatela, in the second inning and a two-run homer to Carlos Gonzalez in the third inning. But he did run his way out of a double play in the third inning. "My only good takeaway of the day is my speed," said Clevinger. "That's all I got." There was a chance Clevinger was in for more bad news after the game. The Indians needed five relievers to get through the 11-3 loss. Dan Otero was one of them and he took a hard liner off his glove hand that could put him on the shelf for a few days.

8 Indians manager Terry Francona on intentional walk that backfired The Indians were scheduled to end this brief five-game trip Wednesday afternoon against the Rockies before returning home. There was a chance they could option Clevinger to Class AAA Columbus and recall a reliever if manager Terry Francona felt he was short in the bullpen. The way the schedule unfolds the Indians won't need a fifth starter until May 17 when they play a day-night doubleheader against the Twins at Target Field. They could bring Clevinger and, perhaps, Danny Salazar back to start those two games. The Indians put Salazar on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday when they activated outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall. The Indians are off Thursday and are scheduled start Corey Kluber, Josh Tomlin and Carlos Carrasco on Friday, Saturday and Sunday against the White Sox at home. They're off again on Monday, which would allow them to stay with a four-man rotation with Bauer, Kluber and Tomlin starting against the Dodgers on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. After the Dodger series, the Indians start a seven-day, eight-game trip to Minneapolis and Baltimore. Carrasco is in line to start against the Twins on June 16, but the Indians would need two starters on May 17, which is where Clevinger and Salazar re-enter the picture. Clevinger has two options left. When the Indians put Salazar on the DL Tuesday, they agreed he'd report to Class AA Akron where he could work with his old pitching coach, Tony Arnold. Ruben Niebla, minor league pitching coordinator, was scheduled to evaluate Salazar as well. On Tuesday, Clevinger allowed five runs on four hits in four innings. He struck out six and walked three. The three walks, one of them intentional, turned into runs. "The walks paid dividends today," said Clevinger. "I really, honestly still feel like I beat myself. If you eliminate the walks that happened, you're maybe looking at a 2-0 ballgame at the time. The walks killed me. They came back to haunt me." In the second, Clevinger walked Gonzalez to start the inning. He allowed a single to Gerardo Parra with one out, but retired Trevor Story on a grounder to first. The decision was made to intentionally walk catcher Tony Wolters to load the bases so Clevinger could face Senzatela. One pitch later and the Rockies had a 3-0 lead. "That was a tough pill to swallow," said Clevinger. "I don't have many words for that. I just left a fastball over the plate and the pitcher got three RBIs." The Rockies scored 11 runs on 12 hits, including three homers. Former Indian Mark Reynolds hit two of them. "I wouldn't say there's a weak spot in their lineup by any means," said Clevinger. "Heck the pitcher got three RBIs today. There's a lot of good talent over there." Rockies crush Cleveland Indians again at Coors Field, 11-3 BY PAUL HOYNES, CLEVELAND.COM phoynes@cleveland.com DENVER - Call the Indians creatures of habit. They entered Tuesday night's game having lost six straight against the Rockies at Coors Field. The streak is now seven as the Indians remain winless in the Mile High city since June 16, 2002 following an 11-3 mugging. Charlie Manuel was the manager in the long ago victory. The Rockies raised lumps on Mike Clevinger, Zach McAllister, Dan Otero, Nick Goody and Boone Logan as they maintained their hold on first place in the NL West. The Indians, looking slow and ill-equipped to play under National League rules, fell to 1-6 in interleague play for the season. They are 1-5 in in NL parks this year and 2-8 in franchise history at Coors Field. The Indians didn't pitch well and they had no answer for Colorado rookie Antonio Senzatela until it was too late. Correction, Lonnie Chisenhall, just back in the lineup after being activated from the disabled list a few hours before game time, had things figured out early, but his teammates couldn't follow his bread crumbs. Chisenhall singled in his first at-bat and homered in his second. By the time Bradley Zimmer lined a two-run homer over the left field fence in the seventh, the Rockies were leading, 8-3. Yan Gomes followed Zimmer's homer with a single to end Senzatela's night, but the hard-throwing right-hander looked as good as advertised. Senzatela (8-2, 3.56) not only pitched well, he got the biggest hit of the night. Clevinger, with two out in the second, intentionally walked catcher Tony Wolters to load the bases and bring Senzatela to the plate. The strategy was sound, the pitch wasn't. Indians manager Terry Francona on intentional walk that backfired Senzatela lined Clevinger's first pitch, a 93 mph fastball, into the gap in right center to clear the bases for a 3-0 lead. It gave Senzatela five RBI for the season.

