Professional baseball is currently experiencing an unprecedented surge of no hitters. In just the past week, Detroit Tigers pitcher Spencer Turnbull logged a no-hit performance against the Mariners on Tuesday and Corey Kluber of the New York Yankees delivered a no-hitter the following day. Overall, there have been six pitchers to throw a no hitter through the first two months of the MLB season.

Clayton Kershaw made it clear that he was not amused by this recent trend. “Well, it’s not good. I’ll tell you that. I think whatever the intention was with the new ball or whatever it may be, it really hasn’t done anything. There might be less home runs, which I guess they want, but I don’t know the stats on all that. I think I saw some stats for April that it was the worst hitting month in the history of something,” the Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher commented.

Kershaw is referring to a change made by the MLB in which they “deadened” the ball. This resulted in balls that were made slightly lighter and less bouncy. This change came as a result of an ever-increasing home run rate. This purpose has been seemingly served as home runs have decreased to 1.14 per game from 1.28 in the previous year. Offensive production as a whole has decreased sizably this season as well, with batting average and hits per game at all-time lows. Strikeouts, however, have increased to record levels, as around 24 percent of batters are striking out.

“No-hitters are cool,” said Kershaw. “I have all the respect in the world for Corey Kluber and [Madison Bumgarner] and all those guys that have thrown no hitters. But to have one happen every night, it seems like it’s probably not good for the game. Fans want to see some hits, I get that and some action, and not many people striking out. I appreciate the attempt that MLB has tried to do but I think it seems like they missed the mark so far. We’ll see. I don’t Know,” Kershaw, who is likely a future Hall of Fame pitcher, concluded.

On Tuesday we received a gem of a game from Spencer Trumbull, as he threw a no hitter in the Detroit Tigers’ win over the Seattle Mariners. Then again on Wednesday, a strikingly familiar sight happened as the sixth no hitter of the season was thrown, in less than two months. This time, the culprit was none other than two-time American League Cy Young Award winner and New York Yankees pitcher Corey Kluber.

Kluber was in absolute shock about his performance, and even said he never witnessed a no hitter during his 11-year MLB career, until he threw one himself in the Yankees’ latest win over the Texas Rangers. “I’ve never been part of one or witnessed one, let alone thrown one,” Kluber told reporters. “So, more than anything, it was a lot of fun to be a part of.”

Kluber’s efficiency during the game was something to be marveled at. He only threw 101 pitches, 71 of which were strikes. To open the game, Kluber recorded two strikeouts on his way to seven straight retired batters. In the bottom of the third, he walked Charlie Culberson, but after that he was lights out. The final 20 batters Kluber faced, he retired with ease. He ended the game with nine strikeouts and one walk in the 2-0 victory.

Tyler Wade and D.J LeMahieu spearheaded New York’s offense. In the top of the sixth inning, Wade sent an RBI triple to center field and LeMahieu followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Yankees the advantage. This no-hitter was the first for a Yankees player since David Cone’s perfect game against the Montreal Expos on July 18, 1999 at Yankee Stadium.

The Cleveland Indians will visit the Boston Red Sox on Monday night, and here is what you need to know.

Red Sox vs. Indians Preview

This will be the opener of a four-game series. The Rex Sox (88-37, .704) still have the best record in MLB, and are 9.5 games ahead of the second-place New York Yankees (78-46) in the AL East. Boston lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 on Sunday but won the first two games in that series. The Indians (71-52, .577) lead the AL Central and are 12 games ahead of the second-place Minnesota Twins (59-64). Cleveland routed the Baltimore Orioles 8-0 on Sunday in the finale of a three-game series.

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Right-hander Corey Kluber (15-6, 2.68 ERA) will likely start for Cleveland against fellow right-hander Rick Porcello (15-5, 4.404 ERA). Kluber boasts 160 strikeouts this season, while Porcello has struck out 150 batters. Monday’s game will start at 7:10 p.m. EST and will air on NESN.

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Max Scherzer and Corey Kluber were named the National League and American League 2017 Cy Young Award winners, respectively on Wednesday.

Cy Young Award Winners 2017 News

The two pitchers celebrated in very different ways, however. Scherzer threw his arms in the air and screamed before kissing his wife in jubilation. Kluber, however, seemed rather stoic.

“Winning a second one maybe, for me personally, kind of validates the first one,” Kluber said.

