CLEVELAND -- The Guardians got back in the win column over the weekend against the Twins, snapping a streak of five consecutive series losses. But even in those victories, their offense didn’t break out.

The Guardians are waiting for that one hit or one game that will bring them out of the extensive rut in which they’ve found themselves. Monday night wasn’t the answer. Cleveland could muster only six hits in a 6-2 loss to Detroit at Progressive Field.

The Guardians have scored three runs or fewer in seven of their past eight contests. They rank last in OPS (.629) and 29th in average (.223) among all 30 Major League teams. Despite getting men on base in the series opener, the club has not figured out how to secure the timely hit.

“It can be frustrating,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said, “but the choices are, dig in and see if you can get better, or get frustrated.”

Let’s take a look at three stats that show just how easy it could be for this offense to get frustrated.

Ten losses against lefties
There’s no question that the Guardians are struggling no matter who is on the mound right now, but it’s become glaringly obvious that the bats have difficulties especially against southpaws. Of the 35 games Cleveland has played, 14 have been started by lefties. Of those 14, the Guardians have won just four contests.

“I don’t know the stats or anything like that. Sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap,” Guardians designated hitter Josh Bell said. “We had a couple chances to really tack on runs, but couldn’t take advantage. It’s a tough game for a reason.”

The biggest offender so far has been Josh Naylor, who is hitting just .120 (3-for-25) with no extra-base hits this year against southpaws. That’s why the Guardians opted to have David Fry make his first start at first base on Monday, but that didn’t bring any offensive relief, as he went 0-for-2 before Naylor pinch-hit for him in the sixth. Naylor has always struggled more against lefties, but the bigger concern is how José Ramírez has performed against them so far.

Entering the night, Ramírez was slashing .146/.205/.268 against left-handers. After his homer against lefty Joey Wentz in the fourth, his average climbed to .156. But he failed to pick up a hit in his other three plate appearances.

Giménez’s wRC+
There was a reason Andrés Giménez was an All-Star last year. There was a reason he was an AL Gold Glove recipient. There was a reason the Guardians signed him to a $106.5 million extension. But so far, he’s far from his 2022 form.

Giménez went from ending the season last year with a 140 wRC+, which was tied for the 17th among all qualified hitters in the Majors, to starting the year with a 74 wRC+ through his first 33 games, which ranked 20th worst in the Majors coming into the game.

Giménez will be a key cog in Cleveland’s lineup this season. It’s just a matter of how long the team will have to wait until that sparkplug toward the bottom of the order comes back. With an infield single as his only hit in the series opener against the Tigers, Giménez has now gone 2-for-24 (.083) in May.

Last in homers
Even after signing Bell this offseason, the Guardians were never projected to be at the top of the slugging leaderboards. But Cleveland was certainly expecting an improvement in the power department from what it experienced last year. So far, not much has changed.

The Guardians have hit the fewest homers in the Majors (19) even after Ramírez’s solo shot on Monday. Coming into the day, the club had hit just one long ball in its previous 224 at-bats, spanning the past seven games.

It’s not the start the team was hoping for, but if you ask anyone in the clubhouse about the skid, they’ll tell you the end is right around the corner.

“We still have that trust in each other, we can look around this clubhouse and know that we’re a really good team,” Bell said, “and we’re definitely going to be showing that to you guys here in the future.”