A week that began with hope and promise when the Cleveland Indians took two of three at home from the hated New York Yankees saw that energy quickly quenched by losing the next two of three on the road against the Minnesota Twins.

Amazingly, the Tribe still has a faint chance of playoff contention at six games back in the wild card race, but weeks that conclude with 3-3 records won’t get it done.

Despite the lack of team wins and remaining in the American League Central Divison cellar, the Indians starting pitching has been extremely strong this season and there is hope for the future as each young starter remains under team control for the next few years.

It’s also the reason the Tribe has the second best odds of winning a wild card berth in the Central Division, although it’s just a 3.5 percent chance, according to Baseball Prospectus. But it’s still ahead of Detroit (2.5 percent), Minnesota (2.2 percent) and Chicago (0.9 percent).

Carlos Carrasco continues to show that he is a top-level starting pitcher and has built on his second half from 2014. Carrasco pitched a strong eight innings as part of the 5-4 win in 16 innings on Aug. 11. He followed that up with a another seven innings on Aug. 16 giving up only two runs while earning the loss.

Carrasco is just 11-9 with a 3.63 ERA for the season but that doesn’t tell the story. He continues to fan batters at a high rate with 162 Ks in 151.1 innings. He’s also walking few batters (31) and allowing less than one hit per inning to compile a 1.06 WHIP for the season.

In his last seven games, Carrasco has been even better despite a 1-2 record. In 50 innings, he’s given up only 30 hits and walked nine while striking out 47 with a 0.78 WHIP and 2.52 ERA.

Danny Salazar also continues to impress with a 10-6 record and 3.26 ERA in 21 starts. In 132.2 innings, he’s struck out 151 hitters and walked just 40 while compiling a 1.08 WHIP. Lately, Salazar has been even better. In his last seven games, he’s 3-3 with a 2.28 ERA in 47.1 innings pitched with 50 Ks, 16 walks and 28 hits allowed for a 0.93 WHIP.

Last, but certainly not least, is 2014 AL Cy Young award winner Corey Kluber who continues to dominate despite the season long lack of run support. With a 8-12 record, it’s easy to dismiss Kluber as a contender to win the prestigious award again.

However, Kluber has pitched 180.2 innings with 193 Ks and a 1.04 WHIP in 25 starts. In his last 15, Kluber has pitched 111 innings with a 6-7 record and 3.24 ERA with 110 Ks and a 0.99 WHIP. His last seven games include a one-hitter against the Twins during a 6-1 victory on Aug. 14, when Kluber was simply amazing only giving up a solo home run to Joe Mauer. He’s 4-3 during the recent span with a 3.09 ERA in 55.1 innings with 45 Ks, eight walks and 0.83 WHIP.

What’s truly disappointing about this season and has been written about many times before is how often these pitching performances by Indians starters are essentially wasted in the win-loss column.

One of the most glaring weakness on offense is the Indians frustrating ability to hit with the bases loaded. When Yan Gomes struck out August 16th in the fifth inning against the Twins, it dropped the Tribe’s batting average with the bags full down to .149 for the season, worst in the American League. This just shouldn’t be happening folks, but no one seems to be able to offer an explanation for why it does.

The Indians are going to need their hitting shoes this week when they travel to Boston to play the Red Sox in a three-game series August 17-19. The optimistic view is they have a chance to make some hay against weak Red Sox pitching. The Tribe then heads to New York to play the Yankees in a four-game series August 20-23.

Salazar gets the start at 7:10 p.m. Aug. 17 at Fenway Park and will face righty Matt Barnes (3-2, 5.64 ERA) who makes his first start after 26 career (21 this year) appearances in the Majors as a reliever and will be called up from Triple-A Pawtucket, where he made a five starts.

Interestingly enough, the start in Boston for Salazar will be his first appearance against the Red Sox.

Michael Brantley is likely to play in the game and probably will serve as the designated hitter, while it remains to be seen if Jason Kipnis is activated from the 15-day disabled list as both players have been troubled with sore shoulders.

Trevor Bauer (9-9, 4.35 ERA) looks to get back on track as he takes the mound for the 7:10 p.m. start on Aug. 18 against lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (6-5, 4.83 ERA). Rodriguez is 2-3 with a 5.84 ERA in his last seven starts and has walked 14 and struck out 27 in his last 37 innings on the mound.

Bauer has been struggling lately and is 6-8 in his last 15 starts with a 4.91 ERA. He’s fared even worse in his last seven starts with a 2-4 record and 5.46 ERA. However, he’s been great on the road this season with a 5-3 record and 2.35 ERA in 10 starts spanning 65 innings. It’s pitching at Progressive Field that seems to be the problem for Bauer as he is 4-6 with a 6.07 ERA in 13 starts consisting of 75.2 innings.

Kluber takes the hill at 7:10 p.m. Aug. 19 against righty Joe Kelly (5-6, 5.69 ERA) who makes his 20th start of the season. Kelly has struggled recently and is 3-2 with a 6.15 ERA in his last seven starts spanning 33.2 innings.

No starting pitchers have been announced by either team for the four-games series between the Indians and Yankees. The August 20th and 21st games start at 7:05 p.m. while the August 22nd and 23rd games both start at 1:05 p.m.

Who’s Hot – Who’s Not

Despite a 0-for-3 performance on August 16th, Francisco Lindor has been red hot at the plate. Lindor is now hitting .292 for the season and .444 (12 for 27) in his last seven games. He’s getting the job done in the second spot in the lineup, which is not an easy task for a 21-year-old rookie. Lindor continues to flash the leather in the field, but the occasional error on a routine play isn’t quite cause for alarm just yet.

Lonnie Chisenhall has continued to play well since he was recalled from Columbus and now manning right field. In his last seven games, Chisenhall is 10-for-22 (.455). He’s also hitting 17 for his last 48 (.354 average) in his past 15 games. It’s good to see him respond in what is essentially an audition for either the Indians or another team in 2016.

Despite the fine glove at third base, Giovanny Urshela continues to struggle at the plate. He’s now hitting just .115 (3 for 26) in his last seven games and .169 (10 for 59) in his past 15. As long as Urshela continues to make the plays in the field, he should continue to get significant playing time in his rookie season.

Abraham Almonte burst on to the scene with the Tribe after he was called up from Triple-A Columbus, but in his last seven games he’s now hitting .200 (6 for 30).