Game #47 Observations: Indians Rally in the 9th But Can't Finish in Brutal 6-5 Loss to the Cubs

Once again Tuesday night in the "Windy City" known as Chicago the Indians put forth a better effort, but again the team couldn't hold a lead as they fell to the NL Central's first-place Cubs by a final of 6-5.

The loss now means their season-high losing streak is at seven, and the club falls on the year to 26-22, 14-11 away from Progressive Field.

The game ended in one of the most bizarre ways you will ever see, as reliever Nick Wittgren hit a pair of Cubs in the 9th with runners in first and third to allow the winning run to score without a player taking a bat off his shoulders.

The Indians seemed to be right in the thick of the AL Central race back just over a week ago after beating the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field on September 7th by a final of 5-2.

Since then they haven't won a game, and were shutout once, and in two of the losses failed to score two runs or more.

The club has 13 games left, seven of which are at home following this road swing through Chicago for another game with the Cubs, and then four in Detroit against the upstart Tigers.

Baseball Reference still says the Indians have a 99.3% chance to make postseason, but it seems like that playoff spot is slipping away more with each loss.

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Here's some observations about the latest loss by the Tribe, and what to expect for Wednesday's game in Wrigley Field.

A Shake Your Head Way to End It

For Nick Wittgren, it probably was the most frustrating way he's ever lost a baseball game in his entire career.

The Cubs put runners on the corners with one out in the 9th off reliever Oliver Perez, and at that point Sandy Alomar decided it was time to go to the pen for Wittgren, who this season was 2-0 with a 3.20 ERA in 20 appearances for the Tribe.

Wilson Contreras, who always seems to hog the plate, got plunked on the hand, and then Cameron Maybin, who the Cubs got in a deal from the Detroit Tigers, took a high fastball that hit him for the game-winning run.

“We get back in the game, and I pull a stunt like this today,” Wittgren said.

“It’s absolutely unacceptable, you have to try and make them put the ball in play. I guarantee we will turn it around, it’s just a matter of time.”

Of all the ways to lose a game, having to see two guys get hit to bring in a run might be a first, but after allowing the Indians to crawl back in the game on a Francisco Lindor two-run homer in the 9th, the Cubs will gladly take the gift.

Wittgren was simply trying to get a double play to get out of the inning, but instead handed the Cubs the game on a silver platter.

“Well I guess he was trying to get a double play a ball on the ground, two hit batters to end the game, that’s the way it’s going for us right now," Sandy Alomar said.

It doesn't seem to matter what pitcher the Indians put out there in key situations right now, something odd seems to happen to make things go from bad to worse.

That was very much the case on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.

Cookie's Night

Carlos Carrasco did what he could to keep the Indians in the game, going six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and leaving the game with it knotted up at three.

Carrasco walked one, struck out five, and threw 86 pitches in the no-decision, 58 for strikes.

The Tribe starter would have kept going if not for a tight calf muscle which is why he was pulled after six.

“He was good, he battled, he fought up there, we were going to take him one more inning but he had a little tightness in his calf, that’s why we took him out of the game in the 6th,” Alomar said.

In his last four outings Carrasco has thrown a total of 25 innings, allowing just five runs in those four starts.

He has rebounded nicely from the poor stretch he had a few weeks back, but one has to wonder if it's too little, too late.

Tuesday Carrasco's success came from going back to his bread and butter, which was a combo of his change-up and fastball.

Carlos Carrasco Having Trouble with His Favorite Pitch

The Cubs jumped on it in the 5th inning to score a couple runs, but overall it was those two pitches that kept the Indians in the game, and gave Carrasco success.

“I got the feel of my change up, it was pretty good, fastball change-up combination was pretty good, 5th inning I left a couple change ups up,” Carrasco said.

Carrasco has been with the team as long as any other player, and he knows that right now in the midst of this awful losing streak all you can do is keep going out there nightly and working to try and get a win.

“You know what, we have to keep playing hard, we played hard today, at some point the winning is going to come,” Carrasco said.

“At some point the win is coming, but more important we have to continue to play hard."

When Will the Rain End?

The Indians haven't gone this long without a win in a season in over five years, and as each "L" is taken, the pressure on the squad seems to be mounting.

Winning that game Tuesday would have been a perfect way to break the losing streak, as it would have come in dramatic fashion following the two-run HR by Lindor in the 9th.

Instead, it was a cruel joke as the Cubs, calm and cool, came up and got two hits off Oliver Perez, and then just sat back as Wittgren hit a pair of players to allow them to win the game in rather odd fashion.

The formula for the Indians during this losing streak has been pretty standard - don't put up many "crooked" numbers (an inning with 2, 3, 5, 7, or even 9 runs), don't pile on the hits, and then if the game is close, watch as the pen gives up a key hit or walk to allow the other team the advantage.

One of the very few bright spots as of late has been Francisco Lindor at the plate, as his homer in the 9th was his 8th of the year.

He's back in the leadoff spot, and has raised his average up to .286 after going 3-for-4 with four RBI and the homer.

He knows that right now things are just not clicking for this team, but like his coaches he also thinks the club will keep fighting to get out of it.

“Guys and coaches including myself are coming to the field every single day, we’re doing everything the right way, we get to the 9th inning and we don’t have as many runs as the other team, if we’re not in the poseason at least we gave it our best,” Lindor said.

It's hard to think after how this team played the first six weeks of the shortened 2020 season they won't be in the postseason, but as WKYC's Nick Camino pointed out via twitter on Tuesday, a seven-game losing streak is about equivalent to dropping 19-straight losses in a normal 162 game year.

The streak has got to end at some point - right? Maybe a trip to see the Motor City Kitties after one more with the Cubs is what cures all ails.

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For more from Matt Loede, follow him on Twitter @MattLoede. Follow CBI on Twitter @IndiansonSI

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