The Cleveland Indians have now lost four games in a row. In addition to the losing streak, they have lost their All-Star closer to an injury and have fallen two-and-a-half games back of the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central Division. Relax all you wahoo maniacs, there is plenty of baseball left to be played.
112 games to be exact.
After yesterday’s loss to the interstate rival, Cincinnati Reds, Tribe fans everywhere seem to be panicking. From watching baseball in the mid-to-late 80’s to the rise of the Indians in the 90’s to the recent comeback magic of this season, this club has a lot of fight to them. The Tigers are good, but they’re not that good and the AL Central Divison crown is obtainable. Despite the struggling bullpen of late, the Tribe’s offense can score at will anywhere in the lineup. The Indians are fourth in the AL with 65 home runs.
The key to the rest of this season is the obvious-the starting rotation. The Tribe’s rotation has held their own so far through 50 games this season and as a whole, the Indians rank ninth in the AL in pitching with a 4.28 ERA. Opposing teams are hitting .248 against Tribe pitching. It’s very possible veteran, Brett Myers could be re-joining the team very soon too.
While it is scary that the bullpen has just one save in the last seven attempts, there is help available in Columbus. Look for the Indians to give Triple A pitchers, Fernando Nieve or Jerry Gil an opportunity in the big league bullpen if more trouble ensues. Also, Clippers’ closer, Preston Guilmet has 14 saves on the season and could help in Cleveland. Although he has made some spot starts already, the young rocket-armed, Trevor Bauer may be ready to wear the wahoo hat full-time as well.
It has been a while since there has been big hype about the Indians. As fans, we must continue to support and back our lunch pail Tribe. The Indians play game two of their quick two game series in Cincinnati tonight. Zach McAllister will stop the bleeding for the Tribe, while Mat Latos takes his 4-0 record to the bump for the Reds.
Ryan Ruiz is the Cleveland Sports Beat Writer for The Inscriber. You can follow him on Facebook: Ryan(BrownsWriter)Ruiz and Twitter @ryanpruiz24.