Cleveland Indians: The offense continues to be inconsistent

The Cleveland Indians have not shown consistency on offense since the first series of the season and it has led to the current 5-7 record.

The Cleveland Indians entered Friday night losers of two straight and five of their last six. The losses were due to a mix of poor pitching and hitting, and that continued on into the weekend series against the Detroit Tigers.

Fans should expect the pitching to be a bit shaky at the start of the season, but it is the poor play on offense that was unexpected.

The Indians have scored 55 runs, the most in the AL Central, but the majority of those have come in just a few games. The team put up 19 runs in the first two games against the Tigers, but only one game resulted in a victory.

Saturday’s game, in which the Indians put up 13 runs, seemed to be a sign of changing times. The Indians jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and were in control for the entire game. Nine players recorded a hit in the game and it looked like the Indians were back to being the team they were in the opening series against the Texas Rangers.

But then the offense mustered up a single run on Sunday, marking the fourth time the team put up two runs or less in a game this season.

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The blame cannot be placed on any single player, as it is nearly a team-wide issue, except for Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez, who have been tearing it up on offense all year.

The problem has been scoring runners who reach scoring position, regardless of who is up at the plate. The team does is on Saturday and all seems well, but then things drastically change a day later.

I’ve been saying it all month, but it is too early in the year to declare anything too drastic about this lineup. However, this team is being held to a higher standard than they have been in the past, given the talent on the team and their title of defending American League champions.

Lonnie Chisenhall has come back and provided a spark, and Jason Kipnis should do the same once he returns. But players like Yan Gomes and Edwin Encarnacion need to start producing, while Carlos Santana needs to improve upon his .208 batting average in the leadoff spot.

Next: Clevinger may be the 5th starter soon

It is early so we will do our best to stay patient and hope for a turnaround against Minnesota, but the early signs have not been great for this offense.