After needing five pitchers (including utility man Michael Martinez) to finish the final seven and one-third innings of Thursday’s loss to the Chicago White Sox, the depleted Cleveland Indians bullpen will get a reinforcement in time for the weekend series with the Detroit Tigers. Reliever Nick Goody was recalled by the club on Friday from Triple-A Columbus and right-hander Shawn Armstrong was sent down to the Clippers after working a career-high two and one-third innings in the defeat.
Starter Josh Tomlin was able to retire just five White Sox hitters while giving up seven runs in his inning and two-thirds, forcing manager Terry Francona to rely heavily on his middle relievers. He was able to avoid using the strong back end options of Cody Allen, Andrew Miller, and Bryan Shaw, but Armstrong and Zach McAllister each worked multiple innings while Dan Otero and Boone Logan worked an inning a piece. Martinez worked a scoreless ninth in his Major League debut on the mound and his third professional relief outing overall (and his first since 2007 while in the Washington Nationals farm system).
Goody was one of the final cuts of camp for the Tribe after an impressive spring. He made ten appearances for the club in Arizona, posting no record, a 0.90 ERA, and a 0.70 WHIP with eleven strikeouts in ten innings and a .129 batting average against.
The 25-year-old right-hander had appeared in games with the New York Yankees in each of the last two seasons. He was a sixth round pick by the club in the 2012 draft and had worked in 34 games in his first two seasons, including 27 last year. He has a career 4.67 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 34 2/3 innings of work during his time in the Big Apple and has averaged 13.2 strikeouts in his six minor league seasons.
He was off to a good start in the Clippers bullpen, appearing in three games while working four and one-third innings of scoreless baseball to start the year. He had ten strikeouts, one walk, and one hit batter while allowing two hits. He uses a fastball-slider arsenal on the mound and will mix in a changeup sparingly.
Goody was acquired in the offseason from the Yankees after being designated for assignment to make room for Aroldis Chapman. He was sent to Cleveland in December for a player to be named later or cash considerations. He will wear the number 44 for the Indians.
Armstrong made the roster as one of the final pieces of the 2017 team puzzle for Francona, but with options remaining, was expected to see quite a bit of travel back and forth between the Majors and minors this season whenever the bullpen underwent heavy use. That time came for Armstrong on Friday, just one day after pitching two and one-thirds innings of scoreless relief. He struck out five of the ten batters that he faced, but he walked a pair and gave up a hit in the outing.
Always a high strikeout performer throughout his minor league career, Armstrong has struggled some with command at the Major League level and had walked five already through his first four games (five and one-third innings).
The 26-year-old right-hander and 18th round pick in the 2011 draft has appeared in game action for Cleveland in each of the last three seasons. In 22 career games, he is 1-0 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP with 25 strikeouts and 12 walks in 24 innings of work.
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