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Zack Meisel has a column in The Athletic pointing out that the Indians have a very favorable schedule over the next month which gives them a chance to stay within shouting distance of the A.L. leaders while waiting for Plesac and Reyes to return and trying to find a couple of decent starters. We know this already but Zack does a good job of putting some numbers on it. I pasted some excerpts.
Winnable games
Here’s how this stretch begins:
• Three games against the Mariners, who own MLB’s worst batting average and on-base percentage and the second-worst slugging percentage
• Four games versus the Orioles, who possess baseball’s second-worst ERA and second-highest loss total
(I know what you’re thinking: The Indians are 2-5 against those teams this season. Yeah, it’s quite odd. The Indians are 11-11 against winning teams, the fourth-best mark in the American League, behind Houston, Tampa Bay and Boston.)
• Three games at the Pirates, who have the league’s fifth-worst ERA and third-worst wRC+ (overall run creation)
• Two games at the Cubs and four games at the Twins, who reside in the AL Central basement
• Three games against the Tigers, who are 23-72 against the Indians since 2016....
Anyway, that’s an awfully soft portion of the schedule, though it will require the Indians to play just about every day, which will put pressure on the pitching staff. They’re staring up at the White Sox in the standings, but Chicago lost second baseman Nick Madrigal on Thursday to a hamstring tear....
A barrage of off days has permitted the Indians to navigate the past few weeks with only 40 percent of their starting rotation intact. Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale are averaging 6 2/3 innings per start this season. The sextet of Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen, Cal Quantrill, Jean Carlos Mejía, Eli Morgan and Sam Hentges, who have covered the final two — and with Zach Plesac sidelined, the final three — spots in the rotation, has averaged about 3 1/3 innings per start.
Those six pitchers, in their starts, have combined for an 8.35 ERA with a 1.81 WHIP....
The Indians won’t be as free to manipulate how they structure their starting pitching during this stretch. They’ll recall McKenzie, who has impressed his past two outings, to pitch Saturday, in between Civale and Bieber. Mejía and Quantrill could kick off the Baltimore series next week.
There are no more training wheels, though. The Indians need these young hurlers to work deeper into games.
“At some point, you have to start getting some length out of more than two starters,” manager Terry Francona said...
The top half — well, the top five-ninths — of Francona’s lineup has risen to the level of “formidable” in recent weeks. Since the start of May, Cesar Hernandez owns a .794 OPS and Amed Rosario boasts a .301/.352/.451 slash line. That has allowed José Ramírez to actually bat with runners aboard...
Harold Ramirez’s metrics suggest his placement in the middle of the order isn’t as crazy as it might seem for a guy who was claimed off waivers a few months ago. And Eddie Rosario has officially heated up after offering a few of those 70-degree-day-in-early-March-type hints.
That’s not to say this lineup is a well-oiled machine, or even an oiled machine, or even a machine...
The Indians will play 30 games in the next 31 days, though. There will be plenty of opportunities for all. We’re going to learn a lot about this team.
My comment:
The soft part of the schedule is coming at the best possible time with Plesac and Reyes out and the other starters besides Bieber and Civale struggling. The hitters are starting to warm up; we've actually had two 10-run games in the last four. Whether the Indians end up becoming buyers at the deadline will probably be determined by the next 31 days.
McKenzie and Mejia might be the keys to this season with Allen having a dead arm and Hentges showing no evidence he can pitch at this level. This would be a great time for Josie to get hot. Eddie is showing signs of starting to hit with a .333 BA in June, although he's still hitting almost all singles. Anything Bradley could contribute would be a big help. Amed and Harold need to keep hitting - he's at .412/1.156 in June.
Winnable games
Here’s how this stretch begins:
• Three games against the Mariners, who own MLB’s worst batting average and on-base percentage and the second-worst slugging percentage
• Four games versus the Orioles, who possess baseball’s second-worst ERA and second-highest loss total
(I know what you’re thinking: The Indians are 2-5 against those teams this season. Yeah, it’s quite odd. The Indians are 11-11 against winning teams, the fourth-best mark in the American League, behind Houston, Tampa Bay and Boston.)
• Three games at the Pirates, who have the league’s fifth-worst ERA and third-worst wRC+ (overall run creation)
• Two games at the Cubs and four games at the Twins, who reside in the AL Central basement
• Three games against the Tigers, who are 23-72 against the Indians since 2016....
Anyway, that’s an awfully soft portion of the schedule, though it will require the Indians to play just about every day, which will put pressure on the pitching staff. They’re staring up at the White Sox in the standings, but Chicago lost second baseman Nick Madrigal on Thursday to a hamstring tear....
A barrage of off days has permitted the Indians to navigate the past few weeks with only 40 percent of their starting rotation intact. Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale are averaging 6 2/3 innings per start this season. The sextet of Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen, Cal Quantrill, Jean Carlos Mejía, Eli Morgan and Sam Hentges, who have covered the final two — and with Zach Plesac sidelined, the final three — spots in the rotation, has averaged about 3 1/3 innings per start.
Those six pitchers, in their starts, have combined for an 8.35 ERA with a 1.81 WHIP....
The Indians won’t be as free to manipulate how they structure their starting pitching during this stretch. They’ll recall McKenzie, who has impressed his past two outings, to pitch Saturday, in between Civale and Bieber. Mejía and Quantrill could kick off the Baltimore series next week.
There are no more training wheels, though. The Indians need these young hurlers to work deeper into games.
“At some point, you have to start getting some length out of more than two starters,” manager Terry Francona said...
The top half — well, the top five-ninths — of Francona’s lineup has risen to the level of “formidable” in recent weeks. Since the start of May, Cesar Hernandez owns a .794 OPS and Amed Rosario boasts a .301/.352/.451 slash line. That has allowed José Ramírez to actually bat with runners aboard...
Harold Ramirez’s metrics suggest his placement in the middle of the order isn’t as crazy as it might seem for a guy who was claimed off waivers a few months ago. And Eddie Rosario has officially heated up after offering a few of those 70-degree-day-in-early-March-type hints.
That’s not to say this lineup is a well-oiled machine, or even an oiled machine, or even a machine...
The Indians will play 30 games in the next 31 days, though. There will be plenty of opportunities for all. We’re going to learn a lot about this team.
My comment:
The soft part of the schedule is coming at the best possible time with Plesac and Reyes out and the other starters besides Bieber and Civale struggling. The hitters are starting to warm up; we've actually had two 10-run games in the last four. Whether the Indians end up becoming buyers at the deadline will probably be determined by the next 31 days.
McKenzie and Mejia might be the keys to this season with Allen having a dead arm and Hentges showing no evidence he can pitch at this level. This would be a great time for Josie to get hot. Eddie is showing signs of starting to hit with a .333 BA in June, although he's still hitting almost all singles. Anything Bradley could contribute would be a big help. Amed and Harold need to keep hitting - he's at .412/1.156 in June.