Cleveland Indians: 3 takeaways from Friday night’s loss in Oakland

The Cleveland Indians wasted a great starting pitching performance in what was yet another forgettable game, this time in a 3-1 loss in Oakland.

For those who didn’t stay up last night, you didn’t miss much.

The Cleveland Indians couldn’t muster much of anything on offense against Paul Blackburn and the Oakland Athletics pitching staff, scoring just one run on six hits. The same Blackburn whose ERA sits at 6.46 even after 6.1 scoreless innings of work.

Trevor Bauer had a great start of his own but as has been the case on and off throughout the year, he was let down by the offense.

This was another example of a game where not much happened in the Indians favor, so let’s take a look at what did stand out in the loss.

Bauer great once again

With Corey Kluber in a bit of a funk, Trevor Bauer remains dominant. He went 6.2 innings last night, allowing two earned runs on six hits while striking out eight.

It was Bauer’s fifth straight start in which he has made it past six innings of work and his seventh straight start with at least eight strikeouts. He now sits fourth overall in the AL in ERA and is third overall in strikeouts.

If Bauer doesn’t make the All-Star Game, something is clearly wrong with the system.

Struggles on the road continue

The Indians are now 17-23 on the road this season after the loss, compared to the great mark of 27-13 at home. This is great news for Indians season-ticket holders, but not great news overall.

I’m not sure what it is, but this bad record on the road is a bit alarming. It is by far the worst mark of any division leader, although it remains the best in the awful AL Central.

The reason this is concerning is due to the eventual road games in the postseason. Indians fans have seen the team dominate at home, but that doesn’t matter if it is impossible to win on the road in big moments. Or in simple ones against an average A’s team.

Perez’s odd outing

One fascinating part of Friday’s game came in the bottom of the seventh inning when Oliver Perez came in for Trevor Bauer. The reliever got to the mound when the A’s brought up a pinch hitter.

Terry Francona responded by calling for an intentional walk, which doesn’t involve throwing actual pitches anymore. Perez was then pulled from the game, without ever throwing a single pitch.

Next: Shane Bieber should be a mainstay in the Tribe rotation

These are the things fans can smile about after a loss like this one. Let’s just hope we can all smile about a win tonight.