ST. LOUIS– The Cleveland Indians’ seven-game win streak came to a screeching halt on Monday night as they fell to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-0.
In their first game at Busch Stadium since 2012, the biggest issue the Tribe had was getting their bats going.
They’ll look to bring more offensive firepower on Tuesday, but until then, here are three takeaways from the loss.
1. The bats Gant get it done
John Gant did what no pitcher has been able to do over the last week: quiet the Indians’ bats. Gant was called up by St. Louis to spot start, and what a start it was.
He went seven innings, walked five and struck out four. Most notably, Gant allowed just one hit, a single to Yan Gomes in the second inning.
Gant relied heavily on his two-seam fastball and changeup to get the job done on Monday, and ultimately, he had the advantage of the Indians not really knowing anything about him.
2. Rain delay keeps ‘Sunshine’ at bay.
‘Sunshine’ couldn’t break through the rain clouds in St. Louis.
Mike Clevinger picks up his fifth loss of the year and just his second on the road after going five innings and allowing six hits, two runs, two walks and striking out four.
The difference in the game came in the third inning. After Matt Carpenter singled and Greg Garcia drew a walk, Marcell Ozuna hit a line drive to center field that went just far enough to plate both Carpenter and Garcia, giving the Cardinals an early 2-0 lead.
Ultimately, the Indians’ bats simply didn’t have enough to overcome that early deficit.
3. Eight would have been great, but seven isn’t bad
With the loss, Cleveland’s seven-game win streak is over. The streak was tied for longest active in Major League Baseball with Cincinnati coming into Monday’s contest. It was also their longest since last year’s 22-game win streak.
The Indians certainly have some issues that will need to be addressed during the season, but the good news is that during the win streak, they beat up on their American League Central opponents just like they are supposed to. Over those seven games, they outscored their opponents 54-9.
Yes, it’s still too early in the season for this win streak to mean anything substantial. But ultimately, it is encouraging that the Indians took care of business in a way that most expect.
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