Scherzer, the Washington Nationals’ fiery starting right-hander, has now won three Cy Youngs and two in a row. He earned 27 of the 30 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Scherzer easily beat out Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, and said he would be drinking champagne.

Kluber won with 28 votes to beat Boston’s Chris Sale for his second AL Cy Young. His wife Amanda posted this photo of their family on Twitter:

Scherzer was 16-6 with a career-best 2.51 ERA this year. The 33-year-old righty struck out a league-leading 268 for the NL East champion Nationals.

Kluber missed a month of the season with back pain. Nevertheless, he led the majors with a 2.25 ERA, and his 18 wins tied for the most in baseball. The 31-year-old helped Cleveland win the AL Central.

He and Minnesota’s Ervin Santana tied for the major league lead with five complete games. Scherzer and Kluber both struggled in this year’s playoffs, however.

Scherzer said he couldn’t even watch the League Championship Series, although he did tune in for the World Series.

“That will eat at me this whole offseason,” he said.

The final BBWAA honors will come Thursday when the MVP awards are announced in the AL and NL.

WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 11: Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals pitches in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Nationals Park on May 11, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Corey Kluber threw a complete and dominant game on Thursday night to rob the spotlight from pitcher Sonny Gray, who was making his debut with the New York Yankees.

Yankees vs. Indians score

The Cleveland Indians starter allowed three hits, struck out 11 batters and walked one with just 106 pitches to lead his team to a 5-1 home victory over the Yankees.

This marked Kluber’s 13th career complete game and fourth straight start in which he fanned at least 11 players, and it continued a stretch where the right-hander struck out out at least ten batters in ten of his 12 starts since returning from the disabled list on June 1 following a back injury.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi admitted how impressed he was with the Indians ace, and said he believed his dominance was the main reason for New York’s sluggish play on Thursday.

“Kluber had a lot to do with it tonight,” said Girardi. “I’m watching his stuff, the pitches he’s throwing, they’re putting them on the board, too. His stuff is dynamite.”

Gray — whom the Yankees received from the Oakland Athletics at the non-waiver trading deadline on Monday — delivered a strong outing despite the loss, New York’s third straight and fourth in five games. In six innings, the 27-year-old righty allowed four runs (two earned) and four hits while walking three and striking out six.

“I feel like I threw the ball OK,” Gray said. “But at the same time, if I can shut that sixth inning down [Yan Gomes hit a two-run double], it’s a completely different ballgame. It’s just one of those things that got away from me for a couple of different hitters, and they took advantage. It gave them all the momentum for the last three innings.”

First baseman Chase Headley seemed to think his new teammate performed well in his first game.

“I thought he was awesome,” Headley said. “He’s a perfectionist. You could see when he threw a pitch he wasn’t happy with, he was upset with himself. It’s just fun to play with a guy that competes like that.”

The Yankees’ defense did not help Gray much, as they committed three errors in the first inning. Gray’s first batte Bradley Zimmer hit a grounder to right field that Headley — new to the first base position — couldn’t stop. His third batter, Michael Brantley, hit a grounder that rookie second baseman Tyler Wade failed to catch. The following batter, Jose Ramirez, smacked a base hit to right field that Clint Frazier fielded cleanly but then, in an attempt to tag Brantley, overthrew past third baseman Ronald Torreyes and out of the field of play, allowing Brantley and Zimmer to score and Ramirez to reach third.

Gary Sanchez scored the Yankees’ lone homer off Kluber in the seventh inning. With out one in the frame, the catcher smacked the ball over the wall in left-center field. Other than that, the Yankees only put one runner in scoring position: Didi Gregorius pushed Clint Frazier to third with a fly ball to deep center after Frazier smacked a double in the right-field corner to lead off the fourth — the first hit against Kluber. However, Kluber then struck out Sanchez and then tossed to Jacoby Ellsbury, whose slow roller to first landed right into first baseman Carlos Santana’s glove.

Following Wednesday’s rain-delayed 2-0 home loss to Detroit on Wednesday, Girardi sat Home Run Derby champion Aaron Judge, who was hitting .164 since the All-Star break, and Matt Holliday, who was batting .143 since he returned from a viral illness after the break.

“You look at these guys their second halves — Judge and especially Holliday — it’s nothing compared to what their first halves have been,” Girardi said of the two anchors to his lineup for most of the season. “And these guys are really important to us. Again, you can keep running them out there, and then you can run them into the ground, and that probably doesn’t help. Or you can say, ‘Hey, I’m going to give you a day and see if we can get things straightened out.’”

