Cleveland Indians: Four-point checklist for the month of May

Four-point checklist for the month of May for the Cleveland Indians

There’s one month in the books for the Major League Baseball season and the Cleveland Indians turned it into a roller coaster of a month in April. After playing 24 games, the Tribe find themselves right around average in about every way you can view a record. Cleveland enters May with a 12-12 record while being 5-5 over their last 10 games, 7-6 at home and 5-6 on the road. They also stand in the middle of the American League Central, being third, and sit three games behind the first place Kansas City Royals.

Through the first month, the Tribe showcased their ability to outpitch almost any opponent. But to the same point, they struggled to score enough runs to support the impressive pitching. As I’ve highlighted before, four runs was the magic mark for the Cleveland Indians in the month of April. When scoring four runs or more, the Tribe were an impressive 11-1, leaving them with a record of 1-11 when failing to score four. It makes sense. When you score more, you win more.

Moving into the month of May, the Tribe will need to improve on their middle of the road start to the season if they want to compete during the postseason this year. That begins with winning in the division, which they have the opportunity to do at the beginning of the month with two more games against the White Sox before four in Kansas City.

If the Cleveland Indians want to progress in the month of May, they should focus on these four aspects of the team to get over the hump and begin winning more consistently than .500 baseball. While the month of April wasn’t necessarily bad, it wasn’t what we’ve come to expect from the Tribe. Maybe it’s just a slow start, but checking off these four boxed could go a long way.