Game #33 Observations: Indians Fall in Finale as Civale Roughed Up in 7-2 Loss to Cardinals

The Indians went into Sunday’s game with the St.Louis Cardinals already having won the series, but were looking for another road sweep after beating up the Tigers and Pirates recently away from Progressive Field.

It was not meant to be, as Indians starter Aaron Civale was touched up for five runs in six innings, and the offense continued to have its issues in a series finale 7-2 setback that drops the Indians to 21-13 on the year, 12-6 on the road.

There’s a lot of focus on what the Indians may do at the trade deadline which is 4pm Monday, and having offensive outings like Sunday do nothing but still make everyone think the team has to go out and get a bat if they are to be taken seriously in the postseason.

The offense managed just four hits in the loss, one of which was a two-run homer for Tyler Naquin, accounting for the only two Tribe runs on the afternoon.

Here’s some observations for game #33 as the club will head to Kansas City for the first of three Monday with the Royals at 8:05pm ET.

Civale Not Sharp

Tribe starter Aaron Civale had his worst outing of the season on Sunday, going six innings allowing five runs on eight hits with two walks and three K’s.

Yes the slider is the pitch that Civale needs to get over to be effective, and Sunday it just wasn’t and the Cards took advantage of it.

It wasn’t that the Cardinals were crushing the ball all over Busch Stadium, but they had the kind of effective day at the plate where they amassed 11 hits and were patient, waiting on pitches from Civale and the Tribe pen.

Civale has now allowed 14 runs in 40 innings on the season with four walks and 40 strikeouts.

He’ll be back on the mound when the team is home Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Offensive Inept - Again

The start for the Tribe was solid, as Tyler Naquin got the team off to a solid start with a two-run homer in the 2nd that made it 2-0 Indians.

After that the team did next to nothing, as they managed just four hits and no runs after the Naquin blast.

Four hits isn’t going to get it done most nights, but it very much isn’t going to get it done when you have a pitcher who was just not on his game in Civale.

The trade deadline is closing in, and with the rampant rumors that the Indians are willing to deal starter Mike Clevinger, they may go all in for a bat that can change the scope of the lineup.

Cesar Hernandez and Francisco Lindor got the other two Indians hits, as Adam Wainwright had what appeared to be an easy time with the rest of the Tribe lineup.

It was the first complete game for Wainwright in four seasons, as his curveball had the Indians off balance all afternoon.

“He never left balls in the middle of the plate, has a big hook, so he tends to make you swing early. He was very sharp,” Indians acting manager Sandy Alomar Jr. said after the game.

Busy Next 24 Hours

Are the Indians truly in the thick of things when it comes to all these trade rumors, or is it all smoke and mirrors?

The rumors about Mike Clevinger and Lindor have been pretty persistent over the last few days, with the latest being that the Indians are talking to the White Sox about Clevinger - a deal that seems to make no sense whatsoever.

Many of the “insiders” think that the Indians are not going to sit still, and they are going to do whatever they can to grab a bat that is going to get the offense out of the funk they have been in since basically opening day.

The Indians have been good about outweighing the risk and rewards of deals in the last few years - this year is even more difficult due to the fact scouts have been just watching tape and have not been able to go to team’s sites to see young players.

Nevertheless, expect to hear the Indians name mentioned quite a bit by the time 4pm rolls around on Monday.

Add us as a preferred source on Google