Trevor Bauer Getting Absolutely Rocked Should Be a Paramount Concern for Indians Fans

Cleveland Indians v Oakland Athletics
Cleveland Indians v Oakland Athletics / Daniel Shirey

Cleveland Indians starter Trevor Bauer got knocked around again on Thursday night, to put it lightly.

In his most recent start at home vs. the Orioles, Bauer's outing was ugly despite the team's 14-7 victory. He tossed five innings and gave up seven earned runs on five hits and four walks while striking out just three.

Yikes.

Not only was Bauer ineffective, he was just owned by one of the worst teams in baseball. Getting rocked at home against an Orioles team coming directly off a doubleheader is simply unacceptable for a pitcher of his caliber.

Throwing 99 pitches in just five innings is far from economical. What's also alarming is his propensity for giving up the long ball, as seen with the two homers he gave up on Thursday.

Despite the less-than-ideal trends affecting Bauer's pitching style, his ERA still sits at a respectable 3.76 for the season. However, with Corey Kluber out for the forseeable future, the Indians desperately need Bauer to fill in as the team's temporary No. 1 starter.

Then again, if the offense plays like it does tonight, then it won't matter, but Bauer will need to pick it up because the Tribe need to keep pace with the Twins.