Game 6 Open Thread: Indians at Rays

2016 already feels a lot like 2015.

The Tribe is 0-2 with Corey Kluber on the hill and the offense can’t string together a series of hits to save their life.

What’s most frustrating about this start is how the revamped offense continues to struggle with lefty starters. That’s been the theme of the past few years, but with Bourn, Swisher and others gone, this lineup was supposed to perform more evenly. But the Tribe is already 1-4 against left-handed starters and Drew Smyly, another lefty, takes the hill tonight for Tampa Bay.

Terry Francona sends Carlos Carrasco to the mound, hoping he can improve upon an ugly five-inning outing in his first start.

For the Indians to have success, Carrasco has to show he can pitch deeper into games. He completed six innings in just 20 of his 30 starts last year—a disappointing 66 percent rate.

To put that into perspective, here’s a look at the 6-inning completion rate for the rest of the AL Central’s No. 2 starters:

Jose Quintana, CHW – 28 of 32 (88%)
Anibal Sanchez, DET – 19 of 25 (76%)
Kyle Gibson, MIN – 20 of 32 (63%)
Yordano Ventura, KC – 17 of 28 (61%)

I think we can all agree, expectations for Carrasco are well above the Kyle Gibson/Yordano Ventura level.

Hopefully he straightens things out tonight in Tampa.