The Cleveland Indians dropped two of three to Boston and now head out on a lengthy road trip starting with the New York Yankees.
The Indians may no longer be in first place but they are only half game back in the division. Cleveland saw their slight division lead disappear about as quickly as possible. Losing two consecutive games against the Red Sox will do that. Luckily the Brewers did the Tribe a favor by preventing the Twins from building their lead back up to multiple games. Now the Indians head out on the road and need to take care of business ASAP.
It’s road trip time
13 out of the Indians next 16 games are on the road. Thursday is the beginning of a weeklong stay in New York as they face the Yankees and Mets in consecutive series. A brief three game set at home against the Royals breaks up the two lengthy road trips. Afterwards Cleveland will take on the Tigers and Rays. Getting things started on the right foot will be integral to their future success.
The Yankees are a tough matchup. Even with all of their injuries they are able to still own the AL East. New York has truly embraced the next man up mentality. It will be up to the Tribe to do their best to shut this down and hopefully get back into the lead in the AL Central.
If the Indians are going to keep pace or even overtake the Twins they need to win in New York. Luckily the Indians will have Yasiel Puig returning to their lineup after serving a three-game suspension. Puig will provide a bit more of an impact at the plate over his temporary replacement Greg Allen.
A compete Indians lineup paired with Adam Plukto, Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger taking the mound should give Cleveland a more than fair chance to win this weekend. If things do not go their way they could find themselves in a familiar spot trailing Minnesota by more than half a game for the division lead.
