After the number of short starts the Indians have gotten over the last week or two, the team would’ve gladly welcomed a starter working deep into the game. On Sunday, it looked like Zach Plesac was setting himself up to do just that, but then everything changed on a dime.

Plesac was perfect through the first three innings in Cleveland’s 8-5 extra-innings loss to the Twins on Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field. He looked confident. Plesac was pounding the zone and had only thrown 37 pitches. But when he returned for the fourth and an eight-pitch at-bat for Luis Arraez ended in a single to open the frame, he never was able to get back in his groove.

The next pitch was a changeup over the heart of the plate that Josh Donaldson hit for a single to left. Then, in the next at-bat, the changeup was a problem again when Plesac left it over the middle of the plate (this time, the lower third) for Max Kepler to crush a game-tying three-run homer.

“I thought his changeup, when it got hit, he started to go out of the zone, started picking a little bit and he paid for it,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “It was like the perfect storm.”

Plesac has thrown nearly the same number of changeups this year as he did in the shortened 2020 season, but the pitch hasn’t been quite as dominant as he’s been used to. In ’20, his 196 changeups induced a whiff rate of 35.6 percent, while opponents hit just .125 off of it. In ’21, Plesac's 194 changeups have induced a whiff rate of 20.2 percent, while opponents have hit .268 off of it -- the second-highest batting average against any of his pitches, trailing his heater (.275).

Plesac's brief loss of command of his changeup led to a snowball effect that couldn’t be halted. In his first three innings on Sunday, he was in the strike zone 45.9 percent of the time, but in the fourth, he ended up outside of the zone 61.5 percent of the time.

“I kind of lost rhythm, I guess. Kind of started trying to be too fine with pitches,” Plesac said. “I just didn’t get them executed like I needed to. Before we knew it, we looked up and there was a crooked number on the board.”

Starter for Wednesday still TBD
The Indians likely won't know who will be starting on Wednesday until after Tuesday’s series opener against the Tigers. The team sent starter Triston McKenzie down to Triple-A Columbus on Saturday after another short, shaky outing. Starter Jean Carlos Mejía, who’s currently in the bullpen, seems like the most plausible option, but Cleveland wants to make sure that it won’t need multiple innings from a reliever over the first two games in Detroit. If Mejía gets used, then the team would be left with Cal Quantrill, an opener for a bullpen game (if the ‘pen isn’t overtaxed) or maybe another arm from Triple-A to make the start on Wednesday.

Topgolf tour coming to Cleveland
Topgolf is going on a stadium tour this year, and one of its stops will be at Progressive Field from Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2021. Players will enjoy a one-of-a-kind opportunity to have a Topgolf experience inside their favorite ballparks, hitting golf balls into on-field targets placed between 60 and 140 yards away from the tee box. The same Toptracer technology that’s used at Topgolf restaurants will be used during this stadium tour.

Tickets to attend Topgolf Live at Progressive Field will go on sale beginning June 3 on topgolflive.com. Prices start at $80 for regular players and $40 for students.