ST Game #11: Indians Minor League Pitchers Can't Stop Texas in 3-2 Loss to the Rangers

Monday afternoon the Cleveland Indians dropped to 3-8 in Cactus League play, as the club lost a 3-2 decision to the Texas Rangers in Surprise Stadium.

The Indians did not have a regular starter on the mound in Monday’s affair, instead they went with minor league pitcher Jean Carlos Mejia.

Tuesday the Indians will have Carlos Carrasco on the mound for the first time in 2020, as “Cookie” is making his debut for the season as he’s ready to go after suffering a minor hip flexor earlier in the spring.

Here’s some tidbits from the loss to the Rangers on Monday afternoon.

On the Mound: Mejia was solid under the bright lights of starting in a spring training Major League game, going a pair of innings.

The pitcher allowed a pair of hits with a walk and a pair of strikeouts in the outing, but the big thing is he didn’t allow a run.

Righty Eli Mogan was next up for the Tribe, and he went 1.1 innings, allowing a run on a pair of hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

After Texas took a 1-0 lead in the fourth, the Indians were able to give their pitching staff a 2-1 lead with a pair of runs in the fifth.

The rest of the Indians pitching lineup included lefty Ty Boyles, lefty Kirk McCarty, righty Juan Mota and lefty Skylar Arias.

The minor league contingent did a solid job, allowing three total runs on 11 hits, walking three and striking out nine.

The Rangers scored a pair of runs in the fifth after the Tribe took the lead, leading to McCarty taking the loss.

At the Plate: The first three hitters in Terry Francona’s Monday lineup were all outfielders, possibly a sign to come during the season?

Delino DeShields went 2-for-3 in the leadoff spot, getting the game back to 1-1 in the fifth when he hit a ground rule double scoring Ernie Clement.

Jake Bauers followed it up with a single which scored DeShields to give the Tribe the 2-1 edge. Bauers went 1-for-2 on the day with a RBI, and he’s hitting .267 with a .333 slugging percentage.

Then in the third spot it was Jordan Luplow, who played a few innings in right, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. He’s started the spring hitting .111.

Franmil Reyes went 1-for-2 at the DH spot with a walk and double, he continues to hit well with an average now at .467.

Backups Tyler Krieger, Clement and Tyler Freeman all also recorded hits. As a team the Indians put up seven hits with three walks.

They went 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base in the loss.

Other Stuff: With Carrasco going on Tuesday the team will get a look at another starter on Wednesday as Aaron Civale will pitch for the Indians starting the game on the mound for the first time in 2020.

Tuesday’s 3:05pm EST start will be broadcast live on SportsTime Ohio, with lefty Andrew Heaney going for the Los Angeles Angels.

Carrasco likely will throw no more than two innings in his first start of 2020.

The Indians hit into three double plays in Monday’s loss – Roberto Perez, Luplow and Wilson Garcia all hit into twin killings.

Top prospect Nolan Jones got the start at third for the Tribe, going 0-for-2 with a pair of strikeouts, and he’s hitting .111 in his short time with the big league roster.