Corey Kluber’s struggles continue, will remain in the rotation

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What a difference a year makes and that’s not a good thing. Last year Corey Kluber led the league with the fewest walks per nine innings (1.2). The veteran right-hander only walked 21 batters in 164 innings with the Rays.

Fast forward to this season and Kluber has walked 18 batters (3.9) in 41 2/3 innings. That total includes the three walks on Sunday, all in the first inning.

The 37-year-old struggled with his command tossing only 2 1/3 innings in the Red Sox 7-0 loss to the Padres. Kluber surrendered four runs in the first frame, only one was earned and that was because he made an error on Jake Cronenworth’s come backer to the mound.

San Diego plated their first run after Kluber walked Matt Carpenter and then two batters later, Rougned Odor broke game open with a three-run double.

Overall, Kluber allowed five earned runs, he threw 64 pitches, 35 for strikes. He’s not 2-6 with a 6.26 ERA in his first nine starts for Boston.

The Red Sox have been working with Kluber between starts trying to identify if his lack of command is due to his mechanics.

“If I knew, I would put it in a bottle, drink it, and throw strikes over there, to be honest with you,” Alex Cora said post game. “We’re working hard with him because we know when he’s around the zone, it’s tough to hit. But we’re just putting ourselves in a bad spot.”

Kluber will make his next start on Sunday in Arizona. Cora will utilize a six-man rotation for the remainder of the team’s west coast trip.

If Kluber has another clunker in his next start, it’s uncertain if the Red Sox will continue utilizing the veteran in the rotation.

“Frustrating for me, frustrating for everybody,” Kluber said. “I’m just doing a poor job of finding the correct adjustment to make. Trying different stuff to try to get it done out there and just not quite being able to do just that. We’re trying to work through different things in between starts. I just can’t find one to click right now.”

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