9 "I was looking for a fastball and that's what I got," said Senzatela. "That's my first double." Said Clevinger, "I don't have many words for that. I just left a fastball over the plate and the pitcher got three RBI." Manager Terry Francona said he was going to lose a few hours of sleep over that decision. "You're trying your darndest to help, and when that happens, I'm kicking myself," said Francona. "But I probably would have kicked myself more if Wolters throws a base hit into left field and we've got the pitcher sitting on deck. "But those are the things that make you stay up at night." Then there was Mark Reynolds who said hello to his old club by hitting two homers and matching a career high with five RBI. Reynolds, who has resurrected his career yet again, entered the game hitting.295 with 14 homers and 46 RBI. The Rockies made it 5-0 in the third when Carlos Gonzalez hit a two-run homer on Clevinger's 1-0 pitch. Clevinger walked Nolan Arenado before facing Gonzalez. Chisenhall's seventh homer made it 5-1 in the fifth, but Reynolds squashed any thought of a rally as he hit a three-run homer off McAllister in the fifth. In the seventh, he left a mark on Goody's ERA with a 455-foot, two-run homer to make it Terry Francona on Colorado's Mark Reynolds, Antonio Senzatela Clevinger (2-3, 4.09) allowed five runs on four hits in four innings. It was his shortest start of the season. What it means The Indians are 1-3 in June after going in May and in April. They are 1-3 on this brief five-game trip. The pitches Clevinger threw 76 pitches, 45 (59 percent) for strikes. Senzatela threw 98 pitches, 64 (65 percent) for strikes. Good legs Clevinger's best moment might have been his at-bat in the third. He forced Chisenhall at second with a grounder, but ran his way out of a potential double play. He reached second on a single by Jason Kipnis. Thanks for coming The Indians and Rockies drew 39,508 to Coors Field on Tuesday night. First pitch was at 8:43 p.m. with a temperature of 73 degrees. Next Right-hander Trevor Bauer (5-4, 5.83) will face rookie left-hander Kyle Freeland (6-3, 3.53) on Wednesday at 3:10 p.m. SportsTime Ohio and WTAM/1100 will carry the game. Bauer was 1 2/3 innings in his scheduled start Sunday against Kansas City when rain delayed the game for almost two hours. When play resumed the bullpen took over leaving Bauer available for Wednesday's start. This will be his second start against the Rockies and first at Coors Field. He pitched a six-inning no-decision against the Rockies at Progressive Field on May 31, Freeland, a Denver native, was the Rockies' first pick in Freeland is a ground ball pitcher who leads the team with eight quality starts. Mark Reynolds puts an exclamation point on Indians struggles at Coors Field by T.J. Zuppe, 6 hours ago The last time Indians fans saw Mark Reynolds walk out of the batter s box with that much authority, he had just taken one of his massive swings, spit on the ground and then admired his dirty work before starting his home run trot. The only difference? At that time, he was wearing a jersey that featured Chief Wahoo on the sleeve. Now it looks like it s become his life goal to make the City of Cleveland miserable. Reynolds second homer of the game served as the punctuation for an 11-3 loss to the Rockies on Tuesday night. His 24th career multi-homer game came at the expense of his former club, and it looked like he enjoyed every single moment of watching his ex-employer suffer.

