When looking back at the month of June it’s easy to see how important scoring five or more runs per game is for the Cleveland Indians.

When the Tribe scored at least five, the team finished the month with a 7-1 record. In 27 games played in July, the Indians finished 11-16. Simple math shows they were just 4-15 when scoring four runs or fewer.

So far in July, the trend continues during the first five games. In three victories, the Indians scored five twice and eight in the other. In the two losses, the offensive output consisted of zero runs and three runs respectively.

But let’s talk about the starting pitching for a moment. What was accomplished last week when three consecutive starters pitched worked on no-hitters before ending up short.

First, it was rookie Cody Anderson who retired the first 19 Rays batters on June 29 until former Indian Grady Sizemore blasted a home run to spoil the perfect game.

Then Danny Salazar worked on a no-hitter going into sixth inning on June 30 before he surrendered a double to Curt Casali. Salazar only give up one more hit in the game lasting 7.2 innings to get his seventh win.

Not to be outdone, Carlos Carrasco took a no-hitter into the ninth inning on July 1 and – despite Jason Kipnis leaping as high as he possibly could – lost the bid with two strikes and two outs when Joey Butler delivered an RBI single to break it up and erase the shutout.

It’s true the bread and butter of the 2015 Cleveland Indians is the highly regarded pitching staff. When the hurlers are going strong, the Tribe will win its share of games.

But the problem lies with an offense that is inconsistent and doesn’t often hit in the clutch. If a starting pitcher has a so-so game or even a pretty good game it usually doesn’t translate into a victory.

One of the biggest culprits this season has been Carlos Santana, who continues to struggle. In the last month, Santana is just 15 for 97 (.155 average) with nine runs, three home runs and nine RBI. He’s also just 4 for 32 in his last 10 games with one home run, one RBI, five runs and four walks. His slash line is just .125/.243/.250.

Michael Brantley has had a solid season when compared to a majority of players in the Majors, but he’s dipped quite a bit from the 2014 campaign when he was third in the American League MVP balloting.

In the 72 games Brantley has played, he’s hitting .289 with four home runs and 42 RBI. His numbers suggest he’s having a better season than 2013, but not quite up to his 2014 standard, which might be pretty difficult to duplicate.

The Indians (38-43) just wrapped up a 10-game road trip at 5-5, which isn’t that bad, but when the team is in fourth place in the American League Central it would have been nicer to grab another win or two.

It will be a little more than two weeks before the Tribe had to hit the road again. The next seven games will be played at Progressive Field followed by the four-day All-Star break.

The first four games on tap for the homestead are scheduled July 6 through July 9 against the Houston Astros (48-36). Then, the Oakland A’s (38-47) come to town for a three-game series July 10 through July 12.

Carlos Carrasco (10-6, 3.88 ERA) takes the mound at 7:10 p.m. July 6 to begin the four-game series against the Astros. He is slated to face lefty Dallas Keuchel (10-3, 2.03 ERA). Keuchel hasn’t allowed a run in his last 17 innings. He leads the Majors with 124.1 innings pitched.

It will be interesting to see how Carrasco fares after coming within one strike of a no-hitter in his last start, especially because he threw 124 pitches in that game.

Corey Kluber (3-9, 3.64 ERA) will be on the hill at 7:10 p.m. July 7 against Vincent Velasquez (0-0m 4.21 ERA). Velasquez has appeared in five games and pitched 25.2 innings this season and has yet to get a win.

Despite his low win total, Kluber has been dominant in his last 10 games. He’s 3-4 with a 2.80 ERA and has struck out 95 batters in 74 innings.

For the season, Kluber has made 17 starts and logged 118.2 innings with 141 strikeouts and is ahead of his K pace from 2014 when he struck out 269 batters in 235.2 innings. He also is on pace to walk fewer batters as he has issued a free pass to 24 hitters, compared to 51 in 2014.

Trevor Bauer (7-5, 3.88 ERA) faces Dan Straily (0-0, 11.85 ERA) at 7:10 p.m. July 8. Straily makes his second start of the season after completing 4.2 innings and striking out seven in a start on July 3 against Boston.

Bauer pitched a solid 6.1 innings with three strikeouts in his last start on July 3rd against the Pittsburgh Pirates and earned his seventh victory.

Bauer’s start will likely be remembered more for his plate appearance in the seventh inning when he came to bat and drew a walk after he imitated the batting stances and pre-pitch routines of teammates Kipnis, Mike Aviles and Ryan Raburn.

Cody Anderson (1-1, 0.76 ERA) makes his fourth start of the season and looks to continue his dominating performances against Collin McHugh (9-4, 4.54 ERA).

Anderson’s success in the Majors has simply been amazing and, quite frankly, unexpected. He’s given up just two runs in 23.2 innings pitched and doesn’t seemed fazed by what he’s accomplished.

In 2014, Anderson was 4-11 at Double-A Akron with a 5.44 ERA in 125.2 innings and 25 games. He started this season at Triple-A Columbus and 1-1 with a 2.33 ERA in 19.1 innings and three appearances.

Games against Oakland are scheduled for 7:10 p.m. July 10, 6:35 p.m. July 11, and 1:10 p.m. July 12. Neither team had announced starting pitchers.

Who’s Hot – Who’s Not

Kipnis will most likely be named to the American League All-Star team on Monday as a reserve, and he deserves it.

He’s leading the Majors in doubles with 27 and has scored 56 runs (fifth in the American League) and has a .341/.419/.506 slash line. He also leads the AL in plate appearances and hits, and is second in OBP and third in batting average at .341.

Giovanny Urshela headed into the July 5 game with a 13-game hitting streak that was eventually snapped. But the rookie has showed tremendous poise in his first month and has provided a hint that the third base job is his for the foreseeable future.

Francisco Lindor has brought youth and energy to the squad and contributes with his defense, speed and versalitity. But he’s not hitting very well with only eight hits in his last 40 at-bats.