Cleveland Indians Preparing for Busy Schedule

Schedule Makers Keeping Cleveland Indians on Their Toes Last Two Months of the Season

The Cleveland Indians enjoyed an off day yesterday and hopefully they enjoyed it as it was one of their last of the season. Beginning today, the Indians will have only two more off days the rest of the season. Today is only August 9th and the Tribe still has 53 games left in the season! Their final regular game is not until October 2nd, nearly two full months away.

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What makes the end of the season seem even more brutal is the number of off days the Tribe has enjoyed the last couple weeks. Since the All-Star break (so about three weeks ago), the Indians have had four off days. Dating back to July 10th when the team finished up the first half, that’s eight days off for everyone outside of Francisco Lindor and Corey Kluber (the two who appeared in the All-Star game).

The Tribe did have another off day originally on the schedule; however, this coming Monday, August 15th is now a makeup game against the Boston Red Sox due to their rain/cold out from earlier in the season. Due to this, the only two off days the rest of the season are September 1st and September 19th. Over the next 55 days, the Indians will play will play 23 games against teams either currently in the playoffs or within striking distance of a playoff spot.

The Tribe has seven remaining against division rival Detroit Tigers who are within three games of the Tribe for the division and are currently the second Wild Card in the American League. They have two against the National League East-leading Washington Nationals and three against the Miami Marlins who are tied for a Wild Card spot in the National League. The Indians also have three games left against the Toronto Blue Jays who are leading the American League Wild Card race, four against the American League West-leading Texas Rangers, and four against the Houston Astros, who despite struggling recently are still in the playoff hunt at 57-55.

Next: House Recalled, Morimando Demoted; Tribe Beats Yanks

The good news for the Indians is that their final 16 games are against American League Central division opponents along with 29 of their remaining 53. The Indians have a .660 winning percentage against the Central division while they’ve gone just .500 against all other opponents. Also, good news for the Indians is that rosters can expand on September 1st and thanks to some quality depth in their farm system the Tribe should expect some reinforcements, especially in the bullpen, to help the club get through this grueling finish to the 2016 season.