Cleveland Indians: 3 takeaways from the weekend series against the Twins

The Cleveland Indians had a rough weekend on offense, but were able to pull out a victory over the Minnesota Twins. Here is what stood out.

The Cleveland Indians continued the inconsistent play this weekend by dropping the first two games against the Minnesota Twins, only to win the third game in impressive fashion.

A combined one run for the Indians in the first two games put a damper on the weekend, but eight runs in the finale salvaged the weekend on Mother’s Day.

It was an up and down series throughout so let’s take a quick look at what stood out over the weekend.

1. The offense is reaching painfully inconsistent levels

Ervin Santana started Friday’s game for the Twins, offering up even the tiniest excuse for why the Indians couldn’t score a single run. But that will do nothing to make up for wasting a great outing by Josh Tomlin in which he went eight innings and allowed just one run.

Yet while one awful game is understandable, having two in a row is beyond frustrating. The one-run performance on Saturday, in a game when the highlight was a squirrel on the field, saw the Indians pick up just three hits.

I can sit here and pick out excuses for why the Indians struggled, but if they are to be considered one of the best teams in the league they should be able to take on any opposing pitcher.

The eight runs scored on Sunday won’t make Indians fans forget about the struggles this season, but it did help avoid the sweep and keep the Indians on pace with the Twins at the top of the division.

And one move from Sunday’s game should lead to some success carrying over into the upcoming series.

2. A lineup change that pays off right away

Terry Francona decided to put a struggling Jason Kipnis into the leadoff spot Sunday, swapping out Carlos Santana and putting him in the sixth spot.

Kipnis, who entered the game 0-for-8 in the series, answered with a 4-for-5 day in which he hit two home runs and drove in four runs. His first home run came in his first at-bat, setting the tone for the game and making Francona look like a genius once again.

It appears Kipnis will be in the leadoff spot for the foreseeable future, as Francona needed to do something to provide a jolt to the lineup. One game is not enough proof of the plan working, but it isn’t a bad start.

3. Edwin’s spotlight grows bigger

Edwin Encarnacion had another rough series, going 0-for-11 over the course of the three games. It drops his average down to .206 on the season, while his home run total sits at just five.

He just needs one big game, like the one Kipnis had, or one big hit to turn things around, but he has just been unable to piece together any success this year.

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This has caused some negativity to be thrown his way, but those same critics will be telling everyone how much they love him if the slugger turns things around. It is now up to him to do just that.