There is no way to erase what took place over the past six games, but the Indians will at least have a day to try to forget about it. Thursday’s scheduled off-day could not have come at a better time for the reeling Tribe.
It is only one month, but April is in the books and it was ugly for Cleveland.
On Wednesday, the Indians took a 7-1 defeat to the Angels on the chin to complete a disappointing month and put a final touch on a disheartening 0-6 trip through San Francisco and Anaheim. Los Angeles lefty C.J. Wilson carved up Cleveland over eight innings in its latest loss, which made for a quiet clubhouse before the trek to the airport.
“Things aren’t really going the way that we’d like right now,” Indians first baseman Nick Swisher said. “But there’s no quit in this team. There’s always fight. We’ve got a nice off-day tomorrow. It’s big-time needed. Hopefully, we just go home, relax a little bit, get our minds right and get ready to go.”
Pitching on short rest, Indians starter Zach McAllister was not sharp in an abbreviated effort, though his defense once again hindered his performance. Cleveland catcher Yan Gomes made a costly throwing error, Wilson handcuffed the Tribe’s lineup and the Indians’ typically-solid bullpen could not keep the score close.
It was one of those days for Cleveland, which has had a lot of them of late.
Over the past six losses, the Indians posted a .183 (35-for-191) team average, which included a .167 (6-for-36) showing with runners in scoring position. Cleveland managed only 13 runs on the trip (2.2 per game) and stranded 36 runners. The pitching staff struggled as a whole, posting a 5.55 ERA (30 earned runs in 48 2/3 innings).
Along the way, other setbacks were added to the pile of problems. The Indians pulled struggling starter Carlos Carrasco out of the rotation and put him in the bullpen, and the team saw All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis exit Tuesday’s game with a right abdominal strain.
The Indians ended April in last place in the American League Central with an 11-17 record.
“My feelings about our team don’t change on a road trip,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “It was a really tough trip. There’s no way around it. We’re going to have to be strong enough now to go home and be able to look at our record for a little while and not be happy with it, knowing that the best way to remedy it is to play better.
“We’re going to have to be strong, because this was a tough trip. Not a lot went right for us.”
The Indians asked McAllister to start on three days’ rest and he accepted the assignment, having only logged 75 pitches in his outing against the Giants on Saturday. In 4 1/3 innings against the Angels, the big right-hander was charged with five runs (four earned) on four hits, ending with five strikeouts and four walks.
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