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Late this past Saturday afternoon, the Cleveland Indians found themselves sitting on top of the AL Central. It was quite an impressive feat, especially considering the fact the team’s pitching – seen by many as Cleveland’s bread and butter – hasn’t been performing as well as everyone had predicted. While Danny Salazar and Josh Tomlin have been putting forth quality campaigns, inconsistency has plagued the rest of the rotation.
No matter, the Indians had still clawed their way to first place in the division. Unfortunately, fans could only celebrate for a few hours, as Cleveland has lost every game since. Thanks to a combination of minimal offense and subpar pitching, the Tribe fell from first to third in the span of three days. The team as a whole looks to be in a legit funk, and is need of a boost heading into this weekend’s series with the first-place Kansas City Royals.
Said boost may be coming in the form of starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco, who makes his return from injury tomorrow night. The Venezuelan has been on the shelf since April 25, and his return couldn’t have come any sooner.
The Indians are in dire need of some positive vibes in their clubhouse right now. They’ve been thoroughly stomped in the past two games by the Texas Rangers, getting outscored 16-5. Offensive contributions have been few and far between, which doesn’t help when you have a 9-0 hole to climb out of as the team did Monday.
Making things worse is how badly two of the Tribe’s best pitchers performed against the Rangers. Corey Kluber allowed six earned runs in yesterday’s loss, while Tomlin – who was undefeated coming into Monday – was absolutely shellacked.
These developments are already a concern on their own. Coupling them with yet another PED suspension being handed down on the team only adds to the negativity.
The MLB announced today outfielder Marlon Byrd has been given a 162-game suspension, testing positive for PEDs for the second time in his career. Though he wasn’t a key member of the club, his punishment likely wasn’t the best news for the Indians to hear. He’s the second Indian to be booked for PEDs this season, following Abraham Almonte‘s suspension from earlier this year.
So, yeah, the Tribe needs something good to happen something awful. The return of Carrasco should hopefully do the trick.
Seen as one of the best pitchers in the rotation, Carrasco had been having an impressive start to the 2016 season before getting hurt. Many saw his injury as a severe blow to the Indians’ hopes, but the team has been able to stay afloat in his absence. Considering this, you have to think his return will be huge for the team.
Not only does his comeback provide good news for a team in need of it, he’s also coming back for a very important series. The first place Royals are in town for a crucial four-game set, with Carrasco’s start kicking off the series. Should Cleveland struggle this weekend, the team could find itself in a sizable hole within the division. Though it’s still early in the year, the Indians obviously don’t want to make things more challenging for themselves.
Having Carrasco, Salazar, Tomlin and Kluber as their four starters for this series definitely helps their chances.
Well, it should, at least. Cleveland is limping at the moment after a couple solid weeks of baseball. The team is in dire need of any help it can get to get everything back on track. Having one of the team’s best pitchers back certainly helps the cause.
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