Indians Offense Falls Flat In Game Two Against The Twins, Lose 4-2; Three Takeaways From The Loss

The Tribe looked to make it seven in a row when they took on the Minnesota Twins in game two of thir doubleheader on Thursday. Ryan Merritt took the ball for

The Tribe looked to make it seven in a row when they took on the Minnesota Twins in game two of thir doubleheader on Thursday. Ryan Merritt took the ball for the Indians and would not last long into the ballgame, only going 3.2 innings. Merritt was one of three starters used by Terry Francona, as Mike Clevinger and Trevor Bauer were brought out of the bullpen in a day of baseball that saw the Tribe use nine pitchers through 18 innings.

With a doubleheader split with the Twins Thursday, let's break down the three takeaways from the 4-2 loss.

1.Merritt Gets Another Short Outing- Ryan Merritt got another short start on Thursday, only going 3.2 innings for the Tribe tonight. While he gave up a run on a sacrifice fly, he was immediately pulled right after and this writer does not fully understand why. Merritt has never received a chance to go deep in a ballgame and it sure is a shame. With a game that ended up expending three arms, one can truly be curious on what could have been tonight for Merritt. If he has any possibility of being a main player in the big leagues, a longer outing must be allowed by the Indians.

2. Missing Jose- Though it was only for a game, tonight proved how big of an impact Jose Ramirez makes for the Indians offense. Instead of Ramirez batting third and starting the Indians opportunities by setting the table for runs for Edwin Encarnacion and Jay Bruce, Bruce moved up in the lineup. Not that Bruce is bad to have in the three-spot by any stretch, but Ramirez adds something to the lineup that was surely missed. Thank goodness, he's okay.

3. Quiet Offense- Six of the Indians batters went hitless tonight, which was a telling sign of why they lost this game. With only four batters reaching base (Roberto Perez walk), there was little opportunity to score. Hopefully this was just a blip in the road trip, as the team heads to Kansas City to play the Royals.