Cleveland Indians: The easier schedule begins with a comfortable sweep

The Cleveland Indians are on a nice winning streak thanks to the schedule getting easier after a month of May filled with top competition.

Some Cleveland Indians fans seemed to think the sky was falling the past few weeks.

The Indians were struggling against the New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros and even the Detroit Tigers.

The team entered play on May 26 with a record of 24-25 and all anyone could talk about was the horrific play of the bullpen. Then came two wins against the Astros, with the second one being an amazing comeback. Some believed this would serve as a turning point.

That win certainly didn’t hurt as the Indians just picked up a three-game sweep over the lowly Chicago White Sox. While it is easy to point toward the comeback win over the Astros as the spark for the sweep, one thing of note is how much easier the schedule gets as we head into June.

All but seven games in June will come against AL Central opponents. As of right now, none of the other teams in the division have winning records and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.

The division is indeed weak but other top teams also have some weak teams to square off against in their respective divisions. It is unfortunate for the fanbases of those weak teams in what could end up being a historic year in terms of teams bottoming out, but it is good for teams like the Indians.

The Indians are currently 13-5 against the Central. Without a few bullpen collapses that record could be even better.

After hovering around the .500 mark for most of the season and causing fans to panic, the Indians are now 29-25 with an easy schedule ahead. June will be the month where the team begins to pull away in the division and when everyone can relax and stress about the Cavaliers.

Those who made the schedule made things tough at the start of the season. Now the Indians can take on their division and show that they are just as dominant as the other division leaders in baseball by taking care of business against the teams they should beat.

One can argue that whooping the teams in the Central doesn’t mean the Indians are contenders all of a sudden. However, I’d argue that racking up wins and confidence will help this team, as no team normally faces top competition for an entire regular season.

Next: 3 takeaways from a blowout win over the White Sox

I just hope the team actually follows through with a dominant June. Specifically, that the bullpen helps the winning cause.