Indians starter Trevor Bauer had a forgettable Sunday afternoon, serving up eight runs in 4 1/3 innings to the Royals. Seven of those runs were earned on nine hits and four walks. His performance today ties his season-high for runs allowed, as he also allowed eight runs (seven earned) to the White Sox on May 6.
When manager Terry Francona came out to the mound to take Bauer out of the game, the frustrated right-hander crow-hopped and chucked the baseball over the fence in center field. A perplexed Francona can be seen asking Bauer, “What the f--- is wrong with you?” Bauer seemed apologetic as he walked off the mound towards the dugout.
Bauer’s ERA is up to 3.79 on the season. He has struck out 185 and walked a major league-high 63 in 156 2/3 innings.
This is troublesome for the Indians because the club may pursue trading Bauer despite being only two games out of first place in the AL Central. Bauer’s struggles on the mound persisted, but he compounded that by showing that he isn’t able to control his emotions. Not that there was any doubt about that considering he spent days -- days, plural -- on Twitter harassing a woman who simply said she didn’t like him.
Bauer could be fined and/or suspended for his actions. The Indians may also punish him themselves.
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Update (5:42 PM ET): As he began to speak to the media after Sunday’s game, Bauer issued an apology, per MLB.com’s Mandy Bell. He called his actions “unbecoming, “childish,” and “unprofessional.”