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.

Tribe pitchers need to cut out the walks

As mentioned on the previous page, the Royals have been scoring a lot of runs and they have been particularly lethal in the clutch. They sit fourth in the AL with a team .257 batting average with runners in scoring position. It will be crucial for Tribe pitching to make KC work hard to get on base, every time and limit the opportunities for them to hit with runners on base.

Worryingly, the Cleveland Indians have gotten into a nasty habit of walking batters. Since 2016, Indians pitching had allowed the fewest walks in the majors, but one month into 2021 and they are middle of the rankings in that stat category.

As all baseball aficionados know, walks will kill ya. Such a recipe for disaster was perfectly evidenced on Saturday by Tribe pitcher Triston McKenzie. McKenzie, whose status in the rotation is in jeopardy due to struggles with his command, is averaging nearly nine walks per nine innings. In his last start he walked four batters in the second inning, including walking in a run with the bases loaded. Those other free passes would cross home plate when Tim Anderson put Chicago’s first ball in play of the game for a grand slam. That’s five runs off one hit. Walks will, indeed, kill you.

For the four-game set against KC, the Indians will have Aaron Civale on the bump in game one. Civale has been tremendous through his first five starts and has allowed just nine walks in 33 2/3 innings. So the Tribe should be in position to get off to a good start in the series. But after Civale, things could get a little dicey.

Rookie, Sam Hentges, who has pitched out of the bullpen for the big-league club, has been a starter throughout most of his minor-league career. Therefore, Francona has given him the nod to start game two in place of Logan Allen, who was optioned to Columbus following a trio of awful starts for the Indians. Hentges, to put it mildly, has not been good as a starter, even in the minors. What hasn’t helped is cause is his wayward command. Across five seasons at Single-A and Double-A ball, he averaged five walks per nine innings, and did not make a start at the Triple-A level before being called up.

With the Indians, Hentges has already allowed three home runs in just five and 2/3 major-league innings this year, which points to another reason why he, in particular, needs to focus on throwing strikes consistently, especially against this dangerous Royals ball club.

As for games three and four, the starters for the Indians are still to be determined. It is worth noting that Shane Bieber would be on his normal rest, and a strong possibility to start on Wednesday. Otherwise, Francona may look to Cal Quantrill, who has had his own issues dishing out free passes, as a spot starter.

Whoever the final two pitchers are for the series will need make sure they throw strike one and work from in front in order to keep a dangerous hitting team from causing damage with runners on base.

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.