Cleveland Indians: 3 takeaways from the series in San Francisco

The Cleveland Indians limp back home after a rough start to the second half of the season. Here is what stood out from the series in San Francisco.

It is amazing how fast this 2017 Cleveland Indians team can change the narrative surrounding the team.

After an All-Star Game that featured five players and the coaching staff, the Indians went 1-5 against two of the worst teams in baseball. The Indians made the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants look like playoff teams, making fans wonder if this team can repeat its 2016 success.

The team now returns home with a 48-45 record, just .5 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins who are also off tonight.

The upcoming series against the Toronto Blue Jays is a crucial one for the Indians, who will be welcoming back Danny Salazar and potentially getting closer to making some big trades. But on this day off, let’s take a look back at the series out in San Francisco that had fans shaking their heads.

1. Clevinger isn’t going anywhere

The starting pitching was one of the bright spots from this series, and the performance put in by Mike Clevinger stands out as the best.

Clevinger went six innings in Tuesday night’s game, allowing three hits and one run, although it was unearned thanks to a Brandon Guyer error. He also struck out seven batters and walked just two in what should have been a win if the offense could have put up more than one run.

This was Clevinger’s fourth straight start in which he went six innings. He has allowed a total of 10 hits and just two earned runs in that span, but his team is 2-2 in the four games.

With Danny Salazar returning, one pitcher will have to go if the former All-Star proves to be back to his old ways. However, Clevinger’s name should not even be considered as he has cemented himself as a key piece in this rotation.

2. Lack of offense highlights errors

After a nice 5-3 win over the Giants in the first game of the series, the Indians combined to score a total of five runs in the next two games. And when that happens, every small mistake is amplified.

The first came Tuesday night in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Indians were up 1-0 and Clevinger was cruising until Eduardo Nunez hit a fly ball to right field that was ultimately dropped by Brandon Guyer after he lost it in the lights. That error led to a Buster Posey RBI single that tied the game. The Indians would ultimately lose by the score of 2-1.

Then came Wednesday’s game, when the Indians entered the bottom of the eighth with a comfortable 4-2 lead.

Related: 5 players who must step up in the second half

The Giants had two runners on with one out when a ball was hit right to Carlos Santana at first base. Instead of turning a double play, the ball went right through his legs. The Giants would score three runs that inning, winning the game by the score of 5-4.

Errors are nothing new in a baseball game, but they can’t happen when the offense is doing this bad. Guyer’s play was a bit more difficult than Santana’s but both have to be made. It is easy to blame the pitchers, but it is hard to get four or five outs in an inning with the added pressure of realizing one mistake could lose the game.

3. Hitting with RISP remains abysmal

The offense went 7-33 with RISP in the three games, which is almost hard to do.

The lineup is missing Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall, but this low mark shouldn’t happen versus any team, let alone the struggling Giants.

Next: 3 potential trades before the deadline

There really isn’t much to say about it, other than the obvious fact of the team needs to do better. They are professional hitters and all we can hope for as fans is that they wake up and start to pull away in the division.