John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
There really wasn’t a lot of talk about the Cleveland Indians pitching staff before the season. Most of the chat was about the signing of Michael Bourn or the many changes that occurred when Terry Francona was signed on as the new manager. Any pitching news seemed to hover around the battle for the fifth starter and whether or not Trevor Bauer would get the spot. I don’t remember hearing much about Justin Masterson though.
Whether or not he was talked about or expected to do a lot this year, Masterson has pitched as if he were a master of his craft. He is 3 – 1 with a 1.67 ERA in 27 innings. His WHIP is 1.11 which is outstanding. There is no doubt that he is the ace of the Indians pitching staff now. No matter who he opposes, he gives the Indians a great chance of winning. Honestly they only need to score a couple of runs most of the time.
Masterson recently pitched seven shutout innings and followed that outing by pitching all nine shutout innings. After that the Boston Red Sox touched him off for a whole four runs in five innings. That “bad” outing leads into the series opener with division rival Chicago White Sox. Masterson will face off with the Sox and try to keep them struggling. For now I would say the chances of the Sox coming away as the winners of this contest are slim to none and none left town.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.
