The Cleveland Indians trend of winning, losing then winning and losing again continued this past week as moving above the .500 mark continues to be elusive. After winning four of seven, the Tribe finished the week at 74-74 after the split of a four-game series with Kansas City and then taking two of three against the Chicago White Sox.

With Texas (80-69) playing good baseball and winning seven of their last 10, the Rangers have moved into the lead for the AL West and have a 1.5 game lead to bump the struggling Houston Astros down into the wild card race after losing seven of 10.

The Indians are now chasing those Astros and are four games behind in pursuit of the second wild card spot with just 14 games to play in the regular season giving them an elimination number of 10. The Tribe also trails both the Los Angeles Angels and Minnesota Twins, who are both 76-73 and 2.5 games behind Houston, who only have 12 games left on their schedule.

There were some curious and big mistakes that hurt the Indians this past week and potentially cost a game or two. The biggest among them was when Abraham Almonte was picked off first base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth after the Indians had White Sox closer David Robertson on the ropes. A Chris Johnson home run had cut a 4-1 deficit to 4-3 and Jason Kipnis was up to the plate, but he didn’t get a chance to hit due to the pick-off. It was a crushing blow to the Tribe.

It is important to realize these types of mental errors tend to occur more on teams that are young and go with the “youth movement” as the Indians have done. A veteran player most likely has an understanding not to take a big lead in that situation off first base.

This is not to say that youth is a bad thing. The much-needed infusion of youthful energy and talent has helped revive the Indians in the second half and made it a meaningful September for Tribe fans. In turn, the team also is better after trading away a few aging and/or ineffective veterans.

Youth has also played a role in the Tribe’s rotation as a young Trevor Bauer has struggled mightily in the second half of the season and was demoted to the bullpen when Corey Kluber returned from the disabled list. Fortunately, Bauer is only 24 and he still has time to right the ship and find a way to utilize his talent the most effective way possible. Perhaps it will be in the bullpen, but my hunch is the front office isn’t ready to pull the plug just yet on the rotation for this talented arm.

In the meantime, the Indians are going to need to win virtually every game if they are going to make the playoffs. That’s a tough sell. Maybe they can squeak by winning 11 of 14, but the Indians have seven more games against Minnesota and will need to win a minimum of five of seven against the Twins. If the Tribe goes 4-3, then it’s pretty much over because they would only gain one game.

Basically, this week most likely will determine if the Indians are still in the playoff hunt and it begins on September 22nd with the first series against Minnesota where the Tribe plays three games before moving on to Kansas City to finish the week with another three-game series.

Danny Salazar (13-8, 3.48 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for the Indians for Tuesday’s game at 8:10 p.m. at Target Field. The Twins counter with Ervin Santana (5-4, 4.55 ERA), who is 2-0 in his last three starts and has given up just five runs and 16 hits in his last 22 innings.

Salazar has pitched well in the second half of the season and is 7-6 with a 3.41 ERA in his last 15 games spanning 95 innings. For the season, Salazar has thrown 168.1 innings and struck out 182 hitters and is approaching 200 Ks for the year. He’s answered the question of whether the Indians can count on him as a mainstay in the rotation moving forward.

The Indians have Corey Kluber (8-14, 3.44 ERA) scheduled to pitch on Sept. 23 for the 8:10 p.m. start, while the Twins are slated to start Phil Hughes (10-9, 4.58 ERA).

Kluber lasted just four innings in his last start on Sept. 17 and he took the loss after giving up three runs (two earned) against Kansas City. It was a game where Manager Terry Francona had a pretty short leash on the starter and may have pulled him a bit too early as the bullpen wasn’t effective in the 8-4 loss.

Meanwhile, Hughes has struggled recently and is just 2-3 with a 5.51 ERA in his last seven appearances (six starts) spanning 32.2 innings. During that time, he’s given up 44 hits and 20 earned runs with a 1.50 WHIP. Hopefully, the Indians can get to him early and score some runs.

Cleveland and Minnesota will wrap up the third game of the series on Sept. 24 at 8:10 p.m. and neither team has named a starter for this contest.

The Tribe will head over to Kansas City for an 8:10 start on Sept. 25, 7:10 p.m. start on Sept. 26 and conclude the series on Sept. 27 with a 2:10 p.m.

Who’s Hot – Who’s Not

Josh Tomlin has exceeded most people’s expectations since he returned from shoulder surgery. Tomlin is 6-2 with a 2.43 ERA in eight starts this season. The most surprising part is he’s been dominant. Yes, he still gives up a lot of solo home runs, but that seems to really been his only blemish and he’s really given the team a boost. He’s allowed the Tribe to move an ineffective Bauer out of the rotation and absorb Kluber’s recent stint on the disabled list.

Except for a bad game on Sept. 19, Francisco Lindor continues to swing a hot bat. He’s hitting .393 in his last seven games (11-for-28) and .365 in his last 30 games (42-for-115). For the season, Lindor has also shown surprising power and has 10 home runs in 86 games and has become one of the team’s best hitters. Just one request though, PLEASE STOP SACRIFICE BUNTING in the FIRST INNING!!

Zach McAllister has become somewhat unreliable in the second half of the season in the bullpen and is not someone to pitch in a pressure situation. In his last 15 appearances, McAllister has pitched 12.2 innings and is 0-1 with a 5.68 ERA. He’s given up 16 hits and eight runs while walking six during that span.

Jerry Sands might be a fan favorite, but he’s not hitting especially well lately. In his last 30 games, Sands is 13-for-64 (.203 average) and has only one home run with a .313 slugging percentage, .261 on-base percentage and .574 OPS. It remains to be seen if Sands will make it on to the 25-man roster to start the 2016 season.