The Indians night in a nutshell can be found in the first at-bat of the game, as Max Kepler made it his personal mission to make sure the Twins would not walk out of Cleveland getting swept.
The Twins outfielder launched three bombs off Indians starter Trevor Bauer, and Twins starter Jose Berrios did a near repeat of opening day holding the Tribe bats in check in a Minnesota 5-4 win.
The loss for the Indians drops them to 31-31 on the year, and back to double digits, 10.5 back of the Twins in the AL Central.
The team now has to shift focus to a red-hot New York Yankees team, as they will come to Progressive Field for three games starting on Friday night.
Bauer gave up five runs in eight innings, with Kepler going deep in the first, third and seventh innings against him.
One of the few bright spots of offense for the Tribe was Roberto Perez, who hit his 10th homer of the season in the fifth to close the gap at the time to make it 4-1.
Here’s a snapshot of the latest loss for the Indians:
1. Bauer Still Struggling
While Max Kepler took batting practice off Bauer, he again did not look anywhere near like the ace he did a season ago for the most part, giving up five runs on five hits over eight innings.
He walked three and struck out seven in the effort, which in some cases was much needed as he saved a burnt out bullpen that had to pitch the entire game on Wednesday in the win.
Over his last five starts (Baltimore, Oakland, Tampa, White Sox, Twins) Bauer has thrown 32 innings, allowing 20 earned runs.
If the Indians have any thoughts of trading Bauer, his value has been hurt over the last month. He has not collected a win since April 30th.
He’s now 4-6 on the season, and will be back on the mound Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds.
2. Berrios Again Dominates
Much like opening day when he threw a shutout against the Indians, Jose Berrios was just too much on the mound for Minnesota for the Indians offense to do much of anything.
At least this time they made it somewhat interesting and actually scored against him thanks to a solo homer by Roberto Perez.
His off-speed stuff was just too much for Tribe hitters, and he was able to turn it up when needed. He went six innings allowing a walk and six K’s, giving up one earned run on two hits.
While the Twins bats are a main reason they are boasting the second best record in the American League, their starters have done a great job shutting down opponents as well, and it starts with their ace in Berrios.
3. Can’t Rest Now
The highly anticipated series with the Twins is in the books, and the team did what they had to do, taking the series two games to one, but now the homestand gets even tougher.
The Yankees at 39-22 are playing as well if not better than any team in the league, and the Indians are going to go up against Domingo Germán, C.C. Sabathia, and Masahiro Tanaka.
The Indians simply have to find a way to get runners on base and make things tough, and their starters have to keep the game in check as well.
If the Yankees and that loud fan base that will be at Progressive Field get early leads, it could be a very long weekend for the Indians at Progressive Field.
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