CLEVELAND, Ohio -- With the Detroit Tigers in town for the first game of what the Indians hope will be a big series, the Tribe's cleanup hitter was ...

Ryan Raburn?

This is not a knock on Raburn, who is having a solid season for a role player -- .280 (.850 OPS) with 3 HR and 17 RBI.

But those are not the stats of a No. 4 hitter for a team that was supposed to contend for a Central Division title this season.

Remember, none of this is about Raburn. But this was the 16th game in which Raburn has been batting No. 4, and that says so much about why the Tribe has struggled this season.

The Indians are now 32-37 and 8 1/2 games behind first place Kansas City after Monday's 8-5 loss to the Tigers.

This season, the Indians have used five different players in the cleanup spot, including Lonnie Chisenhall, who is now in the minors.

Raburn was the third different player batting cleanup in the last three games -- following David Murphy (Sunday) and Carlos Santana (Saturday). The Tribe's inability to find a cleanup hitter is an indication of problems.

Big problems.

OK Tribe fans, read this and weep:

1. The Indians have played 69 games this season. Twenty-six times, they have scored TWO or fewer runs. That's right, TWO or fewer in 37 percent of the games. It's amazing their record in those games isn't worse than 6-20.

2. In games where they score THREE runs, they are 1-7.

3. The Indians lead the league in drawing walks and rank No. 13 in striking out. That should lead to more than being No. 12 in runs scored.

4. But with runners in scoring position, they are batting .224 (No. 14 in the A.L.) Bases loaded, it's .148 (14th). They do not hit when it matters.

Terry Francona has talked about how the Tribe needs to "cash in" when they finally do have runners on base. Instead, they leave lots of money on the baseball table.

"You can say that it all will even out," said the Tribe's manager. "But after a while, you have to make it (even out)."

In June, the Indians are 8-11. They are 2-8 vs. the Tigers this season, 14-34 since 2013.

Right now, this team risks being totally ignored by the casual Cleveland sports fan -- and driving the hardcore fans into a state of total exasperation.

SLUMPING SANTANA

Santana was supposed to do it, but he's off to yet another miserable start -- .212, .724 OPS, 8 HR, 33 RBI.

This is the third time in four years that Santana is off to a lousy start. His defense at first base also has declined from a respectable level in 2014.

More alarming, Santana has been getting worse this season, his batting average dropping each month: .239 ... .217... .176 in June.

I'm dwelling on Santana because he is underachieving at such a discouraging level. The idea was for him to be exclusively a first baseman so that his hitting would improve. Last season, the slow start was blamed on shifting from catching to third base to first base.

Santana is 29. He should be a veteran, polished hitter at this stage of his career. But over and over, he fails to hit off-speed pitches. It's as if he keeps looking for a fastball that never comes.

Yes, he draws a lot of walks, league-leading 50. But his main job is to produce runs, and he's delivering very little in that area as he's batting .206 with runners in scoring position.

He was batting .160 heading into June of 2014, and ended up hitting .231 with 27 HR and 85 RBI. At this point a year ago, he was hot. Right now, he's in a 3-of-20 slump.

SWISHER, BOURN AND MOSS

The Tribe was hoping for some type of comeback from Nick Swisher, perhaps helping as a right-handed hitter against lefty pitchers. Swisher had surgery on both knees last year. He is hitting .198 (.558 OPS) with two homers and eight RBI in 101 at bats.

Swisher is now on the disabled list as his knees remain an issue.

Michael Bourn has been healthy, but he's batting only .237 (.597 OPS) with no homers, 14 RBI and five stolen bases. At this point, you have to wonder if the 32-year-old Bourn will ever approach the level of speed that made him one of the best base stealers in baseball.

Like Santana, Bourn is having major problems with off-speed pitches. Both are over-swinging and off-balanced. Until they adjust, not much will change.

Francona praised Bourn's work ethic. The manager says he's hoping "it will carry over into the games."

He also has been platooning Bourn, sitting him against most lefty pitchers.

The Indians traded for Brandon Moss, knowing he would strike out. He indeed strikes out, leading the team with 72. But guess who is second? Bourn with 49.

They knew his batting average would not be high. It's not, only .229.

They also hoped for some power. Moss leads the team with 11 homers and is second (to Michael Brantley) with 35 RBI. The Indians knew he was streaky when they picked him up from Oakland for Joey Wendle. Overall, he has been an asset and far more productive than the other veteran hitters discussed here.

OTHER PROBLEMS

Yan Gomes suffered a knee injury on April 12 and missed nearly six weeks. Since returning, he's batting .204 (.514 OPS) with two homers and six RBI in 93 at bats.

A year ago, he crushed 21 homers, had 74 RBI and hit .278. His right-handed bat is missed.

Michael Brantley continues to battle a bad back. While Brantley doesn't have the same power as a year ago, he continues to hit -- .294 (.808 OPS) with 4 HR, 36 RBI. He's one of the team's few clutch hitters, batting .318 with runners in scoring position. Only David Murphy (.324) is higher.

Murphy (.321, 4 HR, 19 RBI) is having a strong season.

As I wrote in my weekend Tribe notes, the fifth starter spot became a dead zone. Prior to Cody Anderson's excellent start Sunday (7 2/3 scoreless innings), Tribe fifth starters were 3-8 with a 9.00 ERA.

They lost Gavin Floyd (elbow surgery), Josh Tomlin (shoulder surgery) and T.J. House (arm problems) to injuries.

The entire left side of the infield fell apart as shortstop Jose Ramirez and third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall opened the season and are now in the minors. The starting pitching has not been dominant, an expectation that led many in the national media to pick the Tribe as a playoff team.

Making it even worse is the Tribe is 13-21 in the Central Division.

At home, it's 14-22 ... that's right, 14-22 AT HOME!

IS THERE HOPE?

Jason Kipnis is having a monster season and should be the All-Star second baseman.

"He's a force," said Francona. "One of the better players in the game right now. He's playing with a vengeance."

Kipnis is batting .346 (.933 OPS) with 5 HR, 30 RBI and 10 stolen bases. Brantley is still very productive. Gomes could have a strong second half if he stays healthy.

They need Francisco Lindor and Gio Urshela to not only improve the defense on the left side of the infield, but they have to hit. Lindor and Urshela have already made some sensational plays in the field.

Someone such as Santana or Moss must get real hot, real soon.

The starting rotation of Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Anderson needs to turn into the rotation that had the best ERA in the American after the 2014 All-Star break.

Right now. Tribe starters have a 4.45 ERA ... 12th in the league. The top four starters are at 3.98.

The Tribe is in a tough, tough spot. Only superior pitching and some timely hitting can pull them out of this rut.