Toru

Murata

Murata made his MLB debut in 2015 at age 30 and got rocked for five runs -- three earned -- in 3 1/3 innings as the Indians fell 8-0 to the Orioles. He hasn’t appeared in a major league game since. The native of Osaka, Japan posted a 3.78 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and 62/24 K/BB ratio in 102 1/3 innings (10 starts, 23 relief appearances) this past season at Triple-A Columbus.

Murata, 30, was totally off the radar prior to 2015 but has pitched well at Triple-A Columbus, posting a 2.79 ERA and 48/20 K/BB ratio over 80 2/3 innings. “This is a really good story,” said manager Terry Francona. “He has been an organizational pitcher and all of a sudden this year he just decided he was going to deal.” Cody Anderson will be pushed back to Monday following the decision to start Murata on Sunday.

He’ll serve as the 26th man and start for the Indians in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader. The 30-year-old owns a 2.79 ERA and 48/20 K/BB ratio over 80 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season. He should be avoided for fantasy purposes.

The 30-year-old right-hander struck out two and walked one on the day. Part of the problem stemmed from his inability to keep the ball in the yard, with Chris Davis and Travis Snider each blasting solo homers in the fourth inning. He was up merely to make a spot start in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader and will head back to Triple-A where he’ll continue to function as emergency rotation depth.

Murata was knocked around by the Orioles in his big league debut on Sunday. He’ll look to get back on track in the minor leagues with the hope that he’s called upon again the next time the Indians need an emergency starter.

Murata was knocked around in his major league debut last month. The 30-year-old remains in the organization but probably won’t get another shot in the big leagues.