Cleveland Indians: Three things that went wrong in May

Walks becoming on-going issue

Allowing free passes is never a good sign for a pitching staff. In the case of the Cleveland Indians, it’s becoming a growing concern. During the month of May, the Tribe allowed the third-most walks in all of baseball, walking a total of 124 batters during the month. Only the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels walked more with 136 and 132, respectively. To make matters worse, the pitching staff was tied for fifth in the league for wild pitches in May with 16.

From an individual perspective, both Triston McKenzie and Sam Hentges were in the league’s top five for walks allowed in May. McKenzie paced the league with 21 walks while Hentges wasn’t too far behind with 15 of his own. McKenzie has bounced back-and-forth between the minors and majors over the last week, but Hentges seems entrenched in his spot for the time being.

As for the season numbers, McKenzie leads the league there as well with 35 walks. However, a surprising name that’s also on that list is Shane Bieber, coming in at sixth in the league for walks with 29. From top to bottom, the Tribe’s pitching as struggled with walks so far this season. That needs to get under control if the team wants to play in the postseason.