Cleveland Indians drop yet another series opener

The Cleveland Indians are in the midst of a frustrating trend that has seen the team play poorly each time a new series begins.

The Cleveland Indians have not lost a series since the Detroit Tigers came to town two weeks ago, but the first trip to Detroit got off to a rough start Monday night.

The Indians dropped a 7-1 snoozer on a night when the Cavaliers actually gave fans in Cleveland something to cheer about.

The loss means the Indians have lost the opener of each of the last three series, being outscored 14-4 in those three games.

The reasons for the losses have differed from game-to-game, but they are losses nonetheless.

Monday’s game saw the Indians struggle to muster up anything on offense against Derek Norris, but trailing 5-0 after two innings didn’t help much either.

Trevor Bauer had the staff’s first bad start in over two weeks, allowing seven runs and walking five batters in just four innings of work.

Ultimately, it comes down to offense for this team. Bauer’s start was nothing to be happy about, but putting up one run on offense is unacceptable.

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The lack of offense showed in the last series opener when the Indians dropped a 3-1 game to the Seattle Mariners on a night when Carlos Carrasco went eight innings and allowed just three runs. His start was fun to watch, but the final result was no different than Bauer’s.

The good news is that the Indians are 14-11 and hold a slim lead in the American League Central at this early point in the season.

They will face a tough pitcher tonight in Justin Verlander, but were able to push across a total of 13 runs the last time he took the mound for the Tigers in what was the Indians’ best offensive game of the season. Nothing makes sense anymore.

Next: Several looking for a fresh start

The Indians have been able to take the final two games in each of the last two series after dropping the opener, so fans are hoping that trend will continue with Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco set to pitch. Yet once again, it comes down to offense.