Bieber Beat Up by Pirates as Indians Drop Third Straight in 9-4 Decision; Three Takeaways

CLEVELAND - The Indians struggles with the Pirates continued on Tuesday night at Progressive Field, as Pittsburgh won their 11th straight game, pounding the Indians early and cruising to a 9-4 win.

The loss for the Indians drops them to 54-46 on the season, and the team has dropped 9 of it's last 14 games, and is now 2-3 after the All-Star break.

The Pirates improve to 53-49 on the season, and continue to close the gap for the NL Wild Card as well as the NL Central as they continue to chase the Cubs for the top spot.

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday's loss:

1. Bieber Gets Lit Up

Indians righty starter Shane Bieber was roughed up in Tuesday's outing by the Pittsburgh Pirates, as he made his first start out of the All-Star break.

Bieber didn't last long, only going 1.2 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits with two homers (Sterling Marte and Gregory Palanco).

The team wanted to keep him on his normal schedule which is why he went back to AAA during the All-Star break, but his command on Tuesday just wasn't there, and the Pirates made him pay.

Bieber's ERA bumped to a 4.80, this after entering the game it sat at 3.53.

2. Indians Bats Can't Get Going

The Indians bats continued to struggle for the third day in a row in the 9-4 setback.

Coming into Tuesday's game the Indians over the past two games were unable to push across a run, but did manage four in the losing effort, mostly when the game was decided, on Tuesday.

Pirates starter Joe Musgrove held the Indians in check, as they did score two runs against him, and one apiece against each of the Pirates pen arms.

Musgrove went seven strong innings, he gave up five hits, two earned runs, one walk. He struck out two hitters, and gave up one home run to Edwin Encarnacion.

3. More Defensive Woes

It's no secret that the Indians defense has struggled recently.

Whether it's the injuries mounting up. Or the lack depth in the outfield, or simply failing to turn double-plays, the Indians simply can't catch a break.

Tuesday for example, CF Tyler Naquin failed to make a catch while jumping in the air. Only he didn't have to jump in the air to make the grab.

The Indians are also struggling to turn double-plays, as another example from the loss, A failed double-play attempt in the second inning eventually costed the Indians five runs.