The Aftermath: Three Takeaways from a 6-5 loss to Toronto

The Cleveland Indians were unable to summon the magic of the last two nights in a 6-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays Saturday night.

It is a magical season to be a Cleveland Indians fan. Unfortunately, the magic was lacking Saturday night.

Following up the walk-off wins of Thursday and Friday was a lot to ask, but the Indians entered the bottom of the ninth with a chance to steal another game from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna blew the save and the game Friday night, but he had his best stuff Saturday night. He sent Jose Ramirez, Lonnie Chisenhall and Tyler Naquin down in order in front of a Progressive Field crowd filled with fans from across the border.

The game was one that seemed to be over early when Blue Jays took a 5-0 lead in the third inning, but a five-run fourth by the Indians tied the game. That big inning bailed out Josh Tomlin, but a Edwin Encarnacion home run in the fifth inning, the Blue Jays’ third home run of the night, proved to be the difference.

The loss drops the Indians to 70-51 with one more game against the Blue Jays this afternoon.

Josh Tomlin and the long ball

As mentioned above, Tomlin allowed three home runs Saturday night, and that came in only 4.1 innings of work.

The three home runs allowed pushes his season total to 32, which is a mind-boggling number for a regular starter in the rotation of a first-place team. He has now allowed at least one home run in each of his last 13 starts, and has given up three home runs on three separate occasions this season.

The next closest player in home runs allowed is Carlos Carrasco, who has allowed 18 in 2016.

More from Away Back Gone

• Cleveland Guardians tantalizingly close to locking up AL Central tiebreakers
• Cleveland Guardians: Terry Francona becomes meme in profanity-laced ejection
• Say goodbye to defensive shifts and hello to bigger bases, pitch clock in 2023
• Cleveland Guardians: Shane Bieber second-fastest to 800 strikeouts in major-league history
• The next week will make or break the Cleveland Guardians’ season

Tomlin’s struggles as of late call into question whether he should remain the team’s fifth starter. Mike Clevinger is seemingly next in line, and he could even give a spot start to give Tomlin a week of rest to figure out what he needs to fix.

With September so close and the rosters about to expand, the Indians could slide several players into that fifth starter spot as Tomlin’s home run problem won’t be tolerated during the team’s playoff push.

Tyler Naquin comes back down to Earth

Tyler Naquin stepped to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Indians down 6-5. After his walk-off sacrifice fly Thursday night and his improbable walk-off inside-the-park home run Friday night, it seemed like he was destined to tie the game and reveal to us regular humans that he was sent from beyond to be our hero.

Well, it didn’t work out that way last night as Naquin grounded out to third to end the game.

It ended his personal streak of walk-offs at two, although there may be more to come as the season continues on.

Watch out for the Royals

While much of the focus has been placed on the play of the second-place Detroit Tigers, there is another team to watch in the AL Central.

The Kansas City Royals extended their winning streak to seven games last night with a decisive 10-0 win over the Minnesota Twins. The Royals are still eight games back in the division, but the Indians still have six more games against the defending World Series champions, including a three-game series to finish the regular season.

Next: Indians Announce New Minority Owner

After seemingly being on a path for a post-championship decline, the Royals are back in the playoff hunt and will serve as serious contenders for the AL Central title.