Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis is hitting .400 in June.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis is locked in.
Kipnis went 3-for-4 with two doubles and one walk Sunday afternoon to continue his torrid June. He is hitting .400 (28-for-70) with 15 RBI and eight runs in 20 games this month.
The Indians' 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins put a damper on his latest multihit performance.
"Means nothing if you don't win the game," he said.
Kipnis walked in the first inning to extend his on-base streak to 25 games. He delivered an RBI double in the third, grounded out in the fifth, singled in the seventh and doubled in the ninth.
"I'm seeing the ball well, and I've had a consistent swing," he said. "I'm not trying to pull anything or go opposite field. I'm just keeping everything the same."
The surest sign that Kipnis has it going is when he takes left-handers the opposite way with power. Both of his doubles went to left-center against lefties -- starter Pedro Hernandez and closer Glen Perkins.
Kipnis hit .200 in April and .261 in May. Overall, he is at .283 with nine homers, 41 RBI, 35 runs and 17 steals in 65 games. He is slugging .486.
Back in action: Nick Swisher returned to the Tribe lineup after missing six games because of a sore left shoulder. He played first base and went 0-for-5 from the cleanup spot. He made a diving stop of a grounder by Pedro Florimon for the third out of the Minnesota fourth.
Hollywood in their midst: Swisher was even more amped than usual before the game. He and some teammates took optional batting practice alongside actor Kevin Costner, who is in town for the filming of the movie, "Draft Day." Costner plays the Browns' general manager.
Costner's batting-practice locker was next to Swisher's.
"Pretty cool," Swisher said. "That's Kevin Costner you're talking about."
Costner, whose roles have included Crash Davis in "Bull Durham" and Ray Kinsella in "Field of Dreams," batted right-handed and hit several liners. He also fielded grounders.
"I was actually glad I made contact because I haven't swung in a couple of years," he said.
Costner, 58, is bullish on the Indians. He said he has seen three or four Tribe games and thinks they can run down Detroit.
"They pose a lot of problems (for the opposition)," he said.
Costner, asked what it has been like in Cleveland filming "Draft Day," chuckled. "Cleveland's been great to me," he said. "I like the town. I'm not a drinker. I think you have to drink to fit in here."
Kluber gaining traction: In three months, right-hander Corey Kluber has gone from being in the Class AAA Columbus rotation to being a fill-in in Cleveland to being arguably the Indians' biggest surprise.
Kluber (6-4, 3.68 ERA) has given up three or fewer runs in seven of his past eight starts. (One of the outings ended after two innings because of rain.) Included in that stretch are quality starts at Philadelphia, Boston and Texas.
In his past three starts, Kluber is 3-0 with a 1.66 ERA. He has allowed four runs in 21 2/3 innings.
"The biggest key is the most simple one: Pounding the strike zone," he said. "I'm trying to put pressure on hitters by getting ahead and not giving them counts where they can be aggressive."
Kluber has walked 13 in 71 innings of 13 appearances, 11 of which are starts.
Kluber has used a four-seamer, two-seamer, cutter, breaking ball and occasional change-up to throw his strikes. He had a similar repertoire last year but did not get results with the Tribe, going 2-5 with a 5.14 ERA in 12 starts. A major difference from last season is his willingness to pitch inside. Hitters no longer can cheat on him and eliminate half the plate.
"Something clicked, where I started throwing inside more and getting good results from it," he said. "It made sense to me that, if everything's away, guys are seeing the same arm slot over and over. If you change that up on them, it's just another thing they need to think about.
"Guys like to get extended, and that's not going to happen as much if you locate inside. And it opens up the outer half for me, which makes my off-speed pitches better."
Until this season, Kluber only thought he knew what it meant to work the inner half legitimately.
"In the past, I threw inside for effect," he said. "If you just throw it in there and it's a ball every time, hitters don't really need to respect it. But when they see you're commanding the ball inside, throwing strikes to both sides of the plate instead of one, they need to respect it."
Kluber's four-seamer is one reason he can get inside. When Kluber needs the velocity, he has been able to throw the pitch in the mid-90s with late action -- and sustain the velocity throughout the start. He has struck out 69.
A calm demeanor also helps Kluber. If he gets beat, it won't be because he gets rattled. He doesn't fold at the first sign of trouble, as his start Saturday night against the Twins showed.
Kluber allowed a single and homer to the first two batters he faced. It soon became apparent that he didn't have his best command, especially with the fastball. But he hung in long enough to give manager Terry Francona 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball. He threw 100 pitches. The Indians won, 8-7.
"I pride myself on being able to give my team a chance to win," he said.
Kluber, 27, was a fourth-round pick by San Diego in 2007. The Indians acquired him in a three-team trade that sent Jake Westbrook to St. Louis on July 31, 2010. Kluber made his major-league debut with Cleveland in 2011.
Entering this season, Kluber was 2-5 with a 5.35 ERA in 15 appearances (12 starts) with the Tribe.
"Confidence is a big thing for anybody," he said. "Regardless of how much you believe in your stuff or believe that you belong, going out and getting results is the most important thing. When you get some results, you have a higher level of confidence."
Kluber is 2-2 with a 3.14 ERA in six appearances (five starts) at Progressive Field this season. Last year, he was 0-4 with a 5.35 ERA in seven starts at home.
