The Aftermath: Three Takeaways from the Indians' 4-3 Loss to Houston

Date:

9/7/2016

Time:

09:47:15

Author:

Benno Martens/FanSided via Wahoo's on First

Source:

Foxnews

Content:

Take away one six hitter stretch in the second and third innings for the Houston Astros, and Tuesday nights game could have turned out much differently for the Cleveland Indians. The Astros plated three runs with two outs in the second and one to lead off the third against Indians starter Corey Kluber, and it was all they needed, hanging on for a 4-3 win. It was Clevelands second straight loss to Houston after having one the first six games of the current homestand, and dropped the clubs record to 79-58. The Tribes lead in the American Leagues Central Division remains at 4.5 games after Detroit was shutout 2-0 by Chicago. After retiring the first five batters he faced on just 16 pitches, Kluber walked Evan Gattis and Colby Rasmus consecutively in the bottom of the second before Marwin Gonzalez belted a three-run home run into the right field seats. Leading off against Kluber in the third, George Springer doubled on a weak liner inside the right field line and came around to score when Alex Bregman tripled into the right field corner, providing all of the Stros offense for the night. The fourth run came after a Tyler Naquin groundout scored Lonnie Chisenhall in the bottom of the second, but the Indians wouldnt score again until the eighth when Carlos Santana launched his 29th homer of the season off Houston reliever Luke Gregerson. A rally in the ninth against Astros closer Ken Giles yielded a run and put the tying run in scoring position, but the Tribe couldnt walk things off on this night. The two sides will meet for game three of the four-game set on Wednesday night, with Carlos Carrasco on the bump for Cleveland against Doug Fister. Take away the six hitters in the second and third innings and Kluber pitched his usual gem. In falling to 15-9 on the season, the Tribes ace allowed four hits and three walks while striking out nine in seven innings of work. Houston went 1-for-16 against him after Bregmans triple. What made that stretch so strange is how effective Kluber has been of late, and how traditionally dominant he has been in the situations that came to bite him. The ALs Pitcher of the Month for August, the 30-year old went 5-0 with a 2.43 earned run average during the month, and the Indians hadnt lost one of his starts since July 24th. Further, he had entered the game 5-0 with a 2.45 ERA in his last eight starts following Indians losses. The Gonzalez home run came not only with two outs, but with an 0-2 count, which is also significant. It was the first home run Kluber had allowed in an 0-2 count since September 1, 2014 against Victor Martinez, and just the seventh hit (third of the extra-base variety) that he had allowed in that count in 2016. It was just one of those baseball things. And on 0-2 count. Batters had been 31-for-310 (.100) w/ 3 HRs vs. Kluber on 0-2 count past three seasons. https://t.co/MwmPbY1D7W -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield) September 6, 2016 Kluber lasted just 2.2 innings against the Astros in his only other start against them this season, a 7-1 loss on May 9th. Those are the first two losses he has taken against the Stros in his career, as he entered 2016 4-0 lifetime against them. A day after manager Terry Francona used eight total pitchers in what he had dubbed a "bullpen day," Cleveland had to go back to the pen to keep the game close, and the trio of Zach McAllister, Kyle Crockett, and Shawn Armstrong did just that. Indians relievers combined to thrown two scoreless innings, scattering three hits and a walk while striking out two. Crockett and Armstrong were both just recalled in the past two days and McAllister hadnt pitched in a week, a sign of the impact of expanded rosters in September. Should the Tribe make the playoffs, not all of the bullpen arms will make the postseason roster. These appearances, even in a game the team was trailing in, are an audition to pitch beyond the regular season. All three of these guys, along with a few on Monday night, are in the running, and need to make the most of these chances. Cleveland has been outscored 10-5 in the first two games of the series after having been 14 runs better (34-20) than its opponents during the six-game winning streak, and the answer to the question of why is pretty apparent. Against Minnesota and Miami, the Indians went 16-for-66 (.242) with runners in scoring position, which isnt exactly a Murderers Row, but in the past two games against Houston, the team is just 1-for-22 (.045). Particularly in Tuesday nights game, one more clutch hit could have made all the difference in the outcome. Next: Breaking Down the Tribes Remaining Schedule The Tribe entered the night hitting .264 with runners in scoring position, scoring 469 of their 668 runs for the season in those situations. The team had numerous chances against Houston in this one, but an 0-for-12 when the runners are out there just wont get it done most nights in the big leagues. This article originally appeared on

Orignial Link :

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2016/09/07/aftermath-three-takeaways-from-indians-4-3-loss-to-houston.html

crawlTime:

9/12/2016 4:07:40 PM