Indians' series success against Cardinals
The Cleveland Indians have never dropped a series to the St. Louis Cardinals, giving them one of the best marks by an AL club over an NL opponent since the dawn of interleague play in 1997.
Always close
AL, Best Record vs. Interleague Opponent -- All-Time (minimum 20 G)
| Team | Opponent | Record |
| Chicago White Sox | vs. Reds | 16- 4 (.800) |
| Los Angeles Angels | vs. Rockies | 20- 8 (.714) |
| Cleveland Indians | vs. Cardinals |
14- 6 (.700) |
| Boston Red Sox | vs. Marlins | 20-10 (.667) |
| Chicago White Sox | vs. Dodgers | 14- 7 (.667) |
| Seattle Mariners | vs. Diamondbacks | 14- 7 (.667) |
| Tampa Bay Rays |
vs. Phillies | 14- 7 (.667) |
The Cardinals just lost their first road series of the season in Pittsburgh, but each game remained close. In fact, all 14 games St. Louis has played away from home this year have been decided by three runs or fewer, one of the longest streaks to start a season in history.
Patient Tribe
MLB, Most Consecutive Road Games Decided by 3 Runs or Fewer to Begin Season -- All-Time
| Team | No. | Dates |
| 1924 Pittsburgh Pirates |
18 |
04/15/1924 - 06/01/1924 |
| 1968 Pittsburgh Pirates |
17 |
04/10/1968 - 05/21/1968 |
| 1971 California Angels | 16 | 04/10/1971 - 05/10/1971 |
| 2015 St. Louis Cardinals | 14 | 04/05/2015 - 05/10/2015 *ACTIVE* |
| 1966 Chicago White Sox | 14 | 04/19/1966 - 05/13/1966 |
| 2004 Montreal Expos | 14 | 04/06/2004 - 04/29/2004 |
The Indians have one of the more patient and contact-heavy offenses in the sport.
Cleveland is the lone team in the American League with at least 100 walks (104) and fewer than 200 strikeouts (188). Only Kansas City has struck out fewer times this season (176).
Indians, MLB Ranks in Swing & Contact Rates -- 2015
| Category | Stat | Rank |
| Pct. Pitches Taken | 57.2% | 2nd-Highest (Bos, 57.8%) |
| Pct. Swings in Play | 44.5% |
3rd-Highest |
| Pct. Swing & Miss | 18.4% | Lowest |
| Pct. Swing 1st Pitch | 22.8% | 3rd-Lowest |
Brantley making contact
Cleveland's Michael Brantley has just three strikeouts in 105 times up this season. His rate of one strikeout every 35 plate appearances is almost 20 more than the next closest qualifier.
Cleveland's Michael Brantley
Wong among second-base leaders
MLB, Most Plate Appearances per Strikeout -- 2015 (minimum 3.1 PA/Team G)
| Player | Ratio |
| Michael Brantley, Cle | 35.0 (105/3) |
| Daniel Murphy, NYM | 15.6 |
| Andrelton Simmons, Atl | 15.1 |
| Melky Cabrera, CWS | 14.1 |
| Nolan Arenado, Col | 13.4 |
The Cardinals' Kolten Wong, looking to extend his hitting streak to a career-long nine games, ranks near the top on a number of leaderboards for major league second basemen this season.
St. Louis' Kolten Wong
From groundballs to strikeouts
Kolten Wong, MLB Ranks as Second Baseman -- 2015
| Category |
Stat |
Rank |
| AVG | .324 | 4th (min. 100 PA) |
| SLG | .509 | 3rd (min. 100 PA) |
| Runs | 17 | t-5th |
| HR | 4 | t-3rd |
| RBI | 16 | 3rd |
| TB | 55 |
t-4th |
Indians starter Carlos Carrasco likes to work down in the zone, which not only results in tons of groundballs, but when combined with his devastating stuff, gives him a high number of punchouts. Carrasco is one of just four starters this year with a groundball rate of 50.0 percent and a strikeout rate of 29.0 percent (minimum 6 starts).
Cleveland's Carlos Carrasco
Lots of pitches per batter
MLB, 50.0%+ Groundball Pct. & 29.0%+ Strikeout Pct. -- 2015 (minimum 6 GS)
| Player, Team | GB% | K% |
| Chris Archer, TB | 55.4% | 29.9% |
| Michael Pineda, NYY | 54.8 | 29.5 |
| Clayton Kershaw, LAD |
54.4 | 30.3 |
| Carlos Carrasco, Cle | 50.7 | 29.2 |
Cardinals starter Lance Lynn has not been able to put opponents away quickly this year, averaging well over four pitches per batter faced.
The Cardinals' Lance Lynn
MLB, Most Pitches per Batter Faced -- 2015 (minimum 1 IP/Team G)
| Pitcher |
Ratio |
| Jose Quintana, CWS | 4.17 |
| Nathan Karns, TB | 4.15 |
| Danny Salazar, CLE | 4.13 [4.131] |
| Lance Lynn, STL | 4.13 [4.128] |
| Ubaldo Jimenez, Bal | 4.12 |
