Indians Salvage Series, Split With Sox

The Indians got off to a rough start in this AL Central battle against the White Sox, dropping the first two games, before roaring back to split the series with an epic walk-off and a rain-shortened victory at Progressive Field. Cleveland now sit second in the division with a 20-16 record, trailing the 23-12 Twins by 3.5 games.

The Tribe lineup made Chicago pitchers Ivan Nova and Lucas Giolito look like Cy Young contenders in the first two games of the series - the Indians were limited to just a single run over both contests, despite Nova and Giolito beginning their days with ERAs over 5.00.

The offense came alive to rescue the series though, thanks to a resurgent Jose Ramirez, who is finally starting to show signs of life after an April hibernation (.181/.281/.276 and 2 home runs, a miserable month). Ramirez's ninth inning 2-run homer in game three sealed a 5-3 victory in walk-off fashion, and the diminutive Dominican was showered with love (and everything else) at home plate by his teammates.

Jordan Luplow, recently recalled to the big club, was the hero in Thursday's final game, clubbing 2 home runs to pace the Tribe in a 5-0 win, that was cut short by rain after 5 innings.

Let's delve into the details, and look at the good and the bad from this week:

The Good

Shane Bieber has been a pillar of consistency to begin the 2019 season and was excellent yet again in his outing against Chicago in game three. Bieber has impressed in six of his seven starts this year, the only blemish being an unfortunate outing against the Braves. Outside of that, the young Californian has been outstanding.

At just 23 years-old Bieber has taken to life in a major league rotation with remarkable ease, and he was effective yet again when facing the White Sox on Wednesday.

After losing the first two games, Bieber was exactly what Cleveland needed to right the ship, pitching 6.1 innings with 6 strikeouts, scattering 8 hits for 3 runs. With his teammates still struggling to break out of their offensive slump, Bieber kept his team in the game and was rewarded late on thanks to Ramirez's walk-off homer. Bieber's excellent off-speed arsenal saw White Sox hitters regularly swing and miss and his contribution went a long way towards stopping the rot.

As we enter mid-May, Bieber has logged 43.1 innings with 48 strikeouts and currently holds a 3.32 ERA. He continues to impress with every outing but must be wary of the longball; Bieber has given up a home run in each of his last four starts (including a pair in that ill-fated Braves game). However, that doesn't detract from the progress he has shown in his sophomore season and with the Indians rotation missing Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger, it has been a blessing that they can rely upon Bieber every fifth day.

Another member of the rotation deserves praise as well: Jefry Rodriguez, who joined Cleveland as part of the Yan Gomes trade to the Nationals, has been a revelation when called upon this year and enjoyed another confident start in game two.

The 25 year-old Rodriguez logged 6 strong innings with 6 strikeouts, giving up just 2 runs spread over 7 hits and 3 walks. The Dominican righty showed great resolve to work his way out of trouble, including a bases-loaded escape in the fourth inning. Sadly his offense couldn't back him and Rodriguez ended up taking the loss in the 2-0 defeat. Despite the disappointing final result, he has consistently shown himself to be a solid starter when called upon in each of his three appearances this season.

Terry Francona has utilized Rodriguez primarily as a spot-starter so far but I would expect to see him feature more often whilst Kluber and Clevinger remain on the injured list. Rodriguez currently sits with an 0-2 record and a 2.41 ERA, with 12 strikeouts in 18.2 innings.

To round out the good news portion of this recap, let's give Jordan Luplow a round of applause for his 2 home runs in Thursday's 5-0 win. His first blast came in the second inning, a deep shot into the left-center field bleachers, and his second homer was an opposite field effort that cleared the wall with ease in the fifth. These were Luplow's first home runs of the year, and his first with Cleveland. Luplow was sent to the minors on April 10th batting .200, but since his return on April 28th the 25 year-old has been in fine form, slashing .333/.429/.778. If he can keep this up it could go a long way towards the Indians figuring out one of the holes in their outfield.

The Bad

It's no secret that the Indians' offense has been struggling since the beginning of the season and, now into mid-May, they are still trying to find their rhythm at the plate. Cleveland are close to the bottom of the league in every major offensive category and despite splitting this series, the lineup found it awfully hard to manufacture runs.

