The First 20 Games of the Indians 60-Game Slate Will Go a Long Way in How 2020 Turns Out

Many fans around baseball are counting down to the start of the shortened 60-game slate that for the Cleveland Indians is set to kickoff on Friday, July 24th.

The season will be a sprint a lot more than a marathon, and one thing that will make 2020 so drastically different than in years past is no longer can teams simply give games away.

In other words – every game matters. Now more than ever.

That’s why when you look at the Indians 2020 schedule you know that the first part of it is the most important, and also it’s that first third of the slate that will likely decide just how good, or not so good, this team is going to be.

Manager Terry Francona said as much this week that the players on the team are going to need to adjust quickly on playing in front of an empty stadium, and also adjust to how vastly different that’s going to be from seasons past.

The only “fans” that will be at Progressive Field will be those players that will be wearing masks in the stands as they watch the game, again a far cry than year’s past when on certain nights the stadium in rocking with a sold out crowd.

How quickly Tribe players can adjust might just be their key to success, but we should have a pretty good idea of that in the first 20 games of the season, which we will run down for you right now.

The first six games are at home, which gives the Tribe an edge due to the fact it should give them an idea of just how different playing in an empty stadium will be.

Those first six games will highlight three against two AL Central teams the Tribe knows rather well, the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox.

The Royals are a team that is still very much in transition, and while the likes of Whit Merrifield and slugger Jorge Soler are two very good hitters, the rest of the lineup lacks and the pitching staff is nothing to write home about.

Danny Duffy is listed as the ace, with Brad Keller and Jake Junis listed as the number two and three starters the Tribe should see out of the gate.

Anything other than a 3-0 mark against the Royals to start the season is a letdown. It’s tough to think that Kansas City will be anything more than a team that goes 20-40 or even worse in 2020.

Next up are the White Sox, a team that made a number of moves this offseason to look to compete in the Central with the Indians and Minnesota Twins.

Yasmani Grandal, Edwin Encarnacion, Yoan Moncada and Leury Garcia are just a few hitters who will put pressure on opposing pitchers.

The Tribe pitchers will be challenged by this lineup, and let’s assume that the Indians go 2-1 in those first three games against them, ending that first homestand at 5-1.

After that it’s six road games, four at Target Field against a Twins team that some say might be the best in baseball, at least in terms of the one through nine lineup, and then two at the Reds in Cincinnati, a team that feels they are ready to turn the corner in 2020.

Games against the Twins the last two years have been intense as it’s a rivalry that is starting to become one of the best in the American League.

The Twins boast one heck of a lineup with Max Kepler, Nelson Cruz, Josh Donaldson, Mitch Garver, Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario.

Their starting rotation is their weak spot, with Jose Berrios being the ace. After that the Twins can be had, and that’s likely where they may fall short in their quest for a title.

The Reds have re-tooled their lineup and rotation, with one of the big moves from a season ago being the deal to pickup former Indians starter Trevor Bauer.

He’s listed as the Reds number three in the rotation, with Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray being the number one and two.

Let’s assume in the six road games after the homestand the Tribe goes 3-3, putting them at 8-4 after 12 games.

After the two road games at the Reds, they get them traveling to Progressive Field for three, again in what should be fun matchups against the team considered their National League rival.

Let’s think they go 2-1, putting them at 10-5 after 15 games of 2020.

After the home and home with the Reds the Indians travel to the North side of Chicago to take on the White Sox for three games.

Then they travel home to host the other Chicago team, the Cubs, for a two-game set on August 11th and 12th.

The Cubs have a new look with a new manager, and while the Tribe has not seen them since their classic seven game World Series in 2016, the likes of their lineup is rather familiar.

Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, and some guy at second base named Jason Kipnis are players are faces in the lineup that Indians fans should know.

Let’s hope in those five games against the two Chicago teams the Indians can manage to win three, putting them at 13-7 after 20 games.

It’s not a record that is going to make anyone start thinking World Series, but it’s six games over .500, and hopefully after 1/3 of the season will set some early momentum to start playing even better.

Likely to win the division it’s going to take 37-40 games. Going 13-7 in the first 20 would put them on pace for 39 wins.

Winning a bunch early is great, but the biggest question is can the team manage to stay on pace and finish strong to hopefully punch a ticket to October baseball.

Add us as a preferred source on Google