Bieber Beat Up By Mariners in Series Finale at Progressive Field in 6-2 Setback
There will games in 162 that you simply have to shake your head at.
Sunday at Progressive Field was one of those games, a Tribe 6-1 setback to the Seattle Mariners led by lanky 6' 6", 225 pound hurler Logan Gilbert.
The outing for Gilbert, who looks somewhat like a right-handed Randy Johnson in his Mariners blue, was surprising. What was even more shocking though was the outing for Indians 2020 Cy Young award winner Shane Bieber.
It was a LONG day for the 26-year-old who entered Sunday already having won seven games against three losses sporting a 2.96 ERA.
He allowed to the Mariners, who came into the game dead last in hitting in baseball sporting a team batting average of .209, a pair of homers to go along with five runs on 10 hits in 5.2 innings.
The likes of Jake Fraley and J.P. Crawford did damage, while the Indians lineup simply was not getting on consistently against Gilbert.
Here's a couple takeaways from Sunday's affair.
Missing Out on a Golden Opportunity
We all shoulda known we'd be jinxed by Indians radio play-by-play man Tom Hamilton, who prior to the game on air said that the one day you want to play a team is in that team's 'last day of a 3-city road trip' due to the team being exhausted and looking forward to just going home.
Nevertheless, it's up to the players to get the job done, and Sunday the Indians players did little to do that.
Bieber had his struggles but he wasn't the only one, as on offense minus a couple of hits the other way for Eddie Rosario, the team couldn't seem to get anything going against Gilbert.
Ending the day with a mark of 35-27 and getting ready for four against the Baltimore Orioles starting Monday would have been a MUCH better way to start the week instead of it happening with a loss to the now 32-35 Mariners - who remain baseball's weakest hitting team at the plate.
Young teams have days like Sunday, and the Indians learned that lesson the hard way watching their Cy Young winner get beat up on the mound.
Get the Momentum Back
It's been no secret that the Indians starting rotation has been both beat up and also at times ineffective thus far in 2021.
Monday night they will get a shot to get back on track against the Orioles, who will enter play 22 or 23 games under .500 depending on Sunday, last place by 19 or 20 games in the AL East.
They have yet to announce their starter, but when you're that bad does it matter all that much?
The Indians will counter with one of their young arms they have high hopes for in the future in Jean Carlos Mejia.
Mejia learned a tough lesson in his last outing, as he gave up four runs on three hits through just two-thirds of an inning with two walks and a strikeout against the Cardinals in just his second career start.
The 24-year-old has allowed four runs in 8.2 innings thus far in 2021, and the team is hoping against the O's that he will able to settle back down and get back on track at Progressive Field.
Going up against a pretty bad team in the O's one would think the Indians would be able to do that.
Of course not many saw them losing to the Mariners with Shane Bieber Sunday either, so in MLB you just never know.
A LOT of Off Speed
One thing that many took away from when it came to Shane Beiber's outing Sunday was the amount of off-speed pitches that the Cy Young award winner tossed, staying away from going back to the fastball.
A look at Bieber's outing from Sunday in the 6-1 loss to the Mariners at Progressive Field.
Count it as one of those days for Bieber, who just didn't want to get away from the off-speed stuff it seemed, and by the time he was lifted he had paid for it.
With the M's sitting back on his pitches, they scorched him for 10 hits to go along with five runs in just 5.2 innings of work.
It seemed like Seattle just knew what was coming and sat on his pitches most of the day.
Take it as a learning experience for the young Bieber, who turns around now and will get ready for a matchup Friday at PNC Park with the Pirates.