The Tribe went 6-for-39 with runners in scoring position whilst Chicago were in town, with a total of 36 runners left on base over the four games. The inability to convert scoring opportunities was no more evident than game one, when the Tribe recorded 10 hits but only produced 1 run, a lonely Jason Kipnis RBI.

It's still too early in the season to panic about this disturbing lack of run production but we are right to be concerned. It hasn't helped that Jose Ramirez has been a shadow of his former self, and Francisco Lindor is clearly still feeling his way back to 100%. I can't help but think that this team is missing Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes more than they would like to admit.

Another unfortunate outcome from the series was Trevor Bauer's uncharacteristic performance in game one's 9-1 hammering.

Bauer was hit hard over 5 innings, surrendering 10 hits for 8 runs (7 earned), including 2 homers. He did punch out 7 White Sox but it was clear that Bauer didn't have his best stuff, and was soundly beaten. It was his shortest outing of 2019 so far, and the Chicago lineup capitalized on being aggressive at the plate, routinely putting Bauer into uncomfortable situations and making the most of any pitch left over the plate.

After the game Bauer revealed to the press some examples of the social media abuse he receives on a regular basis, including death threats. It was refreshing to see one of baseball's premier pitchers speak so candidly about a topic that is at the forefront of today's society, yet doesn't appear to have a clear and obvious solution. Bauer has earned many plaudits for speaking out about this and showcasing just how vile the dark side of social media can be.

The 28 year-old has long been a figure of controversy but I have to admit, he's beginning to win me over this season, on and off the mound. His persistent antagonizing of Houston's Alex Bregman has been a tad distasteful but his YouTube content has been very enjoyable, particularly his sit-down dinner conversations with Nolan Arenado, Whit Merrifield and teammate Kipnis. If you haven't checked them out yet, I highly recommend you do.

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Tonight the Indians head west to Oakland to begin a three game set with the A's, before taking on the White Sox again in Chicago, on Monday.

Cody Anderson will get game one underway and is hoping to avoid a repeat performance like his last outing again against Seattle - the big righty couldn't get out of the first inning, allowing 4 runs on 2 hits. His opponent is Oakland's Frankie Montas, who has a 2.75 ERA through seven starts and has been the A's top pitcher thus far.

Struggling Indians Split Series With Sox

The Indians welcomed the White Sox to Progressive Field for their 2019 home opener but could only split the short 2-game series against their AL Central foes.

In front of a sold-out crowd Mike Clevinger enjoyed a career-day in a dramatic 5-3 comeback victory. After on off-day on Tuesday, Corey Kluber made his second start of the season but was uncharacteristically rough in a demoralizing 8-3 loss.

As it was a very brief series, so here is your very brief series recap:

The Good

Over the past two years Mike Clevinger has established himself as my favorite pitcher on this roster. The man they call Sunshine would be a solid number two starter on most rotations, an ace for a handful of clubs, so the Indians can count themselves extraordinarily lucky to have him be their fourth guy. He had the honor of taking the mound for the Tribe's home opener on Monday and was fired up for the occasion. Those new red uniforms helped too!

Clevinger pitched 7 shutout innings, allowing just a single hit, on his way to striking out a career-high 12 batters. Of the 6 games he's recorded 10+ strikeouts in his career, 3 of them have been against the White Sox, so he has a history of success against them.

Watching the game, I was struck by how efficient Clevinger's pace of play was. He would receive the ball from Roberto Perez, reset and throw again within a matter of seconds. Clevinger kept the crowd energized on a cold spring day and the 28 year-old right-hander was really feeling good out there, hitting 97mph on the radar gun.

One moment stood out to me at the end of the seventh inning, when Clevinger struck out Yolmer Sanchez to record his 12th K of the day. Clev and Perez visibly celebrated the punchout as they headed into the dugout together, and it reminded me just how easy it can be to support these guys.

Because as soon as Clevinger exited the game, it was a struggle to maintain that support.