The Yankees (57-50) sit two games behind the Boston Red Sox for the American League East lead. Lefty Jaime Garcia will make his debut with the Bombers in Friday’s game at Progressive Field, which will begin at 7:10 pm EST. The Mexican pitcher was acquired on July 30 from the Minnesota Twins, for whom he started just once.

Garcia earned the win in that July 28 contest, allowing three runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings to the A’s. The Indians will counter with righty Trevor Bauer. 

CLEVELAND, OH – AUGUST 03: Sonny Gray #55 of the New York Yankees pitches against the Cleveland Indians in the third inning at Progressive Field on August 3, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians defeated the Yankees 5-1. (Photo by David Maxwell/Getty Images)

Corey Kluber walked off the mound at Progressive field to a loud ovation on Tuesday night, after he compiled nine strikeouts in six-plus dominant innings to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 6-0 thrashing of the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the World Series.

Corey Kluber Strikes Out Nine In Indians’ 6-0 World Series Game 1 Win Over Cubs

The ace set a World Series record with eight strikeouts in the first three innings as he out-dueled left-hander Jon Lester. 

“He’s our ace,” Indians catcher Roberto Perez said. “Every time he steps on the mound, I expect big things from him. He was awesome. We had a good game plan going on before the game. We executed pitches, and he was outstanding.”

Thanks to Kluber’s strong outing and a pair of home runs from Perez, “I don’t know if there is one thing you can put your finger on,” Kluber said of his postseason dominance. “I think that it’s, obviously, there’s more riding on each game. So, not that there is less importance on a regular-season game, but it’s almost like you have that extra level of intensity or focus and stuff that it’s not really something you can replicate.”

The Tribe has not won the World Series since 1948, while the Cubs’ last national title came in 1908. Chicago’s last victory in a World Series contest came in Game 6 of the 1945 Series against Detroit.

“I’m not disappointed by any means except for the fact that we did not win,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of his team’s performance. “I thought we came out ready to play. They pitched well. … I know we had 15 punch-outs, I get it, but the quality of the at-bats were not that bad.”

Lester allowed more free bases in the first inning of Game 1 than he had in his three National League playoff starts combined.

Lester allowed one more run, the first of Perez’s two homers, before exiting with two outs in the sixth.

Andrew Miller was not as sharp, needing 46 pitches to get through two innings, surviving two hits and two walks while striking out three. Cody Allen allowed a double but struck out the side.

Indians manager Terry Francona said he was not sure what he could ask of Miller for Game 2, adding that it might rain anyway. The game time has already been moved up an hour, to 7 p.m., due to a threatening forecast.

Regardless of when Game 2 is played, the Cubs will be content to have Kyle Schwarber as their designated hitter. Schwarber, who missed more than six months with torn knee ligaments, managed a double and a walk in Game 1.

The Indians, who have been one of MLB’s best teams at home all season long, improved to 8-1 in the postseason and 5-0 in front of the Cleveland faithful. Overall, teams with a 1-0 lead have won the World Series 71 out of 111 times.

“We were fortunate enough to win this one,” Allen said. “We’ll enjoy it tonight, but we have to show up and be ready tomorrow. It’s a seven-game series, a lot of stuff can change.”

Perez fired a three-run blast in the eighth off Hector Rondon. After Kluber allowed a leadoff single to Ben Zobrist in the seventh, Francona called up Miller. Cubs second baseman Javier Baez then hit a pitch into left field for a single, loading the bases with no outs.

Game 2 is set for Wednesday night in Cleveland. Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta will start for the Cubs, while righty Trevor Bauer will start for the Indians.

CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 25: Corey Kluber #28 of the Cleveland Indians throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs in Game One of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on October 25, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Jarrod Dyson hit his first career grand slam, which capped off a seven-run rally in the eighth, and the Kansas City Royals took advantage of Indians starter Corey Kluber’s early exit to secure a 7-3 home victory over Cleveland on Monday night.

Jarrod Dyson Scores First Career Grand Slam In Royals’ 7-3 Win Over Indians

Kluber tossed 95 pitches over seven scoreless innings, but the right-hander was removed with a cramping right calf. He scattered five hits and took the mound to start the eighth with a 2-0 lead. However, Indians manager Terry Francona and trainer James Quinlan came from the dugout and pulled Kluber before he could throw another pitch.

