Indians seeking reprieve after tough loss 

TORONTO -- Following their game on June 21, the Indians were in a good spot, standings-wise. They sat 10 games over .500, and FanGraphs gave them a 28.7 percent chance at making the playoffs.

But prior to Wednesday night’s 8-6 loss to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, the Indians’ playoff chances had plummeted to 0.7 percent. And following the loss, Cleveland sunk below .500 for the first time in over three months, adding to its American League-worst mark of 12-23 from June 22 onward.

“I think instead of getting into the wins and losses -- and I know that’s important when you look at the standings -- considering where we’re at and some things that are taking place, I like that we’re being competitive and we’re in games,” Cleveland acting manager DeMarlo Hale said. “The more of these types of games we’re in, I think as we go down the stretch, we’ll be better off in handling these situations.”

The game didn’t start in a very competitive way, as Toronto surged to an 8-0 lead through three innings. All of those runs came off rookie J.C. Mejia, who is 11 starts into his big league career and still looking for win No. 1 as a starter. He gave up a home run to George Springer on his very first pitch, and the outing hardly improved from there.

After 2 1/3 innings and eight earned runs allowed, Mejia was lifted for reliever Justin Garza. Mejia did earn a win as a reliever back on May 24, but he is 0-7 since joining Cleveland’s rotation in early June -- which puts him along with Guy Morton (1914) and Sam McDowell (1962) as the only pitchers in franchise history to lose at least their first seven decisions.

​​“I’m not gonna give up,” Mejia said via translator Nelson Perez. “I’m going to continue to work hard and I’m gonna continue to try to do my best.”

Cleveland’s bats showed some fight throughout, scattering seven hits and two walks through seven fruitless innings. In the eighth, their first five hitters reached, and Owen Miller came through with a three-run double (part of a four-run frame). In the ninth, José Ramírez and Oscar Mercado both hit solo homers, and Cleveland eventually brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Austin Hedges. But the rally fell just short.

Based on their current slide, it’s almost time for the Indians to enter rally-mode for the season. Part of their plight of late is due to a buzzsaw of a schedule. Since the All-Star break ended, Cleveland has faced six teams, and all of them have records at-or-above .500. There’s a reprieve coming, as 15 of Cleveland’s next 19 games post-Toronto come against teams at-or-below .500.

But the Indians were sellers at the Trade Deadline -- saying goodbye to Eddie Rosario and Cesar Hernandez, among others -- and their window to climb back into either the Wild Card or AL Central race is closing, fast.

Any hope of a playoff push is almost certainly tied to the potential returns of Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale. It’s no coincidence that both starters have been sidelined with injuries during Cleveland’s current slide.

Civale last pitched on June 21, and, at the time, his departure meant that all five starters from the Indians' Opening Day rotation were out simultaneously. That includes the reigning Cy Young winner in Bieber, who hasn’t thrown since June 13. Civale has a bullpen session scheduled for Thursday, and he’s believed to be “progressing well,” Hale said. Bieber’s status is far murkier.

Bieber (shoulder strain) is currently in Cleveland, and he was supposed to begin playing catch again earlier this week, but Hale had no update to provide on Bieber’s progress. When asked if Bieber could be shut down for the final two months of the season, Hale said it was still too soon to tell.

“I know he’s working his butt off to get back,” Hale said during a pregame media session. “You want to keep that spirit and that passion in that direction going. So we’re not there and, hopefully, we don’t get there.”

With or without Bieber, Cleveland will have to keep showing the type of fight it had Wednesday night to claw back into the postseason race. Even in a loss, there are positives to glean from that effort.

“For these guys to keep battling, that’s what it’s about,” Hale said. “That’s what we talked about, who we are and playing the game the right way and competing at a high level daily.”