10 Of course, it s performances like that which help erase thoughts of the 2-20 slump he was previously in. When he s changing the game with one swing, you ll live with the feast-or-famine approach that s served him during his 11 years in the majors. But if he had provided a little more on the feast side when in Cleveland, their divorce probably wouldn t have gone quite so poorly. You see, though, Reynolds always knew his tremendous start to an Indians career wouldn t last forever. He told reporters that very thing when we caught up with him after one of his monster early-season games in Reynolds was enjoying the good times, hitting 10 homers with a OPS through his first 28 games of the year, but he made it known that the great feelings wouldn t last forever as the crowd walked away from his locker, predicting the smiles would fade during one of his gigantic slumps. And fade they did, as did the fan support for a multiyear contact extension. In his final 71 games with the Indians, Reynolds posted a.179/.277/.255 slash line, hitting five homers in that span with 96 strikeouts in 267 plate appearances. He went homerless in his final 75 plate appearances. That horrendous stretch eventually led to his outright release Aug. 12, On Tuesday, Reynolds played like he hasn t forgotten the way their relationship ended, making a strong defensive play at first base, driving in five runs and offering this reaction after connecting on his second bomb of the evening, a 455-foot shot to center. Poor Nick Goody s slider had no idea what was coming. Reynolds is now 7-for-15 with a double, two home runs and seven RBI in four games against the Indians since his release in If revenge is what he seeks, mission accomplished. Here are the numbers that stood out after the loss Tuesday percent: Mike Clevinger s four-seam fastball usage Tuesday. Entering the game, Clevinger was throwing the four-seamer 50.5 percent of the time, but when he continued to search for the strike zone, he was forced to throw it more. He recently told The Athletic he felt a key to being better in his second season in the majors was throwing fewer balls, which resulted in less of a need to throw his four-seamer in hitter s counts. Dating to last season, opposing hitters were batting.285 off his four-seamer with a.465 slugging, making it his least effective pitch. Relying on it less was serving him well. But Clevinger walked three Tuesday, getting into a lot of deep counts. By the time he started to feel better about his command, the five-run damage in four innings was done. The three-run double allowed to the pitcher, Antonio Senzatela, and the two-run homer yielded to Carlos Gonzalez both came on four-seam fastballs that were poorly located. Of course, Gonzalez is capable of making any opposing pitcher look foolish. It was Senzatela s three-run double to open the scoring that left Clevinger and the Indians reeling. His bases-clearing double to right-center came moments after manager Terry Francona opted to do the sensible thing, intentionally walking Tony Wolters to attack the pitcher with two outs. Clevinger left the first pitch to Senzatela right down the middle, and his counterpart made him pay. When the opposing pitcher opens the scoring with a three-run double, you re in for a long game. (Ron Chenoy/USA Today Sports).692: Francisco Lindor s OPS since the start of May. After his 0-for-4 day, Lindor is now batting just.228 in that stretch (28-for-123). It s only a matter of time until he heats back up and he s certainly not the only Tribe hitter that has gone through some struggles but in the meantime, his uncharacteristic stretch in the past 31 games has been a contributing factor to some of the inconsistent offensive outputs. E2: Yan Gomes committed his third error of the season. Part of the blame for the throwing error certainly falls on us (we ve got a piece on Gomes stellar throwing this season coming Wednesday morning), but realistically, his throw to Lindor at second base on Charlie Blackmon s fifth-inning steal probably should have been caught by the shortstop. Lindor couldn t come up with it on the tag attempt, the ball trickled into center field and Blackmon cruised into third. The official scorer had to charge someone with the miscue, and in this case, the undeserving party was Gomes. Later in the inning, Reynolds, facing Zach McAllister, would hit the first of his home runs. Gomes did manage to nail one of the two would-be base-stealers Tuesday. He s now successfully thrown out 52 percent of attempted runners this year. 9: Jose Ramirez s double play total this season. He grounded into two in the loss, which gives him the team lead in the unfortunate category. Despite hitting fewer ground balls this year, he s nearly matched his double play total of 2016 (10). Anecdotally, this must be baseball s way of taking away 23 points of batting average on balls in play this year compared to last (and before you suggest it, yes, hitting the ball in the air more frequently could also lead to the lower BABIP, which is still 10 points above his career rate). After being so good with men on base last year, he s hitting just.247 with runners on this year. Conventional wisdom, however, suggests that will even out for a guy hitting.291 overall. Then again, when does anything in baseball go according to plan? 5: The total number of home runs Tuesday. The Rockies only smacked one more home run than the Indians, but their big flies resulted in seven RBI compared to the Tribe s three. Lonnie Chisenhall, in his first game back from the disabled list, contributed a solo shot, and Bradley Zimmer went opposite field for a two-run blast, his fourth career homer. So far, Zimmer s home run distribution has been spread to all fields. His homer to left was his first in that direction since his promotion to the majors, demonstrating his ability to drive the ball anywhere he desires, an extremely impressive trait for the young rookie. 7: The number of consecutive losses for the Indians at Coors Field. The last time the Indians won in Colorado, Bartolo Colon picked up the win, Bob Wickman earned the save, John McDonald and Omar Vizquel drove in the three key runs in the top of the seventh, and Chris Magruder, one of my all-time favorite obscure former Indians, contributed a two-hit game to earn the victory on June 6, The Tribe is now 2-8 all-time at Coors. Thankfully their short two-game series ends Wednesday.