There was a time when Corey Kluber would register this disappointment as a disappointing start.
It’s not that time. And it’s telling about the state of the Yankees that encouragement looks like that.
Kluber threw four pointless frames before losing the board, but he was the least of the Yankees’ worries Wednesday night in a 4-1 defeat for the Braves. A lack of ongoing support did not create a margin of error – and the 35-year-old, two-time winner of the Cy Young Award, erred when he reached out three times in the fifth step.
“With the expectations we all have for ourselves, it’s obviously hard to get past the fifth shift,” Kluber said. “If you want to look at the whole picture, I think there is a lot of good in the first four innings.”
On the one hand, Kluber (0-2) showed improvement by allowing two hits and running four in 4 ² / ₃ overs. He was unable to make one of his first three starting games more than 12 times as he returned from a shoulder injury that ended in 2020, placing nine runners on base, both times surviving four overs.
“I did not set an expectation for myself because there were many unknowns I could commit to,” Kluber said. “As frustrated as I am with some of the results – free passes and things like that – I honestly feel that I am moving in the right direction. Things are very close to the point I would like to be. Just wish it would come a little sooner. ‘
It actually had the effect of a throwaway gem when Kluber retired 12 of the first 14 batsmen he faced, and in the second one a one-off single and a lead in the third. Then came the fifth, when 15 of his 29 spots missed the hit zone, including 13 of the last 20 while the Braves series turned around.
“I wish I would work better to make an adjustment in the middle of the innings and include it again,” Kluber said. “Must go back to look at the stuff and see if I can find something to work on in the bullpen and identify what would have happened sideways.”
Kluber was drawn after Ehire Adrianza broke the pointless tie with a sacrificial fly and Freddie Freeman walked in four places. Nick Nelson came in with the loaded bases and walked into a second run, which was the kiss of death, while the Yankees did not touch the appetizer, Ian Anderson.
On the other hand, it would be easier to swallow Kluber’s line as part of the process of rebuilding to long-term reliability if he did not become the no. 2-starter was for a team that no longer gets rotation, and the clutch strikes out of his lineup or all the routine plays out of his defense.
It may be too much, too soon to ask him to throw zeros deep into a match, but payments on a $ 11 million contract are underway.
“It’s cold and windy, sometimes it’s a little hard to get a feel,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought the stuff was good. He generated very gentle contact. He gave us a chance. Clearly, we just did not have enough offense. ”