CLEVELAND -- The Indians haven’t had a game like Thursday afternoon’s series finale against the A’s in more than six years.

Cleveland’s offense mustered just three hits and its pitching staff struggled with command, as the Indians fell, 17-0, against the A's at Progressive Field. It marked the club’s first loss by at least 17 runs since June 17, 2015, to the Cubs (17-0).

This wasn’t the way the club wanted the three-game set to go. The Indians (55-58) had chances to walk away with victories on Tuesday and Wednesday, but they blew late-game leads before Thursday’s drubbing. And suddenly, the team found itself 9 1/2 games out of the second American League Wild Card spot at the time the final out was made, with only 49 games to play.

There were few highlights in this series with a handful of lessons to learn. Let’s take a look at three takeaways from the last three contests of the Indians’ homestand before the club heads off to Detroit:

1. The rotation is everything

This, we knew. And as the team has seen in recent seasons, without an explosive offense, Cleveland will need nearly perfect performances from its starters in order to remain in contention. That’s not what the Indians have gotten.

Eli Morgan has undoubtedly made strides since he was first called up to the big leagues on May 28 -- excluding his five-run, three-walk outing on Thursday -- and Cal Quantrill has found his second gear. However, the reality is that the injuries Cleveland starters have suffered this year have led to a largely underwhelming season for the rotation.

Cleveland’s 5.17 starter ERA was the second worst in the AL heading into Thursday’s contest, ahead of only the Orioles (5.93). It inflated slightly to 5.21 after Morgan permitted five runs in four innings. Quantrill has become the highlight, owning a 3.13 ERA, thanks to an outstanding start to the second half of the season. The other three starters in the current rotation all own an ERA higher than 4.84.

2. Clase is the one to turn to

At one point this season, the bullpen was the only reliable aspect of Cleveland’s roster. It almost single-handedly helped the team reach a season-high 10 games over .500 on June 17. So much of that success fell on the shoulders of Bryan Shaw, James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase, who were the big three at the back end of the bullpen. But Shaw and Karinchak aren’t nearly as sharp as they were to start the season.

Karinchak’s crisp 2.37 ERA inflated to 3.62 after he’s posted a 5.59 ERA since June 19. In that span, he’s allowed 14 walks against 20 strikeouts in 19 1/3 frames, while giving up four homers.

But while a few of Cleveland's arms have started to run out of gas, Clase has shown that he righted the ship after stumbling on July 16, and he has since tossed 10 1/3 scoreless innings. If the Indians are late in a game with a close score, Clase will continue to be the guy the club turns to.

3. The challenge of developing young players at the big league level

The Indians knew this would be their role this season. They opened the year with the youngest roster in the Majors and have only gotten younger. They’ve attempted to develop inexperienced players at the big league level while also trying to remain in contention. But as the season goes on, it becomes more and more clear just how difficult that balance is to perfect.

Cleveland tried to rely on J.C. Mejía as a starter, but after he consistently struggled, he was sent to Triple-A Columbus, leaving a hole in the rotation that has yet to be filled. It’s inevitable for young players like Morgan to experience a hiccup like the righty did on Thursday, but for a team whose offense struggles to catch fire, it’s hard to bounce back from those hiccups.

Cleveland gave a chance to another young hurler, Francisco Perez, in the series finale, but he was forced to make his Major League debut in a bases-loaded, no-out jam. And while the team continues to believe Andrés Giménez’s ceiling is high, he’s gone just 1-for-13 (.077) in his second big league stint.

But as challenging as it is, this is the path the Indians know they have to take to determine what the future of the organization will look like.

“They put the bat on the ball,” Indians acting manager DeMarlo Hale said of the A’s. “Try to turn the page as quickly as possible and on to Detroit.”