Smoke signals
• Given the inconsistencies of Cleveland's starting rotation throughout April, Francona was pleased with the staff's showing against the White Sox over the weekend. Danny Salazar, Justin Masterson and Corey Kluber went a combined 2-0 with a 1.79 ERA and 25 strikeouts against six walks in 20 1/3 innings.
"It certainly makes the game seem more winnable, even when your offense is inconsistent," Francona said. "When your pitcher is putting up zeros, you get into the fifth or sixth inning and you're either within range or you're up a couple, as opposed to maybe scoring late and it's like, 'Good effort, but you came up short.' You can win 9-8 sometimes, but not a lot. It's a hard way to win."
• Indians closer John Axford had turned in six shutout innings with five saves between his blown saves (April 13 and Sunday) against the White Sox. On Sunday, Axford issued a pair of walks before yielding a three-run home run to Chicago's Dayan Viciedo. Francona said Axford worked with pitching coach Mickey Callaway on a mechanical adjustment on Monday.
"Mickey got with him today a little bit," Francona said. "I think he felt like -- [Callaway] would explain it better -- but he got a little more bent over, so his arm and everything wasn't catching up. You saw him come in and go like ball one, ball two, ball three. I think they feel like there were some things that had maybe gotten a little out of whack."
• On Sunday, Kluber became only the seven pitcher to record at least 13 strikeouts in an outing at Progressive Field. Pedro Martinez owns the ballpark record with 14 for the Red Sox on Sept. 15, 1999. The others on the list include Randy Johnson (1995), Dave Burba (1999), Chuck Finley (1000), CC Sabathia (2007) and Doug Fister (2011).
• Entering Monday's game against the Twins, the Indians rotation had a 3.35 ERA (37 earned runs in 99 1/3 innings) at home. That included a 1.51 ERA (six earned runs in 35 2/3 innings) over the last five starts. Overall, the Indians have a 4.47 ERA, including a 5.87 ERA on the road.