The Indians were basically written off by most of the national pundits quite awhile ago due to their anemic offense.
Fans have spent most of the season talking about the mistakes the front office made, the money they didn’t spend, and the wasting of a great starting rotation.
Yet here we are at June 20th, and the Tribe has suddenly found the offense, and with it has come a streak of winning 10 of their last 14 games to put themselves very much in the mix of the AL Wild Card.
The latest offensive output was on display Wednesday night in Texas, as Jason Kipnis blasted two homers and the team piled on for an early 7-1 lead enroute to a 10-4 win.
Kipnis hit a three-run blast in the first as the Indians took a quick 5-0 lead to give Adam Plutko more than enough breathing room in the win.
The team can wrap up an excellent road trip with another win on Thursday, as they currently sit at 5-1 on the seven-game trip which concludes tonight.
Here’s a quick look at the latest win for the Tribe as they move ahead of Texas in the wild card standings in the AL.
1. Kip Crushing It
A slow start for Jason Kipnis did not endure himself to a fan base that already felt that he was never going to be back to the player he was when given a large contract a few years back.
While he’s still just hitting .227 on the season, he’s been fantastic at the plate as of late, going 7-for-15 with three homers in his last four games after going homerless in his previous 24 games.
He said that he noticed something in his swing before the series in Detroit, and while who knows how long it will last, it’s paying off in a big way right now.
2. The Night on the Mound
Staked to an early 7-1 advantage, the Indians couldn’t get enough from starter Adam Plutko to get him the victory.
Plutko lasted only 4.1 innings and gave up three runs, two earned, on seven hits. Oliver Perez (2-1) pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for the win.
It’s not a good sign when you have a six-run lead in the third inning and can’t get the win, but the Indians started to get a little nervous when Plutko couldn’t get outs and the Rangers cut it to 7-3.
In the end getting the win is the most important thing, and Perez did enough to earn that win for the team.
Tyler Olsen, Nick Goody and Adam Cimber also threw in the win for the Indians.
3. Seize the Day
The Indians have a great shot on Thursday to wrap up what would be deemed a fantastic 6-1 road trip through Detroit and Texas.
Shane Bieber will be on the mound for the Indians, while Mike Minor will go for Texas.
After losing the first game of the four-game set against the Rangers it was thought a split would have been welcome, but after putting on a hitting display the last two nights winning the series 3-1 would be a confidence boost for these fighting Indians.
Bieber was good in his last outing and will need to shut down the Rangers and let the ‘O’ which has turned around their season do their job.
Do that, and the Indians will have a happy trip home and welcome in the Tigers on Friday night.
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