CLEVELAND -- Mike Clevinger only knows one speed: fast.

So, it’s been a little bit of a challenge for the Indians to try to pace the right-hander as he works his way back from an upper back strain. But the team has been pleased with how quickly he’s been able to get back on the mound, and most importantly, without pain.

On Tuesday, Clevinger threw his first bullpen session since going on the injured list on April 8. He threw 20 pitches -- all fastballs -- and is expected to throw his next bullpen session on Friday.

“I mean it’s really hard for him when he gets out of his delivery to only go one speed,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “Now the good news is it doesn’t hurt him when he does it, which is great news. He’s got a ways to go now to get back, but my goodness, if you had told me a month ago that he’d be where he is now ... we’re pretty fortunate.”

Clevinger also threw 35 pitches on flat ground and mixed in all his pitches. He’s assuming he’ll be able to throw more than just fastballs in his bullpen session on Friday as he continues to make strides in his rehab process.

“Everything feels strong, feels good,” Clevinger said. “Just kind of out of sync right now on the mound. So just trying to find the mechanics again. Kind of feels like starting Spring Training over again.

“I mean it kind of feels like the initial soreness of starting to throw again when you’ve taken some time off, whether it’s the offseason or an injury like now.”

Clevinger struggled with the initial news of not being able to pick up a baseball for six to eight weeks when he first got an MRI. But he quickly turned things around, getting back on the rubber just five weeks later. The goal is to be ready to play on June 7, the first day he’s eligible to be activated off the injured list.

“I think that’s what helps it out a lot is because now it’s like I was hit with a pretty long timeline, and now I know I’ll be back sooner than that,” Clevinger said. “So, it’s like kind of the bright side I get to look forward to … especially an injury like this was not really a causation.

“Whether it’s the work that I’m doing or whatever, it’s not really a pinpointed thing. It’s just kind of a freak incident. I want to say -- I don’t know really the statistics -- but nine times out of 10, you never really see this happen again to the guys who’ve got it. So, it’s just a stroke of bad luck I guess.”

Plutko to start Saturday
Although the Indians could’ve made it through the weekend with a four-man rotation, they decided that they would call up right-hander Adam Plutko to start Saturday’s game against the Orioles. Plutko began the season on the injured list with a right forearm sprain and made two starts in Triple-A. In his last outing he finished five innings, using 67 pitches, and allowed one run on two hits. Shane Bieber and Carlos Carrasco’s starts will be bumped back to Sunday and Monday, respectively.

“The reason we decided to do that was with Adam not having a ton of innings under his belt, asking him to wait another two or three days, that’s making it harder for him,” Francona said. “Trying to be as fair as we can to him. And any time you can give guys an extra day, that’s not going to kill them, either.”

Injury report
• Tyler Naquin underwent an MRI on Tuesday that revealed some swelling behind his knee. Francona said they can’t quite identify if it’s a calf or a hamstring problem, but they were given the general timeline of two weeks until the outfielder can resume baseball activities. “He’s a tough kid who was probably playing through something he shouldn’t have,” Francona said.

• Danny Salazar met with Dr. Keith Meister at the end of April and was shut down for a few days when his arm started bothering him after throwing a bullpen session. He’s now begun throwing again. “Danny is back to throwing sides,” Francona said. “So that was kind of a quick ramp-up. Just because when he got his injection he had been throwing for so long, the ramp-up wasn’t nearly as long as before.”

• Francona said that Bradley Zimmer will begin DHing in Arizona this weekend, getting back to live pitching for the first time since Spring Training. The outfielder, who was recovering from shoulder surgery, experienced a setback on March 23 when he strained a muscle in his side throwing to home plate.

This date in Indians history
2006: Grady Sizemore tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer and Travis Hafner followed with a walk-off two-run blast just three batters later to seal a 6-4 win over Kansas City.