The Cleveland Indians remain in first place after being swept by the Kansas City Royals earlier this week.
The Cleveland Indians have been enjoying rare success so far in 2016. The team entered Monday’s game against the Kansas City Royals with a three-game lead in the American League Central over the Royals.
Then the Indians got swept. The Royals won all three games, including two wins in one-run games.
Tuesday’s loss was the toughest to take, as reliever Bryan Shaw allowed a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Royals a 3-2 lead and to win the game.
The sweep brought the Indians into a tie with the Royals for first place, but a Royals loss Thursday night gave the Indians a .5 game lead before Friday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.
There are those who may have begun to panic after such a loss, but that is an overreaction given it is only June.
A four-game sweep of the Royals earlier in June helped the Indians jump into first place, so the Royals defending home field and taking three straight is nothing to worry about. One series does not define a season, especially when it takes place in Kansas City, where the Royals are 22-8 this season. The 44-20 Chicago Cubs are the only other team with less than ten home losses in MLB.
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With a record of 35-30, the Indians are in a great position to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2013. The pitching staff has the seventh-best ERA in all of baseball, while the offense has been able to get production out of some unlikely sources while dealing with injuries and suspensions.
The offense only managed a total of seven runs in the sweep against the Royals, but this is just a small sample size in a long season. The Indians left town for a ten-game road trip seven games over .500 and came back five over.
The true test will be the upcoming three-game series against the Chicago White Sox. Another sweep would be cause for alarm and could result in the front office looking into certain trade options, especially in the bullpen.
Bryan Shaw had two losses on the recent road trip, so another could lead to him being let go, although manager Terry Francona still plans to use him regularly.
Manager Terry Francona standing by struggling set-up man Bryan Shaw. https://t.co/F3FfscGc9V
— paul hoynes (@hoynsie) June 15, 2016
The absence of Michael Brantley is having an effect on the lineup, but the Indians still own a run-differential of plus-40, which is third-best in the AL behind the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are the main focus of the Cleveland sports scene right now as they await a Game 7 matchup against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, but if they cannot win the Indians have the next best shot to bring a title home to Cleveland.
The rest of the season will feature the Indians fighting it out with the Royals, White Sox and Detroit Tigers in what should prove to be a fierce division race.
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And after 65 games, the Indians look to be in a great position to bring home an AL Central title in 2016. This view may change later on if the Indians fall under the .500 mark, but the current record is nothing to panic about.