Indians notes: Manager Terry Francona finds positives despite going 3-4 on road trip

CLEVELAND — The Indians posted an unimpressive 3-4 record on their latest road trip through Chicago and Cincinnati, but manager Terry Francona still found a positive path. During the stretch, Cleveland was thumped 8-0 by the White Sox in the third of a four-game series, bouncing back to split the series with a 4-2 win. Against the intrastate rival Reds, the Indians lost the opener of a three-game series, 10-3, then dropped the next game 3-2 in heartbreaking fashion before coming back to avoid the sweep with a 6-3 victory. "I think it's a good sign for any club," Francona said. "However you say it, whether you get punched in the mouth, punched in the stomach, however you say it. It's gonna happen to everybody and if you take too long to reel it in before you come back, those are losing streaks. Nobody needs that. We kind of keep an eye on the pulse of the team." Cleveland has gotten a positive performance from its pitching staff nearly every time out, but the offense has been inconsistent at best, entering Tuesday ranked 27th of 30 teams with a .209 batting average. Conversely, the Indians ranked seventh with a 3.14 ERA through Monday. "They've been pretty good about playing the game through adversity," Francona said of his players. "Guys aren't swinging it the way they want to yet but they're still playing the game, so that's a good sign." During the series with the White Sox, Chicago's Adam Eaton and Cleveland's Andres Gimenez were involved in a minor incident that led to the benches emptying. Francona didn't think it would carry into the series against the Central Division rival White Sox at Progressive Field. "I hope we come out with an edge every day, but that seems like it was a year ago," he said. "That's kind of how we operate. You play and you move on to the next and then you move on to whatever. That has no impact on (this) series." DOING WORK The Indians have got at least four appearances from each member of their bullpen, with closer Emmanuel Clase leading the way with eight appearances through Monday. "I think the guys are getting more consistent work and we will certainly look to keep that that way," Francona said. "When you have early exits (from starters), sometimes that can get a little challenging." WEATHER REPORT Forecasts called for 39 degrees and late-night snow Tuesday, with a low of 36 degrees and squalls expected for the series finale tonight. "It's going to be challenging," Francona said. "It's gonna be cold and windy and, as we progress, it looks like some precipitation. Whether it's snow or rain nobody quite knows yet. And I don't think (Wednesday) looks real good, so that's why we probably need to play tonight." ROUNDIN' THIRD Penn Bets, an online sports betting website, estimated that MLB lost $2.47 billion during the COVID-shortened season last year. It estimated that the Indians lost $54.1 million, which was the 18th-most in the majors. The Indians announced that the final three games of a four-game series against the Yankees (Friday through Sunday) at Progressive Field were sellouts at 30-percent capacity. Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on Twitter.