Cleveland Indians: 2 things that went wrong in July and 1 that went right

2 things that went wrong in July and 1 that went right for the Cleveland Indians

The month of July was arguably the hardest month of the major league season for the Cleveland Indians. Not only did the team have an eventful month off the field with the 2021 MLB Draft, All-Star week and trade deadline, but the Tribe struggled mightily on the field.

Normally, our end of the month updates try to take a positive twist. While the update for July will end on a positive note, there were far more negatives to highlight than positives which should tell you all you need to know about the month. Luckily, there’s still two months left in the season, but it will be an uphill climb for Cleveland to salvage any sort of productive season as a whole by the end of the year.

The year has served a purpose, getting lots of young talent experience at the major league level, but as a whole the year has just been tough. Looking back on the month of July, these are two things that went wrong for the Tribe and one thing that went right.

Cleveland Indians first losing record

The month of July brought about the first losing record in a single month for the Cleveland Indians, posting a 9-15 standing over the course of 24 games. Leading into July, the Tribe had been .500 in April before being five games above .500 in May and two above in June.

It might not seem like too big of a deal to post a losing record over the course of the month, but for Cleveland it’s a bit of a rarity. The last time the team was below .500 in a single month was back in May of 2019. In fact, in months where the team played at least five games, the Tribe have posted a losing record just four times in the last six seasons dating back to Opening Day in 2016.

What’s a bit more disappointing is the timing. Of the other three times, twice were in May and once in April. Meaning this is the first time since 2015 that the Cleveland Indians have posted a losing record for a single month in June or later.

If you look at run differential for this season, it’s almost impressive that the Tribe made it this far into the season without a losing record in a single month. The team has outscored their opponent over the course of a month just once this year, being June and by just one run.