Cleveland Indians: 3 takeaways from the weekend series vs. the Royals

The Cleveland Indians lost another series, but were able to bounce back for one big win. Here is what stood out from the weekend.

The Cleveland Indians continued the struggles at home over the weekend, taking just one of three from the Kansas City Royals. That drops the Indians to 9-13 at home this season, compared to 16-10 on the road.

The series was not a total loss, as Sunday provided fans with something to cheer about when the Indians put up 10 runs on the Royals. As an important note, this is the third game I’ve gone to this season. The Indians have scored at least 10 in all three of those games. Just saying.

The Indians are set to begin a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics, but before that begins let’s take one final look back at what stood out over the weekend against the Royals.

1. Clevinger in, Salazar out

The main story from the weekend deals with Danny Salazar heading to the bullpen, while Mike Clevinger will take his spot in the starting rotation.

Salazar’s start on Saturday wasn’t horrible, as he went 5.1 innings and only allowed three earned runs, but his command continued to be an issue. And with Clevinger off to a great start, the move allows Salazar to figure things out in the bullpen while Terry Francona can see if Clevinger can help this struggling rotation.

This doesn’t appear to be a permanent move, but it certainly can become that if all five current starters pick things up and pitch the way we all thought they would when the season began.

2. Kipnis’ big day

The offense struggled for the first two games against the Royals, but finally woke up on Sunday with that 10-run outburst. The star performer from the game was Jason Kipnis, who began the series going 1-for-9 in the first two games. Not exactly what the team needs out of the leadoff spot.

However, he bounced back with a 4-for-4 day on Sunday, driving in two runs and raising his average up to .242. With the offense continuing to be inconsistent, having a veteran like Kipnis get on a hot streak could help lift up the others. One can hope.

3. The best of Tomlin

Josh Tomlin has been inconsistent this year, but he proved on Sunday why he remains in the rotation. He threw a complete game, allowing just one run and walking no one. He did all this on just 111 pitches.

It was his third start in which he allowed just one run, lowering his ERA to 5.79 after entering the day with the mark of 6.70.

Next: Breaking down Salazar's demotion

The hope is that a start like this gets Tomlin into a groove, which has yet to happen this season, even after he had two great starts earlier this month. Perhaps Salazar being demoted will serve as extra motivation for Tomlin, who realizes he could be next if he falls back into his early-season ways.