Cleveland Indians vs. Houston Astros

Cleveland Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger, pitching against the Houston Astros in the first inning at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on September 5, 2016.

(Chuck Crow/PD)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians tried everything in their power to keep Mike Clevinger in the bullpen for the club's postseason push.

With injuries to both Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, the team is out of options. They'll not only need to rely upon Clevinger in the starting rotation for the final two weeks of September, but possibly in October, as well.

"It's going to be a little bit more of a challenge here," Clevinger said. "More pressure. More is put on your plate."

Can he handle it?

Clevinger first joined Triple-A Columbus last September and made two starts for the Clippers. In the first outing, he held the opposition hitless during his 7 2/3 innings. He didn't allow a run in either outing.

Granted, the stakes are much higher at the major-league level. Clevinger owns a 4.76 ERA in 14 appearances with the Tribe this season. He hasn't logged more than 5 2/3 innings in any game. In 45 1/3 innings, he has walked 25 and struck out 43.

"It's going to be approaching an atmosphere that I've never seen or been in," he said. "The more comfortable I can get now, the better I'll be prepared to handle those situations."

Clevinger will start Thursday's series finale against the Royals. He estimated he'll be able to throw about 100 pitches, after he tallied 85 in his last outing. Of course, that carried him through only four frames.

Your browser does not support iframes.

In fact, Clevinger hasn't tossed more than four innings in an appearance since Aug. 13. He said the trip to the bullpen felt like "a little break for my arm. It feels fresh again."

"There's a reason that he's here and that he's in the rotation," said Tribe starter Corey Kluber. "Everybody in here is confident in him when he takes the ball that he's going to give us a chance to win and I think that's all you can ask for out of a starting pitcher. Just because he doesn't have the experience or the track record that maybe Carlos has, we still feel confident when he takes the mound."

Said first baseman Mike Napoli: "I don't think there's one team that goes through a whole year without a guy going down or being on the DL. It's the guys that are able to come up and contribute and fill in spots and stay within themselves -- it's what we need."

Clevinger said he has watched Kluber and Josh Tomlin closely, and has attempted to mimic the poise they exhibit on the mound.

"It's second-to-none," Clevinger said. "That's something I've tried to put in my game because I get a little too emotional at times."

Clevinger is a rookie, after all. He made his major-league debut just four months ago. Now, he has been thrust into the spotlight.

"This has been a wild ride," Clevinger said. "It's been eye-opening."