Indians promote Garner to help fatigued bullpen

CLEVELAND -- The Indians made a move Wednesday afternoon to add a fresh arm to their taxed bullpen, recalling right-hander Perci Garner from Triple-A Columbus.
Garner made his Major League debut in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 8-4 win over the Twins. Garner allowed one run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning, picking up his first Major League strikeout.
"In all honesty it hasn't really hit me yet," Garner said. "Right when they told me, I had a sudden 'Oh man, this is really happening.' Other than that I feel like it's really not going to hit me until I take the field at game time."
Cleveland's bullpen worked 7 1/3 scoreless innings on Tuesday after starter Josh Tomlin's early exit. To make room, right-hander Shawn Armstrong was optioned to Class A Lake County. Armstrong will be eligible to return to the Indians after Lake County's season ends on Monday.
Catcher Yan Gomes was moved to the 60-day disabled list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Garner. Gomes, out since mid-July because of a separated shoulder, is eligible to return to the team on Sept. 16.
"That was kind of within the range of timeframe that we were initially expecting," team president Chris Antonetti said. "That's been reaffirmed with where he is in the rehab process. We expect that he'll get out on a rehab in some way here within the next week."
Garner has spent the duration of the season with Columbus and Double-A Akron, recording a 1.63 ERA in 18 outings with Columbus while striking out 23 in 27 2/3 innings. The 27-year-old made 23 appearances for Akron, posting a 1.94 ERA with 47 punchouts in 51 innings. Garner was the Phillies' second-round Draft choice in 2010 and signed with Cleveland as a Minor League free agent in April 2015.
"It's a good story. It's also just starting," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "This is another guy, again, he was released, and we think has a chance to help us in the future. The future's starting tonight."
The Indians' bullpen has pitched 18 scoreless innings while holding the opposition to a .148 batting average over the past four games. Meanwhile, the starting staff has a 4.76 ERA in its past 17 innings. The opposition his .325 off the starters in the past four games.