The bullpen trio of Adam Cimber, Oliver Perez and Jon Edwards conspired to put the Tribe in a 3-1 hole, essentially erasing Clevinger's hard work and his chance at the win. Thankfully the lineup responded, and a walk-laden eighth inning saw Cleveland come from behind to win 5-3. Despite the late drama, it was one of the better home openers I've seen in recent memory, and Clevinger's performance was remarkable.

The Bad

The Indians lineup looked considerably weakened in Minnesota and things hardly improved against Chicago. Without Francisco Lindor, the heartbeat of this team, the offense was obviously going to experience a decline, and Jason Kipnis not being available is hurting this squad as well. The fact Michael Brantley, Edwin Encarnacion, Yan Gomes, and Lonnie Chisenhall were not replaced this winter is also a significant factor (not to mention moving Yandy Diaz to the Rays).

So far the outfield situation has been as problematic as advertised, with Terry Francona shuffling through all of his options (bizarrely slotting them third in the lineup, whoever he opts for). Granted, the season is just 5 games old, but when Jake Bauers and his .167 average ranks the highest of all Cleveland's outfielders, it doesn't exactly make for great reading (or viewing).

Safe in the knowledge that the offense wasn't expected to be spectacular in these early days, we could at least console ourselves knowing the vaunted rotation could be relied upon, led by Indians ace Corey Kluber.

Which is why Kluber's performance on Wednesday and the shellacking he received was so disheartening.

The White Sox certainly have some guys that cause concern, like Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada and top prospect Eloy Jimenez. But something is seriously wrong when a team projected to be one of the worst in the league is scattering 8 hits against Kluber over just 3.1 innings, for 6 runs, 4 of them earned. It's not very often you see the two-time Cy Young winner have a day that bad.

I was home in time for first pitch and straight away Kluber didn't look right. He couldn't locate his fastball and his cutter was wild too. By the end of the first inning he was already at 36 pitches, with his team behind 3-0. Kluber looked downright awful, and the White Sox hitters made him appear mortal, finally chasing him from the game in the fourth inning.

Kluber's next start will likely be next Tuesday in Detroit against the Tigers, the start of a nine game road trip for the Indians. Pressure will mount if he can't figure out what's ailing him, so all eyes will be on the veteran against another AL Central foe.

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The Tribe remain at home for a four-game set against the Blue Jays. Trevor Bauer will get the start tonight and confidence will be high after his stellar 7 inning, 9 strikeout performance against the Twins last week. His opponent will be Aaron Sanchez, who had a decent game himself last time out, a scoreless 5 inning effort against Detroit.

White Sox Wipe Out, Tribe Sweep Chicago

The Indians finished their recent home stand in style, with a three game sweep of the lowly White Sox, taking their current win streak to five games and stretching their lead in the division to 4.5 games over Detroit. All in all it's been a very successful conclusion to the month of May.

Here are a few talking points from this series:

Offensive Turnaround

In the month of April, the Indians struggled to get much momentum going on offense. The lineup had a combined batting average of .231 for the first month and scored just 95 runs. That placed them 25th in the league for runs scored, behind offensive juggernauts like Texas, San Diego, and Cincinnati. And yes, that is sarcasm (apologies to Rangers, Padres and Reds fans).

May has been much kinder though and the hits have come back to Cleveland with a vengeance. With one day remaining in May, the Indians lead the big leagues with 170 runs scored this month. Their .282 batting average is also top of the majors. The Tribe's overall record in May has been distinctly average (only 14-13), but the offensive revival has really helped pick up some of the slack caused by a malfunctioning bullpen.

In the sweep of the White Sox, our ball club outscored Chicago 25-10, and recorded 40 hits, many coming from our most important contributors, like Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Brantley and Francisco Lindor.

What a difference a month makes.

Greg Allen and the Outfield Logjam 

I have been an unabashed Greg Allen fan for a while now, and seeing him perform so well lately has been immensely rewarding. Since Allen rejoined the team at the start of this month, he's been a reliable figure in the outfield. So far in 2018 the rookie has slashed .270/.303/.381 but he's really grown in confidence as the month has progressed.

