Honoring Corey Kluber, how Zach Plesac bounced back and what Shane Bieber needs to fix

Leading Off with Ryan Lewis: A podcast on Cleveland baseball

Former Cleveland pitcher Corey Kluber pitching a no-hitter for the New York Yankees. Kluber is in a bounce back year pitching in New York, and he managed to throw the no-no against the Texas Rangers. That’s right, the team he joined after leaving Cleveland — albeit playing in just a single game in 2020.

What does Kluber’s first career no-hitter have to do with Cleveland in 2021, exactly? As Ryan points out, Cleveland is now joined by the Rangers and Seattle Mariners as being no-hit twice already this season. Whichever team gets no-hit next will set the record most times in a season without having a hit in a game.

Cleveland did get close to a no-hitter of its own thanks to Zach Plesac, who nearly had one of his own against the Mariners. Ryan explains what has changed for Plesac, and how he’s bounced back after a rocky start to the season.

Ryan and Ashley also have a discussion on the importance of catcher Austin Hedges. He doesn’t offer a lot offensively, but he provides a critical service to a team that’s invested heavily in a young pitching staff. They also have thoughts on Shane Bieber’s strikeout streak and what he has to fix, Bryan Shaw’s resurgence in the bullpen and more.

Sadly this week’s episode doesn’t include any talk of The Handmaid’s Tale. But for your pop culture fix, Ryan does have an under-the-radar great baseball movie that never gets mentioned.