The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Indians hitters overmatched in ALDS
There is not just one answer when determining whether it is better to coast into the baseball playoffs or be forced to win at the end to be sharp heading into October, but it is safe to say coasting hasn’t worked for the Indians the last two years.
The Indians got all of three hits for the second straight day in the ALDS with the Astros and consequently are down, two games to none, after losing, 3-1, on Oct. 6. They were beaten, 7-2, in Game 1.
The Tribe bats belong in a library, where being quiet is a good thing.
You could make the argument the Astros are defending World Series champions and their pitching staff is strong top to bottom. But the Indians played the first two games of the series as though they don’t belong on the same field. They certainly are not playing with pride or grit.
Jose Ramirez has gone from being an MVP candidate in August to someone with no confidence at the plate.
For most of the summer, Ramirez kept the Indians clubhouse loose with his energy and smile, but for the last few weeks he has been sitting at his locker quietly while the clubhouse is open to the media. I have no idea whether there is a correlation between his change in demeanor and his hitting slump,
Ramirez hit .171 (19-for111) in the last 30 games of the regular season. He was 0-for-3 in Game 1 and 0-for-4 in Game 2 of the 2018 ALDS. That makes him 2-for-27 (.074) in his last seven postseason games.
Josh Donaldson is now 0-for-8 in the postseason with the Indians. Michael Brantley, who had one of only three Indians hits in Game 1, was 0-for-4 in Game 2. Francisco Lindor homered to account for the Indians’ only run. Jason Kipnis is 0-for-6 with five strikeouts.
The Indians struck out 24 times in 60 at-bats in the first two games with Houston. Yes, they faced Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. But they do not get a free pass for flailing away at the ball because of that.
The Indians won the AL Central Division by 13 games in 2018 and 17 games last season when they won 102 games, most in the American League.
Big deal. They are one loss from being bounced in the ALDS for the second straight
year. They are 2-8 in their last 10 postseason games.
• Manager Terry Francona should think seriously about starting Carlos Carrasco if somehow the Indians win two games at Progressive Field to stretch the series to a Game 5 on Oct. 11 in Houston.
Corey Kluber would be the logical starter because he started Game 1. But as he did in his previous three postseason games, Kluber exited early in the 7-2 loss. Kluber gave up four runs to the Astros, three of them on home runs, in 4 2/3 innings. He has been hammered for nine home runs in his last four postseason starts dating to Game 7 of the 2016 World Series and never made it past the fifth inning in any of them.
Carrasco pitched 5 2/3 innings in Game 3 of the 2017 ALDS. He was charged with the loss, but all three runs he gave up were unearned. Defense deserted
the Indians in that game.
Carrasco cruised through the first five innings in Game 2 against the Astros. He was lifted with runners on first and second and one out in the sixth. Andrew Miller gave up a double to right to Marwin Gonzalez, then Melky Cabrera bobbled the ball, allowing Alex Bregman to score from first.
Miller, like the hitters in both games and Kluber plus reliever Cody Allen in Game 1, did not do his job.
Carrasco was tagged with the Game 2 loss, but he clearly pitched better than Kluber did the day before. Carrasco would be pitching on his normal four days of rest.
He was 17-10 in the regular season.
There will be no Game 5 if the Indians don’t start hitting. But Francona should not be second-guessed if he makes the bold move of starting Carrasco over Kluber if the series does return to Houston.