Cleveland Indians blown out by Twins and no one was there to watch it happen

Indians 1, Twins 7

Box Score

Indians fall to 77-79

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If front a dismal crowd at Progressive Field, the Cleveland Indians deflated like a wayward parade balloon. They crashed into the crowd, injured hundreds and caused millions of kids to forever be afraid of a giant, flying SpongeBob Squarepants for the rest of their lives. At least that's what it felt like watching Carlos Carrasco helplessly throw ball after ball in the fourth inning while the Indians offense swung at ghosts and watched as balls went over the middle of the plate without moving a muscle. Michael Brantley, who the Indians shut down earlier today due to shoulder inflammation, was forced to watch the display from the dugout.

Carrasco cruised through the first three innings, a Joe Mauer home run being the only hit, but when the fourth inning came around he just unraveled. Mauer once again was the thorn in Carrasco's side when he lead off the inning with a double. It got worse from there as Miguel Sano, Trevor Plouffe, Eddie Rosario, and finally Torii Hunter all made it on base before Cookie was mercifully pulled from the game. By then the majority of the damage was done and the Tribe was down 0-5 against a pitcher they had managed only two hits against to that point.

For Carrasco, this was his worst start in well over a month. The last time he allowed more than four runs was July 25 against the Chicago White Sox when he allowed six in for innings. Unlike that poor start, there is no bouncing back in 2015 for Carrasco -- this was his last start of the season.

The idea of starting Carrasco in Game 1 and Cody Anderson in Game 2 was that Cookie could remain in the game longer to save some of the bullpen for the late game. With that theory obviously shot at this point, it'll be up to Mr. Anderson to keep the Indians in it when the second contest starts.

Rookie of the Year candidate Francisco Lindor at least provided some entertainment to the dozens of fans present at today's Game 1, going 2-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases. Joining Lindor as the only other offensive player to realize they had a day game today was Jason Kipnis. Kip went 3-for-4, including the Tribe's only RBI of the game in the seventh inning.

To at least be a little fair to the Indians offense, Kyle Gibson is a pitcher who is good when his sinker is working, and boy was it ever working. A few pitches, particularly one early against Jose Ramirez, looked like they were heading over the umpire's head but the broke over the plate at the last second. He also matched his career high strikeout total with nine.

Win Expectancy Chart

Source: FanGraphs

Roll Call