The Aftermath: Three Takeaways on the Indians' 8-4 Win Over Minnesota
The Cleveland Indians bid farewell to the month of August with their 76th win of the season, bringing out the brooms against the Minnesota Twins.
Well, it’s about time. In a season during which the Cleveland Indians have had an answer for every other team in the American League Central Division, the Tribe finally took care of business against the Minnesota Twins. With an 8-4 victory on Wednesday night, the Indians completed a three-game sweep of the Twins, evening up the season series at eight games apiece.
Corey Kluber continued to pitch like a Cy Young award contender, tossing eight innings of three-run ball, and looking unhittable through the early going. It was Cleveland’s seventh straight win in the right-hander’s starts, and eighth out of ten.
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Carlos Santana broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo home run, his career-high 28th of the season, and the Indians put up a five spot in the fifth to take control and send the Twins to their 13th consecutive loss.
Newly called up Perci Garner made his major league debut in relief of Kluber, and despite not being able to work his way out of the ninth, showed glimpses of what could make him a bullpen staple for years to come. Bryan Shaw recorded the final out of the game, securing the victory.
Jose Ramirez had a pair of RBIs on the night, and Abraham Almonte, Jason Kipnis, and Lonnie Chisenhall each added one of their own as the Tribe broke out for one of the few times in the past couple of weeks.
Broken Record
It may seem like we highlight Kluber after every start, but there’s no good reason not to. The 2014 AL Cy Young award winner is showing the same form he did in that season’s second half, appearing at times to will the Indians through the rough patch they’ve been experiencing.
In six starts during the month of August, Kluber went 5-0, going 40.2 innings with a 2.46 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, striking out better than a batter per inning.
Given the struggles the other four members of the rotation have experienced, the way the club’s ace has pitched cannot be overstated. Kluber made his first all-star team this season, but saved his best for the pennant race when his team needed him most.
Robo Rolling
Catcher Roberto Perez has gotten a bit of an unfair shake recently. As his batting average hovered well below even the .100 mark through much of August and potential trades for more offensive-minded catchers fell through for Cleveland, Robo became an easy target.
Nevermind that he’s recovering from an injury that makes it incredibly difficult to swing the bat, or that his rehab was cut short due to the injury to Yan Gomes, or that his defense has not suffered one bit. Perez simply kept working, and his old form is starting to show.
2015 was his first full season as a big league backup, and Perez posted an OPS+ of 101 and 1.4 bWAR in 70 appearances. That his bat has been behind his defense this season is to be expected due to the injury he sustained, but it’s not the real Robo.
In the past six games in which he has played, Perez has increased his batting average by 58 points, collecting seven hits in 18 at-bats, and has added another 25 points to his on-base percentage, which at .288 tells a much different story than his batting average.
Perez is still only in his second MLB season, and given the injury to Gomes and the trade that never happened, the platoon of he and Chris Gimenez appears to be how the Tribe will move forward for the time being. If he continues to progress at the plate, that won’t be a bad thing.
A New Thorn in the Tribe’s Side
Twins rookie Max Kepler did not have a great series this go-around with Cleveland, going just 1-for-12. But that one hit happened to be a homer off of Kluber in the third inning, his sixth against the Indians this season. All total, the Berlin-born right fielder has gone 11-for-42 against the Tribe with 12 RBIs and seven extra-base hits.
As if the years of facing Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier hadn’t been hard enough on Cleveland’s pitching staff, they now have a 23-year old power hitting lefty who seems to enjoy getting in the box against them.
Dozier has hit 17 homers with 39 RBIs against the Indians in 81 career games, while Mauer has slashed .333/.420/.478 with 44 doubles, 13 home runs, and 75 RBIs in 163 career games. If Minnesota has indeed found its next Tribe killer, fans at Progressive Field could end up having to catch a lot of opposing longballs in the years to come.