CLEVELAND — Cody Allen is one of the least acclaimed yet most productive closers in the major leagues. On Friday night. when the Cleveland Indians open a three-game series with the Oakland A’s Youth Mike Gesicki Jersey , Allen will be in uniform at Progressive Field for the first time as the Indians’ career saves leader.
In pitching the ninth inning of a 3-2 Cleveland win in Kansas City on Wednesday, Allen posted his 140th career save, breaking Bob Wickman’s franchise record of 139, which had stood since 2006.
“He means so much to all of us,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said of Allen. “This is a kid who was drafted in the 16th round, but through being a consummate professional, he’s now the Indians’ all-time leader. That’s pretty awesome. It’s a big accomplishment, and he’s not close to being done.”
Allen (2-3, 3.38 ERA) ranks seventh in the American League this year with 18 saves, but his year-in, year-out consistency has been his trademark. He has had at least 30 saves in each of the last three seasons. Only two other closers in the majors can say that: the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen and Boston’s Craig Kimbrel.
“This is something I’m extremely proud of,” Allen said of passing Wickman as the club’s saves leader. “It’s something I get to hang my hat on for my career. It’s very cool.”
The A’s (48-39) come to Cleveland with nearly the same record as the Indians (48-37), but what a difference a division makes. The first-place Indians lead the AL Central by 11 1/2 games. The A’s are in third in the AL West, 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Houston Astros.
The A’s won two of three games from the Indians last weekend in Oakland. That was part of a longer streak in which the A’s have won eight of their last nine. Since June 16, Oakland is 14-3.
“I think we’re having a lot of fun,” A’s third baseman Matt Chapman told MLB.com, “and no matter what the score is, I don’t think we count ourselves out. There’s no panic in the dugout. We just keep playing our game. We trust that we’re a good team.”
On Friday night, the A’s will send Paul Blackburn (2-2, 6.46 ERA) to the mound. In his last start on June 29 in Oakland Youth Jerome Baker Jersey , Blackburn baffled the Indians, pitching 6 1/3 scoreless innings and giving up just three hits in a 3-1 victory.
Blackburn has started five major league games this year. In the one against Cleveland, he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .150. In the other four starts, he’s 1-2 with an 8.83 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .324. In two career starts against the Indians, Blackburn is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA.
Cleveland will counter with Carlos Carrasco (8-5, 4.24), who will make his first start since June 16, a 9-3 loss to Minnesota in which he was knocked out of the game in the second inning after getting hit in the right arm by a line drive off the bat of Joe Mauer.
Carrasco was placed on the 10-day disabled list the next day with a right elbow contusion. He made one rehab start at Double-A Akron on June 30, pitching four scoreless innings and giving up one hit with four strikeouts and one walk.
Carrasco’s last legitimate start was his best start of the year, a 4-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on June 11. In that game, he pitched seven scoreless innings and gave up two hits and one walk with 11 strikeouts.
In six career appearances, including five starts, against Oakland, Carrasco is 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA.
The Tennessee Titans won more games inside the AFC South, won the franchise’s first playoff game in 14 years and reached the divisional round for the first time since 2008.
Being embarrassed by the Patriots 35-14 has only reminded the Titans of how big a gap remains.
”We have a lot of work to do if we want to take the next step,” coach Mike Mularkey said Sunday.
Mularkey took a team that finished 3-13 for the No. 1 pick in the draft just two seasons ago to back-to-back 9-7 seasons and a 22-21 wild-card win in Kansas City before the ugly loss in New England on Saturday night.
Yet a statement from the team’s controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk a week ago has not ended speculation over Mularkey’s job security.
The coach said Sunday he has spoken with Strunk about the season and the future. He would not discuss if they talked about an extension with 2018 the last year on his contract, but he anticipates no changes on his coaching staff.
”We’re moving forward full speed ahead,” Mularkey said.
Mularkey also defended his offensive coordinator, saying Terry Robiskie did a ”very good job.” Mularkey also says he’s happy with the development of his quarterback Marcus Mariota.
Mularkey says inconsistency was his offense’s biggest issue, and he believes Mariota will benefit from an offseason focused on football and not recovering from an injury.
Mariota finished the season on the field for the first time in his three seasons in the NFL Youth Brian O'Neill Jersey , but he was limited after straining a quadriceps muscle early against the Patriots. He threw four touchdown passes with only one interception in the playoffs after throwing more interceptions (15) than TDs (13) in the regular season.
Here are some things to watch from the Titans this offseason:
WHITHER DICK LEBEAU
The defensive coordinator turned 80 in September and has been on a year-to-year basis with the Titans. Mularkey hasn’t talked to LeBeau yet. If he returns for the 2018 season, it would be LeBeau’s 60th season in the NFL as a player and coach overall.
The Titans led the AFC and ranked fourth in the league in rushing defense and fifth with 43 sacks in the regular season.
But the Titans finished 17th in points allowed per game and 25th against the pass after adding two new starters to the secondary in cornerback Logan Ryan and safety Johnathan Cyprien.
HENRY’S TIME?
DeMarco Murray, the three-time Pro Bowl running back, finished with the worst season of his career with 659 rushing yards. He missed the final three games with an injured right knee.
Murray, who turns 30 on Feb. 12, still has two years left on the deal the Titans reworked when trading for the running back in March 2016. But Murray is due $6.25 million in 2018.
Derrick Henry, the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner, struggled running in two of his three starts without Murray.
But he ran for a career-high 156 yards in the Titans’ comeback win in Kansas City , and Henry still has two years left on his rookie contract.
RECEIVER ISSUES
The Titans invested heavily in the draft trying to give Mariota help. But Corey Davis, the fifth pick overall out of Western Michigan, didn’t catch his first TD pass until the playoff loss to the Patriots after injuries cost him significant practice time.
Mularkey says he wants to see Davis and fellow rookie receiver Taywan Taylor benefit from an offseason in the weight room and on the field. Davis finished with 34 catches for 374 yards, while Taylor had just 16 for 231.
BOLSTER OFFENSIVE LINE
The Titans slipped from a year ago when they blocked for the AFC’s top rushing offense and tied for seventh in the league for fewest sacks allowed. The Titans ranked 15th in rushing and gave up more sacks (35) than a year ago.
Right guard Josh Kline will be a free agent, and left guard Quinton Spain dealt with injuries that kept him out of two games this season. They’ll likely start training camp with right tackle Jack Conklin on the physically unable to perform list after he tore his left ACL in New England .
OFFSEASON NEEDS
The Titans have fewer holes, but not pressuring Tom Brady makes clear they need someone on defense who can make a difference. They will have the 25th pick in the first round in the draft.
They also have plenty of salary cap space with only a handful of pending free agents in defensive lineman DaQuan Jones, linebacker Avery Williamson, kicker Ryan Succop, receiver Eric Decker and linebacker Erik Walden.
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