Cleveland, OH (92.3 The Fan) - Cleveland Indians pitcher Zach Plesac threw seven innings against the Reds on Monday night in Cincinnati. In the game, he allowed three runs on four hits, struck out six, and walked one batter.
Not a bad start for the right-hander, but he still took the loss as the Indians offense continues its early-season struggles.
Without the luxury of the 102 games usually played along with this season's slate, the Tribe's ice-cold bats leading to a run of defeats is critical. Just last week, the Indians were 5-2 and had many people buzzing about arguably the best starting rotation in the game. Now the focus is on an offense that has scored six runs in their last six games.
The 10 quality starts from Indians starters in the first 11 games of the season - which is the first time such a feat has been accomplished since 1982 - is being overshadowed by a lineup currently ranked in the bottom ten among all major league clubs in nearly statistical offensive category.
Monday night's game started as what looked like a break from the recent funk, as Francisco Lindor roped a solo shot in the top of the 1st inning off Sonny Gray - the third home run for Lindor on the season. They doubled the lead in the top of the 2nd when Oscar Mercado scored from third on a wild pitch.
After that, however, Gray buckled down to throw six innings, striking out eight and only allowing four hits. Sandy Alomar, who filled in as Tribe manager for Terry Francona on Monday night, said the team got out to a good start against Gray.
"We got his pitch count up there a little bit...I mean, he's got great stuff, but we kind of let him settle down a little bit, after a while, and he was able to pitch into the [sixth] inning."
Plesac, meanwhile, seemed to be in control until the bottom of the 4th when Nick Castellanos roped a 413-foot bomb over the center field wall; and in the bottom of the sixth, with a runner on first, Joey Votto blasted the go-ahead 2-run home run.
The Indians had some chances in the later frames to score, however: case in point, the top of the 8th. A Greg Allen hit by pitch and a Cesar Hernandez infield single put Cleveland in a great situation - with nobody out.
Alas, Jose Ramirez struck out. Then Hernandez got caught stealing on a ball in the dirt. Then Lindor struck out.
And the opportunity was lost.
After the game, Plesac addressed the team's recent struggles and was asked how pitchers try to focus on themselves in such a period.
"Day to day, we're just being consistent with our routines," said Plesac, "I think in the long run, that's just going to help with consistency and performance."
However, Plesac kept a positive outlook by saying, "We know those bats are going to come around. A couple of great at-bats, things didn't go our way...I think we're in a great spot, you know, we're just going to catch fire here soon."
Time will tell if the Tribe will catch fire sooner or later - and with another game in Cincinnati on Tuesday (with ace Shane Bieber on the hill), it couldn't be a better time for the Indians to have a breakout scoring night.
