Indians Rock Buehrle, Blue Jays 9-4.

Maybe it was the calendar?

The turning of the page to a new month was probably welcome news to the Cleveland Indians, who suffered through a terrible 7-14 April that saw just about nothing go right for a team expected to contend for postseason baseball.

Well, perhaps May will be the month that the team turns it all around. If that is the case, they’re off to a great start.

Carlos Carrasco squared off today against Mark Buehrle, the longtime Tribe nemesis who needs no introduction. Through three innings, both pitchers looked equally shaky, having given up 4 ERs a piece, including leadoff home runs in the first inning (by Josh Donaldson and Jason Kipnis, respectively). The difference in this game? Carrasco buckled down and made it through six innings without allowing another run, where Buehrle would record only four more outs and be tagged for four more runs along the way. The bullpen Alliteration Mafia of Atchison, McAllister, and Allen would continue the long string of zeroes started by Carrasco and the Indians could start the month in the win column.

Notes

-Every starter in the lineup today recorded at least one hit, which is exactly the kind of balance this team thought they would be getting from this lineup. It was certainly nice to see Brett Hayes contribute with his back-breaking 3-run HR in the bottom of the 5th inning, but it was equally nice to see guys like Michael Bourn get on base. We as fans can complain all we want about the limitations and perceived limitations of some guys on this roster, but the fact remains the team is counting on their production.

-Carrasco still hasn’t been great since his injury, but he’s been a far cry from the disaster he was before last August. I’m still firmly on the Cookie Wagon.

–Ryan Raburn looks like he’s primed to have a good year, and Tito is managing him well. I don’t know what happened last year, but I never want to go down that dark path again.

-Atchison, McAllister, and Allen come into a game, and somehow McAllister has the lowest ERA in the group? That speaks to how bad the bullpen has been thus far, but it’s still early.

-While Tyler Holt is up here in the bigs, can we please, please find him some at bats? I know he’s not a star, but he deserves better than half an inning of defense in the field.

That’s all — the Indians will be back at it Saturday night looking to win the series. Right now, the team needs to take it one game at a time.