The Aftermath: Three Takeaways from the Indians’ 2-1 Loss to Texas

The Cleveland Indians wrapped up their roadtrip in disappointing fashion as their rally fell short in a 2-1 loss to the Texas Rangers.

Put that roadtrip out with the trash and forget about it. The Cleveland Indians fell by a score of 2-1 to the Texas Rangers on Sunday in Arlington to lose the four-game series and conclude their road swing with a 2-5 record. The Tribe now comes back to Cleveland for ten straight at Progressive Field.

The Indians tried to rally in the ninth, loading the bases with one out against Rangers’ closer Sam Dyson, but a strikeout by Tyler Naquin and a fly out by Abraham Almonte allowed the opportunity to pass unseized.

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There was a silver lining to the loss, though, as Danny Salazar looked more like his pre-all-star break self, allowing just two runs on five hits in 5.1 innings. He took the loss, falling to 11-6 on the year, but tied a season high with 10 strikeouts, and displayed good command of both his fastball and changeup for the first time since returning from the disabled list.

The only two real mistakes Salazar made resulted in RBI singles by Ian Desmond and Jonathan Lucroy in the third and fourth innings, respectively. Both hits followed the two walks he yielded on the day, and came on first-pitch fastballs that were elevated in the zone. In all, it was still an encouraging start for Salazar.

Cleveland’s lone run came on a two-out RBI single by Jason Kipnis in the sixth against Texas starter Derek Holland. Holland silenced the Tribe to just four hits in his six innings of work, striking out five and not issuing a walk.

The loss is made tougher by the fact that Detroit was shutout by the Los Angeles Angels earlier in the day, and the Indians could have pushed their lead in the AL Central back out to 5.5 games.

Something to Build On

This start was incredibly important for Salazar, who entered the game with an ERA over 19.00 in August and approaching 11.00 since the all-star break. He looked more comfortable than in his previous two outings, with a crisp delivery, and executed his pitches much more effectively.

The velocity was there, averaging 95 miles per hour on his two-seamer and 96 on his four-seamer, and touching 97 with both. More importantly, his two fastball variations were thrown for strikes 69 percent of the time, and set up his changeup, which was devastating on this day.

Salazar threw the changeup, which he had struggled to find the feel for recently, 27 times in total, with 19 going for strikes and seven producing swings and misses. When he’s throwing fastball strikes and getting those kinds of results with the change, he is among the toughest at-bats in baseball.

Frankie Three Hits

Francisco Lindor went 3-for-4 on Sunday, with all three hits being singles. The second year shortstop is now slashing .321/.333/.425 in the month of August and leads Major League Baseball with 21 three-hit games on the season.

Any concerns of a sophomore slump went away a while ago, as he has put a .311/.356/.449 slash line with 23 doubles, 14 home runs, 64 RBIs, and an OPS+ of 105. The longest stretch Lindor has gone hitless all season has been three games, which has happened just three times.

Lindor’s 4.6 bWAR is currently 14th among position players in the AL, and his 13 defensive runs saved above average (Rdrs) is second among shortstops in the league behind only Andrelton Simmons. That he has been so steady both at the plate and with the leather is one of the big reasons the Indians look to enter the final month of the season atop the Central Division standings.

Click Your Heels

There should be no place like home for the Tribe after this roadtrip took its toll on the team. In dropping five of seven to the Rangers and Oakland Athletics, the club’s offense was particularly putrid, hitting .225 (52-for-231) with just 13 extra-base hits.

As bad as those stats are, the numbers are actually skewed as a result of Cleveland’s 12-run, 17-hit barrage on Friday night. Without it, the Indians hit just .184 in the seven games, scoring just four runs. In the three Texas wins, the team hit .160 and scored once.

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Needless to say, the Tribe has spent the past week in a rough patch, and if the lousy play follows the club into September, it could make for some tense stretch run baseball. But with a 39-23 record at home in 2016 and the next ten games being played at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, Cleveland has a chance to use home cooking to jumpstart the bats.