The Cleveland Indians had a rough day in Thursday’s season-opening loss to the Detroit Tigers.
But the weather was bad and it was the first game of the season.
Saturday was hopefully going to be better.
Then it wasn’t.
The Indians managed to score two runs and once again fell to the Tigers, this time by a final score of 5-2.
But hey, at least they got a home run.
This is what they call Detroit muscle.#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/mVA04RPccZ
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) April 3, 2021
Not Much Better on Saturday
The frustration begins at the top with the leadoff spot.
Jordan Luplow was there Thursday and Ben Gamel was atop the lineup Saturday as both get time in center field.
Gamel did draw a walk, but went hitless.
Amed Rosario pinch-hit and struck out.
The only real positive on offense came from Eddie Rosario.
He launched the team’s first home run of 2021 and also drove in another run via a sacrifice fly.
But that pesky mark of the team going 0-4 with runners in scoring position stands out as a major negative.
To be clear, it is incredibly early.
The Indians have lost back-to-back games to the Tigers for the first time since May 14-15, 2018.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) April 3, 2021
Two losses aren’t going to tank a season and the Indians could easily win Sunday and have a nice offensive explosion.
Just scoring more than two runs would be nice at this point.
There is just no flow in the offense so far.
Jose Ramirez went 1-4 Saturday, as did Franmil Reyes.
However, neither drove in a run because the opportunities just weren’t there.
Finding Positives in Another Loss
Zach Plesac was on the mound Saturday and did well after allowing two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
He had four strikeouts and went a strong six innings.
The wheels eventually fell off in the bottom of the seventh.
The score was 2-1 in favor of the Tigers and Nick Wittgren came in to pitch.
He walked two and allowed three runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Not exactly a great debut, but once again the lack of run support doomed the pitchers from the start.
Phil Maton and Trevor Stephan also got some action, combining to go scoreless over 1.1 innings.
So what are the main positives so far?
The pitching, while not perfect, has been suitable.
The problem is the offense and Indians fans may feel like such a narrative is just part of being a fan at this point.
There is no rhythm yet and the hope is that Sunday will totally flip this storyline.
The Indians had six hits Thursday and had seven Saturday.
So people are indeed hitting.
Now comes hitting when players are in scoring position.
That is the ultimate goal as we continue to take it day by day with this young team at the start of the season.
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