The Cleveland Guardians need Emmanuel Clase to get back to his dominant ways.
The superstar closer hasn’t been his usual self this season, and while a lot of that might have to do with confidence – or lack thereof – he’s also dealing with a shoulder injury.
With that in mind, the team decided to give him a short break to recover from some swelling in his right shoulder after he blew another save, this time against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 20.
Clase didn’t take the mound again until the first game of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox six days later.
He was sharp and retired all three hitters he faced in the eighth inning, striking out two of them to set up Cade Smith to get the save.
Clase has looked much better ever since.
When asked about that, the superstar closer admitted that he feels much better now:
“My shoulder feels good, my body feels good,” said Clase. “The rest helped. Now my location and velocity are back.”
The Guardians did the right thing by listening to their superstar and allowing him to get some rest and restore his body, and avoiding sending him to the Injured List was a major win for them as well.
Clase is 4-0 with a 5.51 ERA this season, which is far from his usual numbers.
He’s logged eight saves in 10 opportunities over 17 appearances in 16.1 innings, but opposing batters are hitting .362 against him.
Even so, he’s gone 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA and four saves in as many opportunities since taking a bit of a break.
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