Cleveland Indians: Three keys to victory against the Kansas City Royals

Three keys to victory against the Kansas City Royals for the Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians have hit a mini stride recently with back-to-back series wins against fierce division rivals. Last week they salvaged a disappointing homestand by taking two out of three from the reigning American League Central champions Minnesota Twins. Yesterday, the Tribe claimed a series win on the road against a Chicago White Sox team that was leading the league in runs, team batting average, while pitching extremely well heading into contest.

It will come as no surprise that stellar Cleveland pitching performances did much to earn those two victories in Chicago. However, the Indians hitters can give themselves a deserved pat on the back, if only a modest one. In game one, the lineup took advantage of the few opportunities they created by going 2-for-3 with runners in scoring position, including a two-run single by José Ramírez, which helped edge out Chicago 5-3. Then, on Sunday, they sent five runs across the plate, collecting nine hits, as the Indians shutout the Sox 5-0.

Following the recent success against division foes, the Tribe have now closed the gap on the White Sox to one and a half games, and sit just three games back of the division-leading Kansas City Royals. And it is those same Royals that Terry Francona and the squad turn their attention to on Monday night.

The Royals have burst out of the block in surprising fashion this year. They were not tabbed as a likely candidate to claim the AL Central crown in 2021. Most experts put their eggs in the safe baskets labelled ‘Chicago’ or ‘Minnesota’ during the preseason, for obvious reasons. Those same experts probably aren’t ready to abandon those picks just yet, but the division has certainly taken notice of how the Royals have played in the early going.

Kansas City is currently sixth in the AL in runs scored, and have been particularly skilled at hitting with runners in scoring position, making them very dangerous. The pitching, while not great, has done enough to keep the Royals in games and allow the hitters to outscore opponents en route to a 16-10 record.

With all this in mind, here are three ways the Indians can make it three series wins in a row against division opponents.

Clutch hitting

This was a key to the series in Chicago, but it remains apt for the four-game set versus the Royals. The Indians remain among the worst hitting teams in baseball and do not get on base very often, so they need to take advantage of the few chances that do come their way.

They showed they can do it in games one and two of the White Sox series when they went 3-for-4 w/RISP, over both games. Yes, that’s how rare these opportunities are. But that performance tumbled back to the standard we have become accustomed to when the Indians hit a pathetic 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position on Sunday, and left eight men on base.

As a team, the Indians are hitting .217 w/RSIP, which puts them third from bottom in baseball. But not all Tribe hitters are hopeless with their situational hitting. Franmil Reyes and Jordan Luplow are hitting .300, or above, with runners in scoring position. The other Tribe hitters would do well to study their approach a do better in these moments at the plate.

The poor situational hitting is why such a high percentage of runs have been scored by the Indians via the longball; a tactic that is not sustainable for the long slog of a 162-game season. Of all the teams to make the playoffs last year, none had a higher percentage than 36% (LA Dodgers) of their runs being scored via the home run. The Indians are well above 50% so far this year.

If the Indians are to win this series, they need to make every at bat count when there are runners in scoring position. And if they want to make a return to the postseason in 2021, they will need to learn to hit well in the clutch, consistently.

Fielding the ball more cleanly

The Indians have not been awful in the field, as a team, but too often it has been a weakness and even cost the team games. I hate to pick on a single player, but Josh Naylor comes mind as a player who needs to clean up his act with the glove. He notably whiffed on a ground ball at first base during a ninth inning against the Reds, which ultimately cost the Indians a series win. His defensive miscues have been too frequent to go unnoticed.

As a team, the Cleveland Indians have had issues fielding the ball cleanly and throwing to first base. The team has committed 16 errors, which is about middle of the pack among MLB teams. But what does not show up is the often terrible routes that outfielders have taken to fly balls, which have led to hits that might have otherwise been caught if a better angle had been run. Nor does it show the overrunning of balls hit hard into the outfield which have led to a routine single turning into extra bases.

These defensive lapses can be deflating for pitchers when they lead to unearned runs. And with the recent propensity for Tribe pitching to walk batters, it adds another stick of dynamite to an inning that can explode at any moment if the opposition gets a timely hit. And the Royals are a team that has shown itself to be prone to inflicting devastating blows with the bat in clutch situations with men on base.

If the Indians can clean up their act in the field and not allow hitters to reach base via a defensive blunder, then they will take pressure off their pitching staff and limit scoring opportunities for the Royals.