The temperature at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium was at 90 degrees, and the heat index was at 99 at the start of the game.

“I don’t think cramps are serious, but I don’t know how he’s going to push off the rubber,” Francona said.

Kluber acknowledged dehydration could have caused the cramping.

“It was definitely hot out there,” Kluber said. “The first couple of (warmup) pitches it kind of grabbed a little bit. I tried to push through. The last two or three pitches, I couldn’t push off. I was just kind of dragging. I think I threw a couple to the backstop. I just tried to keep going.

“Obviously it’s frustrating. I guess it’s just one of those things that happens. I just tried to throw but it just got worse to the point where I had to come out.”

Following Kluber’s exit, the Royals pummeled hits off relievers Bryan Shaw and Jeff Manship. Alcides Escobar and Eric Hosmer led off the eighth with singles and both scored on Christian Colon’s pinch-hit double.

Colon hit for Kendrys Morales, who fouled a ball off his right foot (X-rays negative), and then hit the next pitch to deep center, tying it at 2.

With two outs, Shaw (1-4) walked Alex Gordon and Cheslor Cuthbert. Paulo Orlando then delivered a go-ahead RBI single off Manship, and Whit Merrifield walked to load the bases before Dyson cleared them with his first career grand slam and his first home run of the season.

“My first career [homer] in the Minor Leagues was a grand slam,” the right fielder said. “I’m not even a home-run hitter. I’m just a lucky guy right now … it was an accident. I don’t do that on the regular.”

Kluber, tagged by the Royals for eight runs in five innings on June 15 in Kansas City, struck out eight and walked three on Monday.

Francisco Lindor, who is hitting .439 with three home runs against the Royals this season, belted a solo homer around the right-field pole off right-hander Edinson Volquez to give the Indians a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

Lindor’s homer had an exit velocity of 108 mph and traveled 435 feet, per Statcast, that marked both the hardest-hit and farthest homer by the shortstop in his MLB career.

Luke Hochevar (2-2) worked a scoreless eighth to pick up the win.

Volquez ran into some tough luck in the fourth when he walked Jose Ramirez with one out. After a long battle with Lonnie Chisenhall, Volquez jammed him with a fastball, but Chisenhall hit a single to left-center, as Ramirez then raced to third. Juan Uribe then hit an RBI groundout off Volquez.

“I thought I did a good job of getting out of some trouble,” Volquez said. “That’s a tough team. These are games we need to win.”

The two teams will face off for the second game of their three-game series at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday night. After a stellar first-half of the season, righty Danny Salazar (10-3, 2.75 ERA) will take the mound for Cleveland (54-38, 1st in AL Central). Salazar was held out of his first All-Star Game due to mild right elbow discomfort.

Left-hander Brian Flynn (1-0, 2.39) will make his first start for the Royals (47-45, 3rd in AL Central) and first since August 2014 when he was with Miami. Flynn has made 13 relief appearances this season and has a 1.42 ERA in his last eight appearances.

KANSAS CITY, MO – JULY 18: Jarrod Dyson #1 and Christian Colon #24 of the Kansas City Royals are doused with water by catcher Salvador Perez #13 after the Royals defeated the Cleveland Indians 7-3 to win the game at Kauffman Stadium on July 18, 2016 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Corey Kluber and the Cleveland Indians have been having a bit of a rough season. The Indians started off 12-20 under manager Terry Francona.

On top of this, Kluber, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, has had a rough start: 0-5 record and above five ERA going into yesterday’s game. But with the way Corey pitched against the Cardinals — one of the best hitting teams in the MLB — you would not have guessed he was struggling.

He struck out 18 batters — the last pitcher to do this was Ben Sheets in 2004 and Kluber was the first in the AL to accomplish this since Roger Clemens in 1998 — and did not give up a hit until the seventh inning: Jhonny Peralta broke up the no-hitter with a hit down the middle.

When he was taken out before the ninth inning — he had already thrown 113 pitches — he was given a warm ovation by a rowdy Cleveland crowd. Luckily, closer Cody Allen was able to further shutdown St. Louis, securing Kluber’s 2-0 win, which is the first of the season for him.

In the end, when asked about throwing one of the best games in MLB history — Kluber’s game score was 98, with only 11 pitchers, like hall of famers Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson, ahead of him — he shrugged it off. He was happy to be in consideration with some of the greatest pitchers of all-time, but a win is more important.