Cleveland Indians: 3 takeaways from the two eventful games in Boston

The Cleveland Indians only played two games against the Boston Red Sox, but plenty happened to make the series feel much longer. Here is what stood out.

Cleveland Indians fans may be feeling like the recent trip to Boston lasted a week as opposed to just two days.

The Indians and Red Sox only played two games because of a rainout on Wednesday, but the 12-10 loss on Tuesday was enough excitement for quite some time. The weather on Wednesday was a bit of a relief.

The two losses were stressful but the Indians enter play today 2.5 games ahead of the Kansas City Royals, who are losers of three straight games.

The sky isn’t falling and the Indians are still in a prime position to hold the division lead, but the team must regroup fast as the New York Yankees are in town for four games. Before we look ahead to tonight, let’s take a look back at what stood out from two games in Boston.

1. Getting past Tuesday’s wild loss

The pitching staff allowing 12 runs in Tuesday’s loss was frustrating, but the Red Sox also saw their pitchers have a rough night, allowing 10 runs.

The way the Indians lost was brutal, but fans must not act like it is some season-changing defeat that has crushed the team’s spirit. It’s just one game.

Playing in Fenway against a contending Red Sox team gives the feel of a playoff game, yet the game was just one of 162. Now it is fair to say that game can indeed be a turning point if the Indians go on some long losing streak and never recover, but it is hard to predict such a thing happening to this resilient team.

2. Some untimely injuries

The worst news from the series has to be the injury news regarding both Andrew Miller and Josh Tomlin.

Miller was placed on the 10-day disabled list after Tuesday’s game, while Josh Tomlin has been declared out for up to six weeks with his hamstring issue.

The Miller injury is the most worrisome, but his issues seems to be more about soreness rather than any major damage. Tomlin’s news may not stand out as a dire situation, but he was doing well as part of the six-man rotation.

His absence puts a lot of pressure on Mike Clevinger to rebound after two rough starts and become a consistent piece in the rotation.

3. Jackson’s catch

Losing two games left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, but fans can point to Austin Jackson‘s amazing catch as one of the highlights of the year if everyone turns out great in the end.

It came in a losing effort, but plays like that are rarely seen and must be appreciated when they happen.

Jackson’s athleticism combined with Bradley Zimmer‘s insane speed and range gives the Indians a major upgrade in center field compared to a season ago when Rajai Davis and Tyler Naquin manned the position.

Next: Best prospects from the first half of the season

These two games hurt, but will hopefully not matter at the end of the season. We shall see if that remains true in two months.