Cleveland Indians: 3 takeaways from the blowout loss to the Angels

The Cleveland Indians had a night to forget on Tuesday, so let’s take a look at what stood out from the blowout loss to the Angels.

Tuesday night was all about Shohei Ohtani, making Josh Tomlin and the Cleveland Indians the answers to future trivia questions.

Ohtani hit his first MLB home run off Tomlin in a sight seen and heard all over the world. Meanwhile, all Indians fans could do was sigh as the onslaught continued from there, ending up in a 11-2 victory for the Angels.

If the Indians have to get destroyed, better to do it late at night when not as many people are watching.

Let’s now go over some main takeaways from the brutal defeat.

Jose got his hit

Perhaps the only good thing about the loss was the fact Jose Ramirez finally got a hit in 2018. That hit was a two-run home run in the first inning that gave the Indians the early lead.

Things were much simpler then.

That ended up being the only hit the team would have all game, making for a rough final eight innings for the brave few who stayed up to watch it all. Ramirez is now hitting .056 on the year, but getting that first hit should open things up for the young star.

Tomlin needs to bounce back and fast

I’m not going to give too hot of a take and say that Josh Tomlin must be removed from the rotation immediately. However, he is on thin ice when considering the fact that both Ryan Merritt and Danny Salazar would like a crack at that final rotation spot.

Tomlin allowed eight runs on eight hits in three innings, giving up four home runs and giving Indians fans dark flashbacks to some of his 2016 ways. We can chalk it up as one bad start for now, but if he comes out next time and gets roughed up early once again, Terry Francona may be thinking about seeing what Merritt can do instead of cutting the young pitcher.

A .500 trip isn’t all that bad

The Indians finish this six-game trip today at 4:07 and have the chance to head home with a record of 3-3. Corey Kluber is on the mound and that usually means the team has a chance to win. That is, a great chance.

The bats obviously need to show up and if they do, heading home with a 3-3 record isn’t all that bad. It’s the same thing the team did in 2017 and that resulted in 102 wins.

Next: 2018 should be Lonnie Chisenhall’s year

No one likes to see the Indians get destroyed like they did Tuesday night, but a win today would make for a successful trip.