Since the 18th of May, Allen has started to show signs of figuring things out at this level. His slashline of .316/.366/.447 is impressive and this offensive output has been matched by his abilities on defense. For example, Allen made a great diving grab in the fourth inning of Wednesday's game, robbing a hit from the White Sox with his athleticism. His speed is also a huge weapon for him offensively, and even though we haven't seen many stolen bases from him yet in the majors, Allen's record in the minors suggests he should cause opposition pitchers havoc on the basepaths.

Allen's performances in the sweep of Chicago mark his best series to date; in 14 plate appearances Allen collected 5 hits and scored 4 runs, as well as picking up the first stolen base of his major league career (and hopefully the first of many to come).

Unfortunately, Allen may find his time in Cleveland coming to an end. Bradley Zimmer, Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer, the Tribe's trio of injured outfielders, are all currently rehabbing their bodies back to health in Columbus. Each of these veterans started Wednesday's Clippers game against Buffalo, so it's only a matter of time before they make their way back and sadly, a rookie like Allen will probably be the one to make way.

Perhaps Allen could stick with the club, and I think his performances and contribution to the team merit him staying up. For a more in-depth analysis of the overall situation in the outfield, Michael Bode over at Waiting For Next Year has done a wonderful job summarizing everything, and you can read that here.

At the very least, Allen has certainly made it a difficult decision for the front office to send him back to Triple-A.

Here's are some short notes about the series:

• Corey Kluber continues to be an absolute force at Progressive Field this season. His victory in Wednesday's 9-1 rout was his eighth of the campaign, and he has a 5-0 record with a 1.26 ERA in five starts at home. Kluber has also not walked a batter in his last 28.1 innings. 
• Michael Brantley is riding a 19-game hit streak, which is currently the longest in the majors. Brantley is hitting .366 (30-for-82) with 6 homers, 19 RBI and 20 runs over this span.
• News broke on Tuesday that Jose Ramirez was supposedly nearing a suspension for using a substance banned by MLB. This false report from the Dominican Republic has been categorically refuted by Ramirez himself and all of the upper management as well. Hopefully that is the last we hear of that. Don't try and take our MVP down!

Cleveland now carry their winning ways to Minnesota for a four-game series with the Twins. Indians pitching prospect Shane Bieber is expected to make his first start in the majors on Thursday night, and he celebrates turning 23 years-old as well. Bieber has a 5-1 record with a 1.10 ERA over 10 starts between Akron and Columbus, with 61 strikeouts and only 3 walks. He takes the hill tonight and fans are eager to see this exciting prospect in an Indians uniform for the first time. Happy Birthday Shane and best of luck in your debut.

Tribe Take Two In Chicago, Win Series

I haven't got a lot of time today to properly recap the Indians' series win against the Chicago White Sox. The Tribe won the series on the back of two superb starting pitching performances but couldn't record a sweep thanks to a sloppy error-strewn loss in the third and final game. Still, a series win on the road is nothing to sneeze at, and the Indians stay atop the AL Central with a 10-8 record, tied with Detroit.

As I'm short for time, here's some quick notes on the series overall:

• Corey Kluber had his best performance of the early season so far in Friday's opening game. He was in Cy Young form during the complete game shutout. Over his nine dominant innings of work, Kluber threw 110 pitches, striking out 9 and walking 2, and allowed just 3 hits. Not a single White Sox hitter got further than second base. It was the best pitching performance by a Tribe starter this season and Kluber takes the Player of the Week award for his efforts. What a champ.
• Carlos Carrasco did everything in his power to top Kluber's start the night before but came up just short. And by just short, I actually mean he was unstoppable, just for an inning less. Carrasco threw 8 innings, with 3 hits and 1 walk, and struck out 8. He's been unbelievably effective in all four of his starts so far.
• The less said about Sunday's game the better. It was a mess defensively and the errors were unfortunate to say the least. 
• Jason Kipnis made his first appearance of the 2017 campaign on Friday and boy is it nice to have him back. Hopefully his shoulder injury that delayed his start to the season has completely healed and won't hinder him in the future.

The Indians have today off before hosting the red-hot Astros at Progressive Field tomorrow night, with Josh Tomlin pitching for the home side. He'll face off against Dallas Keuchel, who apparently has rediscovered his 2015 Cy Young winning form, and currently sits with a 3-0 record and a 0.96 ERA.

