Cleveland Indians: Previewing the Ohio Cup rematch vs. the Reds
Storylines
Good things happen when you have clutch hitting.
When you look at some of the recent scores the Indians have had, it’s easy to assume they’re hitting fairly well. And that’s true for the most part. But the Indians struggled to get much clutch hitting going when they were in Chicago as well as against Minnesota. They went 2-20 with RISP on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Sunday saw them go 6-13 with RISP, effectively giving the Indians nine runs. If the Indians want to save themselves from trying to win games late, they need to continue to find ways to drive in their runners in scoring position.
Worse/Best case scenario
Worse case: 1-2 series loss
The last thing the Indians want to do is drop the season series against the Reds and have to give them the Ohio Cup that they’ve held the last two years. Not to mention it would leave fans in a frenzy considering the team is still without Encarnacion.
Best case: 3-0 series win
A sweep in this series would send a message to Indians fans. They won’t play down to competition and they’re ready to go on a run heading into September and October. We haven’t seen the Indians streak much this season. A sweep here would put them on a five-game winning streak.
Every game in this series will be played at 7:10 PM EST which is a pleasant change since the working folk won’t have to miss a Wednesday, day game. Here’s to a streak and a another year of holding the Ohio Cup!