Cleveland Indians: A quick look back at Tuesday’s forgettable game

The Cleveland Indians didn’t give fans much to cheer about Tuesday night in a loss that was hard to watch for several reasons.

We here at Believeland Ball have been writing takeaways after every Cleveland Indians game this season. But last night was so frustrating, it was hard to come up with anything.

Tuesday night’s 11-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals saw Corey Kluber leave after 1.2 innings in which he allowed six earned runs on six hits. Then the bullpen combined to give up five more runs as the offense was shutdown for the second straight night.

The Indians jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and with Kluber on the mound that usually means great things. It was 6-2 after the second inning and 9-2 after the fourth, sending fans to bed in droves.

It is best to just forget about a game like this. We could go in and dig for positives, but it was just a terrible game. One of those games where you burn the tape and tell everyone to get some sleep after.

The only takeaway I have is that the team should keep a close eye on Kluber. He doesn’t claim to be hurt but this is the second time in three starts he hasn’t been himself. Perhaps we have set expectations too high for him. After all, he can’t be perfect every time he takes the mound.

But two bad outings in the span of three starts is alarming. Very alarming.

I’ll chalk it up to him being forced to hit in dumb interleague play as the reason his focus was thrown off. Only slightly kidding, but let’s just end this mockery now. I don’t need to see one more pitcher flail at a pitch they have no chance of hitting.

This series is so frustrating because it was finally a chance for the Indians to build some momentum outside the AL Central. Instead, the team is giving the appearance that outside competition may be too difficult.

But from rain delays to interleague play, it has been an odd start to the series. Add in the worst start of Kluber’s career and the Indians need to win tonight to salvage any positive takeaways from this trip to St. Louis.

Next: Indians: Contenders or pretenders?

If they can’t pull through, it will once again be tough to try to write the takeaways.