May 1, 2026
With a three-run homer against the Red Sox, Nolan Jones became the seventh player in franchise history with 12 RBI thru 15 career games:
Ken Keltner, 17
Albert Belle, 15
Carlos Santana, 14
Roy Weatherly, 13
Jones, 12
Walt Bond, 12
Frank Scheibeck, 12
Bryan Shaw is the oldest pitcher to make his first career start for Cleveland since Doug Jones (also 34) in 1991.
Jones, an All-Star from 1988-90, was awful in 1991. So he was demoted to AAA, turned into a starter and returned in September.
Jones threw 8 2/3 innings against Milwaukee in his debut as a starter, picking up the win. Then he struck out 13 Tigers in 8 innings in his second outing.
He made 2 more starts, going 3-1 overall with a 3.77 ERA before he returned to closer duties in his final outing of the year.
He signed with Houston that offseason and returned to All-Star closer form.
Sandy Leon is the first Cleveland position player to toss two scoreless innings since Willie Smith in 1968. But that deserves as asterisk since Smith started his MLB career as a pitcher.
Prior to Smith, it was Rocky Colavito in 1958 vs Detroit.
Nolan Jones joins Roy Weatherly (1936) as the only players in franchise history with at least two hits, including an extra-base hit and an RBI in each of their first two career games.
Weatherly became a fixture in the Indians lineups, often as their leadoff hitter though the late 1930s and early 40s. He was traded to the Yankees prior to the 1943 season, and helped them win the World Series that year.
After a brief stint with the Phillies, Oscar Mercado is back.
He’s now on a short list of players to appear in a game for Cleveland, play elsewhere in the majors, and then return to Cleveland in the same season.
This is a difficult bit of trivia to research, but I am aware of at least one other instance: Jeff Manto in 1998.
Manto made the Opening Day roster – he actually started at 1B on Opening Day in place of Jim Thome, with Randy Johnson on the mound. Manto was then placed on waivers and picked up by Detroit.
The Tigers released Manto in June and a few days later he re-signed with Cleveland and was sent to AAA. In August, Manto was recalled, and appeared in a few more games for Cleveland down the stretch.
Manto was acquired by the Indians in six different transactions throughout his career.
Konnor Pilkington tossed five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in his third career start (sixth career game) against the Royals yesterday.
He’s the sixth pitcher in franchise history with at least eight strikeouts and zero runs allowed in a game within his first six career appearances. The others:
The Pirates have purchased the contract of Yu Chang, ending his Cleveland career.
He finishes his 2022 season with seven strikeouts in 10 plate appearances.
His 70% strikeout rate is the second highest in franchise history for a player with at least 10 plate appearances. Only pitcher Tom Hilgendorf in 1972 (79% – 11 K in 14 PA) was worse.
The next worst by a position player was Andrew Velazquez in 2019 (58% – 7 K in 12 PA).
This stat pretty much sums up Chang’s career in Cleveland:
Bryan Lavastida has made the Guardians Opening Day roster. He’s the first catcher with zero MLB experience to make the team’s Opening Day roster since Andy Allanson in 1986.
Tyler Naquin is just the third player since 1908 with 3 strikeouts and zero times reaching base in each of the first two games of the season.
The others:
Indians with at least 3 plate appearances on Opening Day, who struck out in each PA: