Plesac (1.33 ERA) dazzles in dominant return

Zach Plesac was arguably the Tribe’s second best starter over the first two weeks of the 2020 season. The rest of the pitching staff picked up his slack when the 25-year-old was optioned to the alternate training site for violating team protocols, but Plesac proved on Tuesday just how much

Zach Plesac was arguably the Tribe’s second best starter over the first two weeks of the 2020 season. The rest of the pitching staff picked up his slack when the 25-year-old was optioned to the alternate training site for violating team protocols, but Plesac proved on Tuesday just how much his presence was missed.

Even with 23 days between starts, Plesac picked up right where he left off, giving up one run on four hits with six strikeouts in the Indians’ 10-1 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

• Box score

After a first-inning single from Jorge Soler, Plesac retired the next 12 batters before giving up back-to-back singles to Nicky Lopez and Bubba Starling in the fifth. All four hits off the right-hander were on his heater, with the last one coming on a one-out blast by Hunter Dozier in the sixth. But the solo homer didn’t cause too much damage, as the Tribe’s offense erupted for eight runs, backed by a five-hit night from Franmil Reyes.

Plesac came two outs away from his third shutout of the year, but instead, he walked off the rubber watching his ERA tick up marginally, from 1.29 to 1.33, while bringing his season strikeout total to 30, with just two walks in 27 innings.