Cleveland Indians: Three things that went right in May

Three things that went right in May for the Cleveland Indians

So far this season the Cleveland Indians have had an up-and-down season, yet through all of the highs and lows the team has still managed to not only enter June above .500, but well within reach of both the division and the wild card race. After capturing a win over the White Sox to begin the month, the Tribe sit just 2.5 games back of the AL Central lead while being in control of one of the wild card spots.

A 17-12 record during the month of May might not be viewed as outstanding, but it could be worse. The team sustained injury after injury and struggled to find the footing of the starting rotation. Despite that, they were still able to achieve a winning record, a feat that shouldn’t be taken lightly given the circumstances. Luckily, that wasn’t the only positive in the month of May for Cleveland.

While negatives usually claim the headlines and stir up talk about the team, there were plenty of positives for the Tribe over the last month, most of them being with the pitching despite the uneasiness of the starting rotation.

There will still be negatives from the month and things the team needs to work on during the month of June, but not all of the news is bad. There were positives in May and that’s what this will focus on.

Moving forward into the remainder of the season, and more specifically June, the Cleveland Indians should use these three aspects as cornerstones for building momentum through the rest of the season. There’s more than just these three positives, but this trio sticks out as strong points that will be a big help for the club as the season progresses. If these continue to trend in the right direction and the team can improve in other areas that could be huge in the long run.

If you’d rather read about what went wrong in May for Cleveland, those three points can be found here.

Locking down the late innings

During the month of May we talked about how James Karinchak, Emmanuel Clase and Bryan Shaw might be the best bullpen trio in baseball. If the case wasn’t strong enough already, looking back on May has only helped their case.

During the month of May, the Cleveland Indians recorded nine saves, tied for the fifth-most over the course of the month. However, what was more impressive was that the Tribe was 9-for-9 in save opportunities, being the only team in baseball to be perfect in save opportunities in May. In total this season, the Tribe have 18 saves in 20 opportunities, failing to record the save just twice. No other team with 20 or more save opportunities has failed to get the save fewer than four times. In fact, no other team in the sport has fewer than three failed save opportunities.

In addition to be lights out in save opportunities, the Cleveland bullpen has a whole has been one of the best in the game. With an ERA of 2.92 for relievers, the Tribe ranks fourth in the MLB for the season. The unit is also seventh for strikeouts despite being in the bottom third of the league for innings pitched by relievers.

Needless to say, the late innings are locked down for the Cleveland Indians, but the game as a whole is in good hands once it turns over to the bullpen.

High strikeout numbers

While the starting rotation for the Cleveland Indians has had some inconsistencies, one thing that has been a constant no matter who is toeing the rubber has been strikeouts. During the month of May the Tribe logged a total of 278 strikeouts, the third-most in the MLB. Only the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers who had 279 and 286, respectively.

While in the past the strikeout numbers have been heavily taken on by a couple arms, Shane Bieber was the only Cleveland pitcher to break the top 25 in the MLB for strikeouts in May. Bieber ended up being tied for ninth with 42. The pitching staff as a whole has just been solid when it comes to striking out batters, and that’s a credit to not only the pitching staff but the coaches and catchers as well.

Despite the “down month” Bieber is still leading the majors in strikeouts with 117 if you include his start on June 1. He’s one of just two pitchers with 100+ strikeouts this season with the other being Tyler Glasnow who still trails Bieber by 11 K’s. It’s a similar story for the team as a whole, clocking in at eighth in the league for strikeouts with 521 over the course of the season.

If you’re interested in what needs to be corrected and went wrong in May, those three points can be found here.