Indians Offense Nearly Non-Existent Against Rangers

The Indians were just swept for the first time all season, and it was a very ugly sweep. The Rangers outscored the Tribe 24-6 during the four game series. The Indians were also shut out for the last two games of the series.

The Indians had chances to win all of these games, but they lost each for a few different reasons. Thursday and Friday’s losses were due to poor pitching. Carrasco allowed 6 runs, 5 earned, on Thursday en route to a 7-4 loss. On Friday, the Indians’ bullpen allowed 7 runs in 2.2 innings of work. The Rangers scored a total of 9 runs in innings 7-9 and went on to win 11-2.

The Indians run total from Saturday and Sunday combined to equal a total of zero runs. The offense only recorded 8 hits during these two games and could never seem to get the big hit. The hitters were getting good swings on the ball, but everything seemed to go right at a fielder.

The lack of production for the Indians lineup has been a common occurence over the last few weeks. Besides their 13 run performance on Wednesday, they have only scored 5 or more runs twice since their 12-4 win over the Reds on May 22nd.

This lack of output is due to many factors. One is the injuries to Hafner and Sizemore. Hafner is still on the DL, but Sizemore is in the lineup. The problem is that Sizemore still cannot play everyday, and his absence from the lineup is felt.

The rest of the lineup is not doing nearly as well as they were earlier in the year. The only bright spots are Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera. They are getting on base, but are not getting help from those behind them in the order. Choo is struggling and is citing personal problems as his reason for his slump, and Carlos Santana is hitting .229 on the year.

Two guys who are getting too much time in my opinion are Austin Kearns and Adam Everett. They have flashes of success, but for the most part they are not doing good at all. They are both veterans and near the end of their respective careers. They are most likely assets in the clubhouse, but they should not be in the lineup.

The Indians begin a three game series against the Twins on Monday. The Twins have the worst record in the MLB, but they are coming off of a sweep of the Royals. They have also defeated the Indians in their only two meetings of the season. The Indians will need to win the series in order to gain momentum and hold their lead in the Central.