Ryan Lewis|Akron Beacon Journal

Here are five Walk-Off Thoughts after the Indians' 7-5 loss to the Twins on Sunday.

1. Clog one leak, another springs up. Like an old cartoon character contorting his body to try to stop leaks with every hand or foot and eventually looking more and more like a pretzel, only to have yet another water spout break through, the Indians over the last few days have made progress in one area, but it wasn't enough to change the end result due to issues with a or third second aspect.

2. The Indians are leaving Minnesota after Sunday's 7-5 loss having been swept by the rival Twins, who extended Cleveland's losing streak to six games. It's the first time since 2015 the Indians have lost at least six games in a row. The Indians continue to sink further behind the White Sox and Twins in the division race, though their spot as either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed in the postseason remains secure. The losses have piled up, though the offense showed signs of life over the weekend, scoring nine runs between Saturday and Sunday's games after scoring just two runs in the three prior games. The Twins hammered home run after home run off Indians pitching four on Sunday but the Indians will leave Minnesota having something to build on within their lineup. The poor outings on the mound are a concern, but jumpstarting the offense has been priority No. 1 all season.

"I like it. We had a much better approach with two strikes, too," said acting manager Sandy Alomar Jr. on a Zoom call. "Were stringing hits, but its almost like in boxing like jabbing, jabbing and then they come in and hit [some haymakers]. So like, its kind of frustrating because were starting to do much better offensively but now its like getting to the point where we have to do both right in order to win games. That happens. We kind of felt like we didnt go through any skid like this during the season and here it is right now. So, its kind of frustrating but our offense is slowly getting better."

3. All four hitters at the top of the line recored multi-hit games on Sunday, as the new-look top of the lineup of Francisco Lindor, Cesar Hernandez, Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana combined to go 10-for-19 with three RBI and three runs scored. Considering the severe struggles of the offense recently, the Indians will have to take that positive sign into the off day and hope it's the foundation for a better finish to the regular season. Though, the rub from the weekend lies with the Indians pitching staff, which was roughed up twice in a row. After weeks of lifting up a sluggish offensive, it was the pitching staff that couldn't make a few productive offensive days count.

4. Indians rookie starter Triston McKenzie was taken deep three times in Sunday's loss, allowing five runs on three hits and a walk and striking out seven. McKenzie had the swing-and-miss stuff that has made him an electric addition to the Indians rotation, but a few mistakes made against the Twins' dangerous lineup made it for a shorter day. McKenzie's outing on Sunday raised his season ERA to 3.91.

"The first one was a fastball away. That was 100 percent on me," McKenzie said, referencing the home run allowed to Marwin Gonzalez, on a Zoom call. "It was kind of a get-me-over and he made use of my mistake there. The same thing with [Nelson] Cruz a first-pitch slider, it was just kind of lying over the middle of the plate. Just making mistakes. That whole team isnt guys you can mess around with."

5. Following the Mike Clevinger trade, the Indians have a bit more unknown in terms of how they'll approach a three-game postseason series, assuming they avoid a total collapse and hold off the Tigers, Mariners and Orioles over the final 13 games. Shane Bieber will be given the ball for Game 1. After that, though, the Indians could turn to Carlos Carrasco, Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale and potentially McKenzie in Games 2 and 3. It could come down to who has the hot hand as the season draws to a close. But McKenzie remains an intriguing option either as a starter or a reliever in a postseason series due to his ability to miss bats. McKenzie, like Plesac, this weekend in Minnesota wasn't quite as sharp as the last few outings.

"Triston was kind of similar to Plesac yesterday. It was a matter of execution," Alomar Jr. said. "I mean, behind in the count a few times and trying to throw balls in the middle of the plate. They dont miss those. The bottom line is execution on Triston today. He was falling behind in the count and a couple of times he had runners that could run a little bit and he tried to be too quick to the plate. He was not executing his pitches."

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Indians at http://www.beaconjournal.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.

The rest is here:

The Indians lineup makes progress, but the frustration continues: Walk-Off Thoughts - Wooster Daily Record