Tomlin, pitching hammered in Tribe's 10-4 loss to White Sox.

What's Wrong With the Cowboy?
I have always considered myself a Josh Tomlin fan. He's a humble guy from Texas, and as far as I can tell, a genuinely good person But his first two outings of the season have made it extremely hard to defend him when it comes to his work on the mound. Particularly this last outing, when he was absolutely blasted by the White Sox lineup. He only lasted 1 2/3 innings. Tomlin gave up seven runs on eight hits, including two home runs in the first inning, as the Indians fell to 4-5 on the year. The Tribe has now lost five of their last six ballgames. For whatever reason, Tomlin just couldn't keep the ball down. And that's big trouble for a pitcher. Any time an opposing hitter sees a high pitch, or one that doesn't move or drop, you can bet they're going to swing for the fences. And that's exactly what Tim Anderson, Matt Davidson, and the rest of the Chicago lineup did. In two starts, Tomlin's collective ERA is a bloated 18.47. We all want to see him do well since he's a Cleveland Indian, but one has to wonder how many more starts he gets before or until someone takes his spot in the rotation. He needs to turn it around fast.

Lineup Showing Signs of Life?
Even though the lineup couldn't dig them out of an early 7-1 hole, I think perhaps this is the one possible bright spot in an otherwise disastrous game. The Tribe's bats manufactured four runs on a dozen hits, going 12 for 37 from the plate for a much better .324 average for the game. Not to mention Yan Gomes, who has been struggling mightily, and Michael Brantley, who's still trying to find his groove after returning, both hit home runs for the Indians today. I always go by a couple measuring sticks when trying to see whether or not a lineup or offense is successful. First, if a player is hitting at least .270, they can be counted on in the lineup to pull their weight. Second, if a team's offense can score four runs a game at the very least, that team has a chance to win if the pitching backs them up. Obviously the Indians didn't get reliable support from the pitchers today, but had the Tribe gotten a solid start from Tomlin, perhaps they would have won? Four runs isn't an offensive explosion, but it is enough support from a lineup to win some ballgames.

Next Up?
The Indians won't have much time to lick their wounds, as they'll be right back at it tomorrow night against the Detroit Tigers, starting 7:10 p.m. at Progressive Field. This is a critical early-season series for the Tribe, since they don't want to fall further behind in the early race for the division. Detroit is tied for first place in the Central with Minnesota, each at 6-3. If the Indians ever needed a bounce back series win, it's this weekend against their biggest rivals.

WP: Swarzak (1-0)
LP: Tomlin (0-2)

Pitching Probables vs. Detroit
RHP Trevor Bauer (0-1, 6.35 ERA) vs. LHP Daniel Norris (0-0, 4.26 ERA)

Sources:
MLB Game Day on Cleveland Indians team site