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

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.