Cleveland Indians: A short look back at Monday’s rain-shortened loss

The Cleveland Indians were shutout for the second game in a row in what ended up being a rain-shortened loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Monday was not a great night for Cleveland Indians fans at Progressive Field.

I would argue that the game should have been postponed, but then again I am biased as I thought this once the Indians went down 4-0 in the second inning after some costly defensive blunders.

There isn’t really much in the realm of takeaways for this game. It only lasted six innings. Corey Kluber was on the mound for seven runs, although only three were earned. The offense didn’t score and recorded four hits.

That about sums this one up. Oh, and the Pirates have now won 10 straight to get themselves back in the playoff hunt.

The biggest story from this game is Corey Kluber. Some fans immediately jumped to the conclusion that he must be injured and the team is sabotaging him by letting him pitch. While that is possible, his defense blew it for him last night. Not to mention he came back out after a delay, which should not happen at this point in the season.

It is fair to say Kluber hasn’t been his normal dominant self as of late. He hasn’t had at least 10 strikeouts in a game since May 30 and has allowed a combined 18 earned runs in his last five starts. He allowed zero runs in one of those starts, so the 18 runs come in just four outings.

But acknowledging he isn’t his normal self doesn’t mean he is pitching through some injury. And I am not trying to blindly defend the team by saying this. I just don’t see how it would make logical sense on Kluber’s part to keep going out there if he is hurt at all. The team has already locked up the division and he knows he is needed in October.

Whatever the case may be, another shutout loss has fans frustrated and gets the takes going even hotter. Kluber’s ERA is also only at 2.88 so it’s not like he has completely bottomed out. He is just not pitching at his normal elite level.

Next: Outfielders for the Tribe to potentially target

The Indians are back at it tonight against the red-hot Pirates with Shane Bieber on the mound. Hopefully the rookie can get some help from his offense.