ATLANTA -- Three games, three runs, three losses.
Rarely do six words sum up a team’s results from an important series better. The Indians showed up in Atlanta; unfortunately their bats didn’t.
Whether it was the Braves pitching, the Indians struggles or a combination, Cleveland lost three games and finished 0-for-19 with runners in scoring position.
They hit weak grounders, they struck out, and when it seemed they finally made contact on a ball the Braves fleet outfielders ran the ball down. Atlanta is a very good team. The Indians are trying to be a very good team, but the results at this point show that they are a good team that is better than many but not as good as the elite.
Whether it’s a three-game sweep in Atlanta or a 1-6 record vs. Boston or a 3-13 mark against Detroit or a 1-6 record against the Yankees, the numbers show that the Indians can beat some, but not the best (except Texas and Oakland, against whom they are 5-1 and 5-2).
Indians pitchers gave up eight runs in three games, but the bats produced just three runs. In each game one mistake proved crucial -- which is what happens when a team doesn’t hit. Every negative play is magnified.
Thursday it was Ubaldo Jimenez throwing one bad pitch to Brian McCann, who deposited a slider that was supposed to be backdoor but wound up over the plate in the right field seats for a two-out, three-run home run.
That was all the Braves needed.
Because the Indians bats have gone hollow.
And the August numbers show it.
The Indians have scored 85 runs in 26 August games, 3.27 per game.
Their team batting average in this month is .227, with an on-base percentage below .300 and an OPS of .650. The runs scored is tied for 26th in baseball (with Tampa Bay), the batting average 27th.
What makes those numbers even more painful is that in the same month, the pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.37, sixth best in baseball. But because the Indians are not hitting, they’re just 12-14.
It should be no surprise that the individual batting averages are alarming as well.
Jason Kipnis leads the regulars with a .258 average in August. Nick Swisher is at .223 (with 24 strikeouts in 104 at-bats), Michael Brantley at .227, Carlos Santana .225, Michael Bourn .217 and Asdrubal Cabrera .213. Bourn, Swisher and Kipnis combined have struck out 79 times in 306 at-bats.
The Indians haven’t quit, and they don’t lack heart. They care, and they are trying. Perhaps too much. But they’re not getting results.
They picked the wrong time to stop hitting.
“We're in a stretch where if you make a mistake you're probably going to pay for it with the game,” Jimenez said. “We're not scoring a lot of runs. That's part of baseball. Sometimes you're going to get in a stretch like that.”
Atlanta’s outstanding pitching staff doesn’t help. The Braves have a 3.17 team ERA, and their bullpen is exceptional. That being said, to be among the best a team has to beat the best. And the Indians aren’t doing it: Their record against losing teams this season is 42-18, their record against winning teams 29-44.
Awaiting next: A three-game trip to Detroit, where the Indians have not won since May 12. The Tigers have won 12-of-13 over the Indians.
All that being said, the Indians won’t count themselves out until they’re out.
Asked if the hopes might be slipping away, Francona answered emphatically: “My goodness, no.”
Then he said: “We have a lot of good baseball left to play.”
Jimenez, who has struck out 10 in each of his last two starts and lost both times, wasn’t waving a white flag either.
“If we have a good series in Detroit, we'll probably have a chance,” Jimenez said. “For whatever reason, we're not playing good right now. We're not scoring a lot of runs, but we still have a chance.”
He’s right of course.
A team isn’t out of it until it’s mathematically eliminated. The Indians have put themselves in a tough spot, but they have plenty of games left against teams they have and can beat.
First, though, they must get past the Tigers.
Which has all the earmarks of another tough three days.
If the Indians don’t find their bats, tough might be the most pleasant word that describes the series.
