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Game 9 Observations Indians Offense Rema
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The opponent did just enough at the plate, while the Cleveland Indians offense was unable to provide much of anything.I should probably clarify. After all, the above sentence now accurately describes more than a few games from this past week. In fact, tonights lo s against the Minnesota Twins was almost a carbon copy of Fridays defeat.Once again, Minnesotas thunderous lineup was prevented from doing too much. Yet, once again, it didnt matter.Thanks to another quiet night from Clevelands offense, three runs was all the Twins needed to take home a 3-0 victory.Its become quite a concerning trend, as the Indians have now scored Joe Kelly Jersey two runs or le s in all but three of their nine games this season. Theyve lost three of their last four, and theyre making a habit of spoiling the efforts of their rotation.Admittedly, Carlos Carrasco wasnt as sharp as he looked in last Sundays win against Kansas City. He went 6.0 innings, allowing three runs -- all on solo home runs -- while striking out five. Minnesota hit him hard frequently throughout the night, as he allowed an average exit velocity Joc Pederson Jersey of 95.6.Still, he did enough to keep his team in the game.Unfortunately, he was instead saddled with a lo s. Cleveland could only muster two hits, failing to bring anyone acro s the plate. The offense is now averaging just 2.8 runs per game, and has scored just three total since this past Wednesday.Unlike the usual early season funks, cold weather isnt a valid excuse.Here are a few more observations from tonights lo s.Another Offensive No-ShowYes, I implied we were changing topics. However, enough cant be said about how badly Cleveland is currently struggling to score.The Indians entered the night collectively slashing .222/.317/.323 with a .290 wOBA, numbers which certainly wont look any better after tonights dud.Only five Cleveland hitters made it to first base, three via walk.The highest exit velocity generated came from catcher -- and career .221 hitter -- Sandy Len (108.1).The Indians two-through-five hitters -- Jos Ramrez, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana and Franmil Reyes -- went a combined 1-for-15 with six strikeouts. Reyes whiffed to end the game, spiking his bat into the dirt in frustration.Scroll to ContinueThe moment served as a pretty accurate summary of Clevelands offensive performance to date.Under normal circumstances, this could be dismi sed as a funk Cleveland could eventually work its way out of. This year, were already 15% of the way through the season.This is only the Indians third series, so its Maury Wills Jersey still too early to think this is life for the next couple months. However, Clevelands bats need to wake up in a hurry. Otherwise, the starting rotation is going to have to focus solely on shutouts for the foreseeable future.Catcher WoesAdmittedly, Roberto Prez was struggling out of the gate this year. However, ever since he was sent to the IL with a shoulder strain, a glaring hole at catcher has been exposed on Clevelands roster.Len struggled at the plate once again tonight, going 0-for-3 with two Ks. Hes now batting .154 on the year. His backup, Beau Taylor, has yet to get on base in his six plate appearances this season.Neither player has done much in their respective careers to indicate brighter days are on the horizon, which just further hammers home how badly Prezs presence is mi sed.For what its worth, manager Terry Francona seemed encouraged when updating local media about Prez before Saturday nights game.He's still three Walker Buehler Jersey or four days away from the throwing, Francona said of his ailing backstop. He was examined by Dr. Jason Genin, and they thought he was doing really well.One would hope Prez is on the way to a speedy recovery. If not, Cleveland may have to look outside the current roster to find a solution at catcher.Sustained Succe s From the BullpenA deflating night like this cant be without some sort of silver lining. For that, we can look towards the bullpen, which has performed quite well nine games into the season.Clevelands relief corps entered Saturday with the sixth-best ERA A. J. Pollock Jersey (2.14) and third lowest FIP (2.57) in the majors, and said succe s continued tonight. Adam Cimber and Cam Hill each logged an innings work, allowing no earned runs or hits.Cimber also logged a strikeout, one which occurred against a lefty. Considering the slash line hes allowed to southpaw hitters over the past two seasons (.308/.409/.585) this is indeed a moment worth celebrating.Overall, while many wondered how effective Clevelands bullpen would be this year, the unit has been holding its own so far.The Indians hit the field again tomorrow afternoon, looking to split the series with Minnesota before heading to Cincinnati for a four-game set against the Reds.