Same story, different day.
Similar to Tuesday night’s 4-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics, the Cleveland Indians were able to strike first on Wednesday evening, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Unfortunately, the similarities did not stop there… Following the second inning, the Indians only managed two hits for the remaining eight innings of the ballgame, losing to the A's, 6-3.
Indians interim manager DeMarlo Hale credited the Athletic’s pitching staff for their play, and mentioned that the Indians had some “good at-bats” and “worked them” as the game went on.
The problem for the Indians has been turning those at-bats into baserunners and ultimately runs crossing the plate. The team had just three runners left on base Wednesday night, including a crucial seventh inning strikeout by infielder Owen Miller with runners in scoring position.
The Indians fell to 55-57 with the loss, and are getting dangerously close to falling behind the Detroit Tigers, who are 56-60 after a 5-2 win over Baltimore on Wednesday. This club has to take strides to getting this offense more consistent so that the bullpen doesn’t have to be as taxed as they already are…
The Good…
Indians starting pitcher Cal Quantrill didn’t get off to the best start on Wednesday night, racking up 40 pitches after just two innings, but was able to rally well before being taken out of the game in the seventh inning.
Quantrill finished the day allowing three hits, three walks, two of which started off the seventh inning before he was relieved by Bryan Shaw, and striking out five. Those two walks went on to score and were Quantrill’s first runs allowed since July 27th.
The young right-hander has been one of the main bright spots for the Indians in the 2021 starting rotation. As he continues to work on his game, look for him to try to lock down one of the spots in the 2022 rotation by the end of the season.
The Bad…
For the Indians, injuries have been the main story throughout the entire 2021 season. In the fourth inning, outfielder Harold Ramirez had an injury of his own. As he went to steal second base in the fourth, Ramirez pulled up and didn’t slide.
The team announced that he had some tightness in his right knee and was taken out of the game for precautionary reasons. Myles Straw, who had the day off initially, took his place.
In addition to Ramirez, reliever Nick Sandlin was removed from the game with shoulder tightness in the eighth inning. Sandlin’s shoulder was being tested and iced following the game. More information should be available tomorrow.
The Ugly…
For the second straight outing, a solid start by a Cleveland Indians pitcher was erased by struggles from the bullpen. Veteran Bryan Shaw was brought in for Quantrill and allowed a groundout by Athletics first baseman Mitch Moreland to plate one run, as well as a single by infielder Matt Chapman to tie the game at two. Both of those runs were attributed to Quantrill.
Reliever Nick Sandlin came in and allowed a home run to shortstop Elvis Andrus, then let two more on, before he got hurt. Trevor Stephen came in relief for Sandlin and gave up a three run home run to Athletics second baseman and Indians eviscarator Jed Lowrie.
The sad reality is that this has been coming. With all of the injuries to the starting rotation leaving the club scrambling for most of the season, the bullpen had to be pushed to its limits. After being one of the strong parts of the team in the first half of the year, the signs of fatigue are starting to rear its ugly head.
What’s next?
The Indians will try to avoid the sweep against the Athletics on Thursday at 1:10 pm. Pitching for the Tribe will be right-hander Eli Morgan (1-4, 6.09 ERA) taking on Chris Bassitt (11-3, 3.19 ERA) at Progressive Field.
