Corey Kluber allowed eight straight hits in shellacking by Guardians

BOSTON — It keeps going from bad to worse for Corey Kluber. The 38-year-old’s latest relief outing for the Red Sox could be his last, after Kluber was absolutely shellacked by the Guardians in Cleveland.

Kluber made his third relief appearance for Boston following his demotion from the starting rotation, and surrendered seven runs off 11 hits over 3.1 innings against his former club. He enjoyed some of his best moments on the mound at Progressive Field, but Thursday night’s outing will go down as one of his worst.

Kluber entered Thursday night’s game in the bottom of the fifth and needed just 13 pitches to retire the Guardians in order. It looked like he may actually keep Boston in the game, with the Sox trailing just 3-2 at the time.

Then the bottom of the sixth rolled around and the wheels completely fell off for the veteran. Jose Ramirez crushed a solo homer to lead off the inning, his third homer of the evening. Ramirez was in the zone Thursday night, so giving up a long ball to Cleveland’s hottest hitter was understandable.

But that blast just opened the floodgates for the Guardians. Kluber surrendered eight straight hits to start the sixth, including four extra-base hits. The Guardians put up a five-spot in the frame, sending Boston into an 8-2 hole. 

The former two-time Cy Young winner was not finished for the night though. He was sent back out to take his lumps and preserve the Boston bullpen ahead of this weekend’s series against the Yankees, which is about the only thing that he accomplished on Thursday. 

After a scoreless seventh inning, Kluber gave up a leadoff homer to Will Brennan to start the eighth. His evening mercifully ended three batters later when Alex Cora took the ball from him after a walk and an infield single.

With Thursday night’s outing, Kluber’s ERA for the season ballooned to 7.13. He’s now allowed nine runs off 13 hits over 6.1 innings as a reliever, good for a 12.79 ERA out of the bullpen. 

Kluber was Boston’s Opening Day starter, but now it’s fair to wonder how much longer he’ll hold on to a roster spot.