Jeanmar Gomez might be pitching his way out of the Cleveland Indians’ rotation.
Gomez took the loss in the Houston Astros’ 8-1 win against the Indians in an interleague matchup Saturday night.
Gomez didn’t allow a base runner until the fifth inning, but after that his start went bad in a big way. He gave up 5 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings and his ERA swelled to 5.18.
The young right-hander dropped to 4-7 with just one win in his past six starts. He’s been giving up the home run ball a lot lately, too, with eight blasts in his past six starts. He’s had just 12 strikeouts in that span.
If Gomez struggles in his next start — Thursday at Baltimore — the AL Central-leading Indians might be wise to demote him to the bullpen (or Triple-A) and give Zach McAllister a shot.
McAllister, a right-hander, went 1-1 with a 3.96 ERA in four starts for the Indians this season before being sent down to Triple-A Columbus in late May. McAllister was called up May 12 to replace Josh Tomlin, who was on the DL for two weeks with a sore wrist.
McAllister, who was in contention for the No. 5 spot in the Indians’ rotation in spring training, is 5-2 with a 2.98 ERA in 10 starts with Columbus.
McAllister has a big frame (6 feet 6 inches, 240 pounds), and he has the potential to be an innings eater. His fastball is in the low-to-mid 90s, but his other pitchers are still works in progress.
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