Do not connect the dots and 4 other things about the Cleveland Indians – cleveland.com

CHICAGO -- Manager Terry Francona saw no connection between MLBs ban on grip enhancers and the injuries to front-line starters Aaron Civale and Shane Bieber.

Civale left Tuesdays 4-0 win over the Cubs with two out in the fifth with a sore middle finger. He still leads the big leagues in wins and innings pitched, but he is headed for the injured list after he visits hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham in Dayton on Wednesday.

Biebers last start was on June 13 against Seattle. He left after 5 2/3 innings because of a sore right shoulder.

No, and again Im not going to talk about every single pitcher, but Civale was doing nothing different last night than hes done all year, said Francona. Just because (theres a ban) doesnt mean every pitcher does it.

Umpires started checking pitchers for substances on Monday. Civale was checked twice after innings. Each reliever on the Indians and Cubs was checked at the end of their particular inning. James Karinchak, who pitched the ninth for the Indians, was checked before the inning started.

The Indians relievers had fun with it.

I was laughing, said Nick Wittgren, who pitched out of a jam in the seventh. I kind of made a joke, first time I was gonna come off, drop my hat, glove, take off my jersey, turn it around. But no, umpires, theyre just doing their job as well, just like us. Were doing what were told and theyre doing what theyre told. You have to look at it from both ways.

Crew chief Hunter Wendlestedt met with Francona and Cubs manager David Ross before Mondays game to tell them how the process was going to work.

I thought he did a really good job of explaining it, and what they were gonna do and how they were going to do it, said Francona. That puts you at ease a little bit. I thought they handled themselves extremely well.

Theyre not looking to throw people out of a game. And he made that abundantly clear. They have a job to do and we have a job to do and hopefully everybody does it the way youre supposed to, you wont see any fireworks.

No. 1: Fix it yourself

Team executives Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff are exploring possible ways to find help for the rotation, but a lot of other teams are looking for the same thing.

Unless something unexpected happens, Francona, pitching coach Carl Willis and the rest of the organizations pitching gurus know theyre going to have to lean on their internal arms to try and get through this.

The rotation headed into the four-game series against the Twins that starts Thursday night will be J.C. Mejia, Cal Quantrill, Sam Hentges and Eli Morgan, who started Tuesday night against the Cubs. Quantrill is the only one who was on the roster on opening day.

No. 2: There are no words

Francona talked to the Indians after Bieber was placed on the injured list. There have been no meetings in the wake of Civales injury because the message would be the same.

Im actually pleased with how theyre doing, said Francona. Theyre fighting. They know. I dont want to scare them. As long as they believe, Im certainly going to believe. We have to do this together. We know its challenging. The last time I told them, I know the way it wont work.

No. 3: June boom

An improved offense has been one of the ways the Indians have continued to win while losing one starting pitcher after another. They went into Tuesdays game averaging 5.65 runs a game in June compared to 3.96 in April and 3.93 in May. Theyre hitting .258 in June compared to .206 in April and .226 in May.

The reason for the surge? Bobby Bradley is hitting .283 (13-for-46), Harold Ramirez .320 (16-for-50), Jose Ramirez .300 (18-for-60), Eddie Rosario .313 (21-for-67) and Amed Rosario .324 (23-for-71) in June.

No.4: Finally

Injured catchers Austin Hedges and Roberto Perez played catch in front of the dugout before Tuesday nights game. Perez (right ring finger) will start his rehab assignment Wednesday at Columbus. Hedges is in concussion protocol. ... Bieber (right shoulder) worked out in the outfield. Hes still not ready to throw. ... Josh Naylor and Bradley put on a power display that had the fans in the outfield seats at Wrigley cheering. Bradley hit the scoreboard in right field, while Naylor hit one onto Waveland Avenue over the seats in right center. ... Eddie Rosario took a nine-game hitting streak into Tuesdays game. Rosario has raised his average from .203 to .254 over the last 28 games. Hes hit .324 (34-for-105) in that stretch.

A variety of Cleveland Indians face masks available online today. (Fanatics.com)

New Indians face masks for sale: Heres where you can buy Cleveland Indians-themed face coverings for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($14.99) and a 3-pack ($24.99). All MLB proceeds donated to charity.

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Do not connect the dots and 4 other things about the Cleveland Indians - cleveland.com