Konnor Pilkington figures out opening issues; Aaron Civale could throw off mound this week

Guardians rookie Konnor Pilkington just hadn't been able to get out of the starting gate on a high note.

Entering Wednesday's start against the Kansas City Royals, a game the Guardians won 4-0 to complete a three-game sweep, all five of Pilkington's earned runs had come in the first two innings. Whether it be as a starter or a reliever, Pilkington hadn't allowed an earned run from the third inning on.

It was taking him time to settle into his starts, the only thing stopping a solid debut (3.75 ERA, 15 strikeouts in 12 innings) from turning into a great one. That changed prior to Wednesday's start, when Pilkington was noticeably sharper in his bullpen session prior to taking the mound in the first inning.

"Yeah, we've been working on that since my last outing, just having a plan going into the game and I executed the plan," Pilkington said. "Threw the fastball, threw the change-up when I needed to, mixed in the slider when I needed to as well. The fastball really worked well for me and I knew it in my bullpen before the game and I just brought it into the game."

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The result was five scoreless innings, a career-high eight strikeouts and a beer-bath for his first career win. It lowered his ERA to 2.65.

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"He's an extremely hard worker," pitching coach Carl Willis said. "Today, his warmup for the game was noticeably improved. He was ready to start the game. We've seen in a couple starts he's made high pitch counts in the first inning, he struggles and he kind of gets better as he goes, but unfortunately he builds that pitch count up a lot early on."

Pilkington made the Guardians Opening Day roster in part thanks to the expanded rosters to begin the season. He's back in Cleveland due to Aaron Civale's stint on the injured list due to a glute injury. After being acquired from the Chicago White Sox at last year's trade deadline for Cesar Hernandez, Pilkington has impressed the Guardians coaching staff in his short stint in the majors. The Guardians have had a clear group of five in the starting rotation this season. Pilkington has been the clear go-to call-up behind them.

"It's great because you know how much it means to him. It's a lifelong dream to get to the major leagues and when you do you want to enjoy it and feel that success," Willis said. "Konnor, we’ve all seen, everybody in the dugout and the coaching staff up to today he's had to grind. He really has. But he never stops competing. He never stops attempting to attack the strike zone, which today he was able to do more consistently."

Guardians' Aaron Civale could return to mound this weekend

Civale, placed on the injured list last week with a sore glute, needed to have a pocket of blood drained, according to manager Terry Francona. The team hopes that will speed up his healing process.

On Wednesday, Willis noted that Civale could return to throwing off a mound this weekend in some fashion.

"He was able to move around some today, go through some activation. He played catch," Willis said. "Hopefully he'll get on the mound this weekend. We've got to see how he feels. He continues to improve day-to-day."

Civale has struggled mightily this season with a 7.84 ERA in 31 innings.

James Karinchak to throw in Triple-A game

Reliever James Karinchak was deemed ready to begin his rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday night. He threw 21 pitches (12 strikes), and allowed one run, two hits and one walk with one strikeout.

Karinchak has missed the first six weeks of the 2022 season after straining the teres major muscle in his shoulder.

"[We want to] get him going, get him re-acclimated," Willis said. "Obviously he competes, he competes with himself on the mound. It's competing against the opposition and starting that process of building up and recovery."

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians' Konnor Pilkington finds a better start