Shane Bieber was relaxing in the clubhouse at Triple-A Columbus on Saturday when he received an important message.
The rookie right-hander was needed in the big leagues.
Bieber capped a whirlwind few hours by pitching one-run ball into the sixth inning for his first major league win Bo Horvat Jersey , helping the Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 4-1 on Sunday.
He scattered 10 hits and struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings in his second career start. He was recalled earlier in the day when Carlos Carrasco went on the 10-day disabled list with a bruised right elbow.
r1;It was hectic,r1; said Bieber, who was told about his promotion Saturday evening. r1;They said go pack what you need and get on the road as soon as possible.r1;
Catcher Yan Gomes, whose three run-double in the third snapped a 1-all tie, was impressed with the composure a 23-year-old pitcher who began the season at Double-A Akron showed in unusual circumstances.
r1;The kid has some poise,r1; Gomes said. r1;He knows what her17;s doing out there. Thatr17;s good to see from such a young guy.r1;
Tyler Naquin had an RBI single in the second. Cody Allen, the Indiansr17; third reliever, pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 15 opportunities.
Cleveland salvaged the finale of the three-game series and broke a five-game losing streak against Minnesota.
Twins right-hander Jake Odorizzi (3-4) allowed four runs in five innings. He is winless in seven starts since May 8.
Bieber was scheduled to start for Triple-A Columbus on Sunday, but that plan changed when Carrasco was injured in the second inning of Saturdayr17;s 9-3 loss.
Carrascor17;s early exit forced the Indians to use seven pitchers, including Adam Plutko, who was scheduled to start for Cleveland on Sunday. Bieber, instead of preparing to face Indianapolis in the International League, made the 2 1/2 drive from Columbus.
Bieber got an idea a change was coming when he and his teammates were watching the Indians game.
r1;We saw the bullpen was kind of thin and all of a sudden I see Plutko in the game,r1; he said. r1;Somebody across the clubhouse goes, `whor17;s supposed to start for us tomorrow?r17; All these heads turn and they say, `you might be starting in the big leagues.r17; r1;
Bieber scrambled to get his father and brother tickets for a red-eye flight from California so they could attend the game.
Eduardo Escobarr17;s first-inning double gave Minnesota the lead. The Twins were coming off wins over Corey Kluber, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, and Carrasco in the first two games of the series, but were held in check by Bieber (1-0).
Minnesota had runners on second and third with nobody out in the sixth, but Bieber struck out Mitch Garver and Ehre Adrianza. Oliver Perez struck out Joe Mauer to end the inning.
Escobar doubled in each of his first three at-bats, but Minnesota stranded 10 baserunners and was 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
r1;We had chances,r1; Twins manager Paul Molitor said. r1;We could have put the ball in play multiple times whether it was just a ground ball or fly ball that was going to get us a point or two, get us closer.r1;
Bieber made his major league debut at Minnesota on May 31, allowing four runs in 5 2/3 innings. He left with the Indians ahead 8-4, but the bullpen couldnr17;t hold onto the lead and Cleveland won 9-8.
Michael Brantley hit a leadoff double in the third, and Edwin Encarnacion and Lonnie Chisenhall drew one-out walks. Gomesr17; double to the wall in left-center scored all three runners.
NICE REWARD
The Twins wonr17;t get a breather when it comes to facing the top pitchers in the AL in their three-game series against Boston. Minnesota will go against former Cy Young winners Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello, who are a combined 22-8 this season.
NEXT GAME ADDITION
Indians manager Terry Francona said first baseman Yonder Alonso will return to the team Monday. Alonso was placed on the family-medical-emergency list Friday.
TRAINERr17;S ROOM
Twins: OF Robbie Grossman was removed for a pinch runner in the sixth inning for what was announced as r1;heat illness.r1; Molitor said Grossman felt lightheaded and dizzy.
Indians: Carrasco will have additional tests Monday. r30; LHP Tyler Olson (strained back muscle) was placed on the 10-day DL. Her17;s 1-1 with a 7.27 ERA in 28 appearances.
UP NEXT
Twins: RHP Jose Berrios (7-5, 3.51 ERA) will pitch Monday against Boston in the first of a three-game series.
It was a long and odd day, one that started with teenager Juan Soto homering in a game that officially was played before he made his major league debut.
Huh?
