Sometimes it is better to look at the big picture when the results of one particular afternoon do not go as desired. That is the stance the Indians took on Sunday, when the team chose to focus on their successful homestand rather than its forgettable finale.
In the final tilt of a three-game set with the Twins, Indians starter Carlos Carrasco labored in an abbreviated effort and the offense came up short when it mattered most, leading to a 5-3 loss at Progressive Field. That is the small picture. A broader view of Cleveland’s recent run includes four wins in the past five games, four consecutive series victories and eight wins in the last 11 contests.
“We lost a tough game today,” Indians manager Terry Francona said Sunday. “But if we play like this, we’re going to be OK. I’ll take our chances. You’re disappointed, because you wanted to show up today and win, but I like the way we’re playing.”
Part of the reason the Indians (38-36) have played well lately has been the contributions of their rotation, which entered the afternoon with a 2.97 ERA over the previous dozen games. Within that sample, Carrasco had seemingly turned a corner, pitching into the eighth inning and holding the Royals to just one run in a no-decision on Monday.
After Sunday’s effort, it is hard to know which direction Carrasco is heading.
Against the Twins, Carrasco bowed out of the ballgame after 4 2/3 innings, during which he allowed six hits, issued four walks and ended with three strikeouts and a bloated count of 104 pitches. Carrasco surrendered an RBI single to Josh Willingham in the first inning and consecutive run-scoring hits to Oswaldo Arcia and Trevor Plouffe with two outs in the fifth, sending him on his way to the loss column.
In his first season back from right elbow surgery, Carrasco’s results — he is 0-3 record with a 7.78 ERA in four turns — have been wildly inconsistent on the big league stage. In monitoring the right-hander’s latest performance, Francona still saw signs of improvement.
“The fact that he limited damage and he pitched,” Francona said. “We all recognize his stuff. [They were] squaring it up a little bit, and he still found a way. He continued to fight. We left him in in the fifth because we thought he deserved the chance to get out of that inning. They ended up getting the hit, but he’s making progress.”
The Twins (34-38) tacked on a pair of runs against the Indians’ bullpen for some crucial insurance.
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