Thanks for reading.

White Sox Wipeout: Indians Drop Series

Well that was disappointing. The Indians played their first divisional games of the season and hosted the White Sox, but unfortunately lost the series, despite winning the first game. After a walk-off victory in game one, the Tribe dropped a close one in the second contest, before being blown out early in the rubber game to lose the overall series. Let's take a look at some talking points from the past few days, starting with a positive.

Calling Dr Smooth

"He's back. Brantley's back."

So said Francisco Lindor after his teammate, and my favorite player Michael Brantley, hit a 10th inning walk-off double that scored Lindor all the way from first base to cement a 2-1 victory in the Indians' home opener.

Brantley's comeback is a story in and of itself. I don't expect even the most optimistic of us thought he would be back with the team this early, let alone contribute in such a big way. So far this season he's featured in 8 games and has batted .241/.313/.414 (BA/OBP/SLG) with 1 home run, 6 RBI, and a stolen base. His home run on Thursday night was his first since September 10 2015, a gap of 581 days between dingers.

I'm still going to proceed with caution and reign in my expectations. I don't expect him to produce those near-MVP level numbers of years past and he may well have some struggles or setbacks in his immediate future. But right now I'm just enjoying seeing him out there, back in the heart of the lineup, coming through in the clutch. It's good to have him back.

Josh Tomlin Cooked, Michael Martinez Relief Ace (!)

Josh Tomlin has not started 2017 in the way he might have hoped. In two outings so far, Tomlin has an ERA of 18.47. He's pitched a total of 6.1 innings and given up 13 earned runs. Those 13 runs result in Tomlin currently leading the major leagues in earned runs given up. There's no other way you can spin it, it's been an awful start to the year.

Tomlin's success is based on his ability to pound the strikezone. When he's on, he hits his spots with ease and gets ahead of the count, putting hitters on the defensive. But when he's off, those pitches in the strikezone get crushed. And that's exactly what happened on Thursday night. Chicago chased Tomlin from the game in just the second inning, as he surrendered 8 hits, 2 of them homers, for 7 earned runs. His first pitch of the game, the very first pitch, was knocked over the left field wall by leadoff hitter Tim Anderson. By the time Tomlin got out of the first inning, the Indians were in a 5-0 hole they never recovered from.

It's only 2 appearances but you begin to wonder how long the club will continue to trot Tomlin out there. He's looks a defeated man right now and needs a confidence boost in a big way. He is slated to make his next start against the Twins next week and for his sake, I hope he pitches better.

The pitching wasn't all bad in this series though, and the standout performance came from an unlikely source. Step forward Michael Martinez. The utility man who usually gets a lot of stick from fans got a round of applause instead, when he entered the ninth inning of Thursday's game as a relief pitcher.

What's that you say? Martinez isn't a pitcher? I'm sorry you're mistaken, but Martinez is a baseball player who can do everything. With the game already dead and buried and Terry Francona reluctant to burn another precious bullpen arm in a lopsided loss, Tito turned to his trusty do-it-all utility man Martinez. The 34 year-old veteran took the mound and pitched a scoreless inning, recording three groundball outs, and only allowed a double to Leury Garcia. Martinez was quoted after the game, via interpreter, "I'm here to help out whenever they need me. I play almost every single position, so I try to get in and help whenever I can." Martinez can confidently add 'relief ace' to his résumé now.

A couple of other honorable mentions must go to Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, who both pitched well in their second starts of the season. Carrasco pitched 7 innings, with 4 hits, 1 run, and 7 strikeouts and Salazar lasted 6 innings, with 4 hits, 2 runs, and 11 strikeouts, matching his career high.

Player Of The Series

Francisco Lindor will soon need a very good chiropractor, since he's been carrying the Tribe on his back so much this year. With the offense still yet to find it's mojo (*cough* Edwin *cough*), our star shortstop has pretty much been the only consistent hitter thus far. Against the White Sox he had 10 at-bats, with 4 hits, 2 of them doubles, 1 home run, and 3 walks, whilst playing his customary elite defense. For the season so far he's batting .324/.415/.765 with an OPS of 1.179. Lindor is leading the Indians in every major batting category at the moment, including home runs (4) and RBI (8). Keep it up Frankie, and hopefully the rest of the lineup will help you out soon!

