Cleveland Indians: Three things that went wrong in May

The Starting Rotation

When talking about what went wrong for the Cleveland Indians during the month of May, the starting rotation got a little bit of everything. Some struggled, others were injured and in the end the unit is scrambling to figure out who’s pitching almost every day of the week.

First, sending down Triston McKenzie opened the door for figuring out another spot in the rotation after early struggles by Logan Allen allowed Sam Hentges an opportunity to start. Then, within a week of sending down McKenzie, Plesac hit the IL forcing the Tribe to return to McKenzie despite his inconsistencies that would normally be sorted out in Columbus.

From there, Hentges continued to be spotty in his starts and even Shane Bieber looked uncharacteristic. Throw in a windy start from Eli Morgan and the only pitcher we haven’t mentioned is the steady Aaron Civale.

Civale’s seven wins lead the American League and serve as a big bright spot in an otherwise questionable rotation. Bieber has been stellar as well, it’s just been below what we’ve been spoiled with from him over the last year. However, beyond those two it’s really just hit-and-miss for what the Tribe will get from the starting pitcher.

Now, if you’re ready for the uplifting three highlights from the month of May for the Cleveland Indians, those can be found here.