Questions remain about fifth rotation spot

CLEVELAND — This is not an ideal situation for the Indians. They feature one of the top rotations in baseball, but their fifth spot is not occupied by just one pitcher. That is a precarious way to operate in the middle of a pennant chase, but they’re giving it a go.

On Monday night the Indians used a bullpen day to temporarily fill the hole in their starting staff, and an eight-man arsenal pitched decently enough in a 6-2 loss to the Astros.

Though lack of offense and some ill-timed errors were the real culprits in the defeat, the rotation issue loomed large.

“I’m not sure what we are going to do,” manager Terry Francona said. “It’s not like it’s during the middle of the year, where you are putting your bullpen in jeopardy. I’ll want to talk to the guys and see what we think is best for us.”

The Indians, holding a 4 1/2-game lead over the Tigers in the American League Central, have a Cy Young contender in ace Corey Kluber, and three strong arms behind him in Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer. Beyond that there are only question marks for the remainder of the regular season.

The reality is this: Cleveland is not sure how it will proceed from here. Five days from now, maybe the team will go with a bullpen day again. The Indians might also consider stretching out rookie right-hander Mike Clevinger or giving righty …

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