Tribe not yet ready to play with big boys

Tribe is not a finished product

The Indians have the largest lead of any of MLB’s six division leaders with the exception of the Chicago Cubs heading into games played July 25.

So why does it seem as though the Indians are pulled over to the side of the road with their emergency lights flashing waiting for a tow truck?

The Tribe is 7-11 since their 14-game winning streak ended with a 9-6 loss in Toronto on July 2. That trend has to change with 65 games to play in the regular season.

Fortunately for the Tribe, the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers are struggling, too. The Indians have lost three straight and are 4-6 over their last 10 games. The Tigers have lost two straight and are 5-5. The Royals have lost two straight and are 3-7 over their last 10 games.

It adds up to a six-game lead over the Tigers and an eight-game lead over the Royals as the Tribe begins a two-game series with the Washington Nationals on July 26 at Progressive Field.

All teams go through bad stretches in a 162-game season. The question team president Chris Antonetti has to resolve is whether the Indians are good enough to fight through this one without a drastic move as the Aug. 1 trading deadline nears.

Reports had the Indians working a trade with the Yankees for closer Aroldis Chapman, who comes on in the ninth inning throwing 100 mph fastballs. Instead the Yankees shipped Chapman to the Cubs.

The Indians haven’t won more than two straight since their franchise-record 14-game winning streak was snapped three weeks ago. They were beaten three straight times in Baltimore by the Orioles, the team with the best home record (36-14) in all of baseball.

Winning the Central Division won’t be enough to call this season a success. The current slump, albeit only three games, exposed weaknesses that will bring the Indians playoff run to a premature end — assuming it starts.

• The Indians scored a total of six runs while being swept by the Orioles.

• The bullpen wasted two strong starts by Corey Kluber.

• Failure to turn a double play was critical in the 5-2 loss on July 23, and defense deserted them again on July 24 when catcher Roberto Perez, trying to throw out Roberto Alvarez after failing to catch a third strike, hit Alvarez in the head on the throw to first.

Perez might not have been playing if Yan Gomes were healthy. But the Indians’ best catcher is on the disabled list with a separated shoulder. The miscue in the bottom of the ninth preceded a walk-off by pinch hitter Nolan Reimold.

With Gomes out six more weeks or so, rumors of the Indians trading for Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy are going get hotter.

No one knows when Michael Brantley will return to the Indians’ lineup. Each time he seems to get close he suffers another setback from his shoulder and biceps problems.

Peter Gammons of MLB Network back in December said he was told the slugging outfielder wouldn’t be ready until August. Brantley did play in 11 games in late April and early May. But essentially Gammons was correct, even if it hasn’t played out exactly as he said it would.

This is no time to panic, but the Indians could easily face the Orioles in the playoffs. The Tribe is not a finished product.

GAIL BURTON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Indians catcher Roberto Perez reacts after hitting the Orioles’ Pedro Alvarez when throwing to first in the ninth inning July 25 in Baltimore.

GAIL BURTON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Indians squandered two solid starts by Corey Kluber on their nine‑game trip.