Indians Drop Two of Three to the Yankees; The Good and Bad from the Bronx Weekend

The Indians have lost 5 of 7, and now 2 of three after Sunday’s loss to the New York Yankees in the Bronx in New York. About the only good news about the loss is that the Detroit Tigers lost to the New York Mets at Comerica Park, meaning the Indians remain two games up in the AL Central.

Some takes from the weekend:

Good

1. The rotation got a little more on track the last two days after Josh Tomlin followed suit by the starters from last weeks debacle against the Twins. Corey Kluber had a great outing on Saturday, and Sunday Carlos Carrasco gave the team a good chance to win on Sunday, but the offense was only able to come up with two runs. If this team is going to stay in first and fight for a playoff spot, it’s the rotation that has to carry them.

2. Jose Ramirez continues to be maybe the biggest surprise player of the season for the Tribe. He had two more hits on Sunday and over the weekend was .500 (6-for-12) with two runs and a steal. He also had a 12 game hitting streak, one in which he’s been able to hit .426 with four doubles, two homers and three RBI. With Juan Uribe gone, Ramirez is going to play everyday, and thus far that’s a very good thing for the Tribe.

3. Many felt this team would have issues with power this season, and instead it’s been great to see the long ball being one of their main weapons at the plate. In in the win on Saturday, the team hit three more home runs, and on the year the Indians have hit 144 homers, good for fifth in the American League. Of course the addition of Mike Napoli and his 28 homers is a huge key, but Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana are hitting homers at a solid pace, and even Francisco Lindor and Tyler Naquin have gotten into the HR mix.

Bad

1. All the sudden the Indians have begun to scuffle on the road, a place where they had been playing well most of the season. They’ve lost five of six away from Progressive Field, and now after an off day they go to Washington, a place where the Nats have won 33 of 54 home games. The ability to win on the road has been a major reason why this team has been in first in the division most of the year. They are still 31-27 on the road, but it’s been tough the last six games.

2. Roberto Perez is just killing this team at the plate, and while he was able to finally get a couple hits Sunday and raise his average from .050 to .094, you have to wonder how long Terry Francona can play this guy. It was no secret the team was hopeful that adding Jonathan Lucroy would help the teams from an offensive standpoint at the plate, but the team can’t worry about that anymore, and will have to stick with Chris Gimenez and Perez. It was good to see Gimenez come through with a three-run homer on Friday, but the teams’ catchers are batting .210 and .093. Ugh.

3. You have to wonder if there’s anything to the recent issues with Josh Tomlin, who since July 6th is 2-3, and in two of those five starts he lasted just 4.2 innings. He’s allowed 19 runs in 30 innings in those five starts, with seven homers. The Indians leader in wins with 11 will try to put Friday’s forgettable outing behind him when he takes on the Angels Thursday. It’s a big 11-game homestand, and Tomlin needs to get the key homestand off to a good start with a good outing on Thursday night.