Cleveland now welcomes Detroit to Progressive Field for a three game series over the Easter weekend. Trevor Bauer will toe the rubber in the first game and will face off against Tigers' left-hander Daniel Norris. The Indians manhandled the Tigers in 2016, winning 14 of 18 games, and will be looking to continue that trend, beginning tonight.

Thanks for reading.

Impact Indians - Danny Salazar 04/15/16

We're nearly two weeks into the 2016 season and so far the Indians are doing okay. We're not setting the American League on fire exactly, but we're holding our own (and we're above .500, always a cause for optimism). At the time of writing they're 4-3 after topping the Tampa Bay Rays last night to take the series and the New York Mets come to town tonight for a three-game set. Hopefully we won't see any more weather-related postponements in the near future.

I don't get a great deal of time to write on here anymore but I wanted to start a series of posts that I can bash out whenever I get the chance. I'll do that by looking at players, often one individual but maybe more than one at a time, who have been particularly impactful recently, be that in a positive or negative way.

And so begins the 'Impact Indians' series here at England Tribe.

Now I know seven games is a minuscule sample size of data to look at and garner any quality meaning from but Danny Salazar's first two games of the season are worth a closer look, mostly because he's been so darned impressive.

Salazar, our maiden Impact Indian on the blog, has gotten off to a strong start in his first two games, pitching well against the White Sox and the Rays, taking home the win in both starts.

On April 8th in winter-conditions (including snow) at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Salazar pitched 5.1 innings allowing just 2 hits and 1 run (a Todd Frazier homer in the 4th inning), with 3 walks and 7 strikeouts. The frigid temperature of south Chicago couldn't cool down Salazar's sizzling fastball as he repeatedly hit 95-mph, sometimes ratcheting it up to 98-mph. Salazar has a great slider and an impressive sinker but he got through the White Sox almost exclusively on his heater. The offense backed him and the Tribe were victorious as 7-1 winners to spoil Chicago's home opener.

Last night Salazar made his second start of the year at Tropicana Field as the Indians looked to win their three-game series against the Rays and he was even better against Tampa, allowing 3 hits over 6 innings, with 0 runs allowed, plus 3 walks and 9 strikeouts. He out-dueled Rays ace Chris Archer and got some help from the Tribe new boys, with Marlon Byrd making an outstanding catch in deep right field as well as clubbing his first home run of the year, as the Tribe held on for the shutout, winning 6-0. Salazar picked up his second win also.

So far through two games the 26 year-old right-hander has pitched a total of 11.1 innings with 16 strikeouts, 6 walks, all to the tune of a 0.79 ERA and a 2-0 record. Now I'm not stupid enough to think a couple of games is indicative of what the rest of the year holds in store for Salazar. I'm not trying to predict the future here anyway. Instead I am merely celebrating what a solid start Danny has gotten off to, and I'm hoping it's a sign of things to come for the rest of 2016.

The thing is, I don't think Salazar has gotten close to his best form yet, and understandably so given we're not even two full weeks into the season. The 6 walks over his two starts are a minor concern but this is probably down to him feeling his way into his pitches this early on. Plus pitchers walk betters, this is a fact of life, so I'm not expecting perfection from Danny every start he makes (hell, even the ridiculously accurate Corey Kluber has 4 walks so far). Salazar's fastball has never been in doubt, that much was evident when he blazed onto the scene in 2013, but his breaking stuff, albeit very impressive, can be a bit unpredictable at times. You saw that last night at times, as a few pitches got away from him, slipping out of his hand wrong, just a little wild.

Nevertheless, Salazar is off to a nice start in 2016 and if he can continue to remain this consistent, he could have a very good year indeed. Danny's next start will likely be at home to the Mariners on Wednesday April 20th. So congratulations to Mr Salazar on winning the very first Impact Indian award.

Thanks for reading.