Soto delivered a tiebreaking, pinch-hit, two-run shot in the sixth inning of a game that began and was suspended because of rain last month, five days before he was called up from the minors for the first time, to lift the Washington Nationals to a 5-3 victory over the New York Yankees in the opener of an unusual semi-doubleheader Monday.
r1;Geez, he has a bright future. How old is he, 19? You donr17;t see too many 19-year-olds doing what her17;s doing,r1; Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said about Soto. r1;Ir17;m excited to see him develop for years to come.r1;
In Game 2, Judge made two key catches of balls hit by Trea Turner, including one on the warning track that bailed out Aroldis Chapman with two men on in the bottom of the ninth to end it, and the Yankees grabbed a 4-2 victory with the help of Aaron Hicksr16; go-ahead two-run homer.
That final-out fly r1;got me to hold my breath for a sec,r1; Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Throw in a trade by Washington to add reliever Kelvin Herrera from the Kansas City Royals, full-throated chants of r1;Letr17;s go, Yankees!r1; from portions of the sellout crowd of 42,723, and all in all, so much happened at Nationals Park.
r1;That,r1; Nationals closer Sean Doolittle said, summing up things neatly, r1;was weird.r1;
Game 1 resumed with the score 3-all and the Nationals about to bat in the bottom of the sixth. After Bryce Harper r11; who had a full beard back on May 15, when the game began, but was clean-shaven this time r11; struck out, and Anthony Rendon singled, Soto drove a 97 mph fastball from Chad Green (4-1) to the back of the second deck in right field.
r1;I thought he had a good chance to hit the ball hard,r1; Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. r1;That was hard.r1;
It was Sotor17;s sixth homer since he was brought up from Double-A Harrisburg on May 20 r11; and half have come against the Yankees. Soto stood and admired this one before beginning his trot around the bases.
r1;A lot of people tell me, `Hey, your17;re killing the Yankees,'r1; Soto said. r1;Everybody knows the Yankees Youth Brandon Sutter Jersey , likes the Yankees. That feels pretty good.r1;
Soto also was involved in a double play while playing left in the seventh. Didi Gregorius lined to Soto, and he lobbed the ball to shortstop Turner, who sprinted to second base to double off Gary Sanchez.
Sotor17;s stats r11; and all others from Game 1 r11; will count as being part of the originally scheduled game on May 15, but Sotor17;s debut will still be considered to have come on the actual date it happened, May 20, according to the Nationals, citing the Elias Sports Bureau.
Wander Suero (1-0) got the win for 1 1-3 scoreless innings r11; one inning on May 15, and one out on Monday.
Doolittle struck out Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, then got Sanchez to fly out to center in the ninth for his 18th save.
The Nationals had lost five of six games entering the day.
Game 2, which was completely rained out May 16, began a half-hour after Game 1 finished, and Washington led 2-1 before Hicksr17; ninth homer, which came in the fifth against Erick Fedde (0-2) and got plenty of Yankees fans excited r11; and loud.
The rookie righty lost to the Yankees for the second time in less than a week, giving up three runs in 5 1-3 innings this time.
Stanton provided some cushion with an RBI double off Sammy Solis in the seventh, part of a 4-for-5 showing in Game 2.
Sonny Gray (5-4) allowed two runs in five-plus innings, with Mark Reynolds driving in both.
HARPERr17;S DAY
Harperr17;s batting average is .212 after he went 0 for 5 on Monday, with two strikeouts, three groundouts and a walk. He has one hit in his last 27 at-bats. r1;Her17;s just in one of those little funks, where your17;re kind of happy to face him right now,r1; Boone said.
TRAINERr17;S ROOM
Yankees: OF Brett Gardner didnr17;t play, a day after an MRI exam showed swelling in his right knee. Boone doesnr17;t expect Gardner to go on the DL.
Nationals: RHP Jeremy Hellickson, on the DL for two weeks with a strained right hamstring, took fielding practice before the start of play Monday and said he r1;felt fine.r1; Hellickson has taken two bullpen sessions and r1;felt 100 percent,r1; so expects to be able to return soon. r30; 1B Matt Adams was r1;still a little sorer1; after getting hit by a pitch on a finger Friday and did not play.
ROSTER MOVE
The Yankees returned right-hander Giovanny Gallegos to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game. Gallegos had been called up as the 26th man for the nightcap Monday.
UP NEXT
Yankees: Open a three-game set against visiting Seattle, with RHP Domingo German (1-4, 5.23 ERA) pitching Tuesday.
Nationals: Begin a three-game series at home against Baltimore on Tuesday, with Jefry Rodriguez on the mound for his second major league appearance and first start.
