Six in a row, two series wins including a sweep have brought the Cleveland Indians back to life.
The Tribe (20-23, .465 winning percentage) moved out of last place in the American League Central and are now in fourth place just a few percentage points ahead of the Chicago White Sox (19-22, .463 winning percentage).
Kansas City remains hot as well as the Royals have won eight out of their last 10, so the Indians are eight games behind for the division lead.
The Tribe fares a little better in the wild card standings as the team is five games out as the Minnesota Twins (25-18) and Detroit Tigers (26-19) are the leaders. The Indians also trail the Yankees (22-21), Angels (22-22), and Red Sox (21-23).
Signs that the Indians were ready to heat up gradually started to show up during the past two weeks and finally came to fruition.
The move by Terry Francona to insert Jason Kipnis into the leadoff spot breathed some fire to the team at the top of the lineup along with the return of switch-hitting Nick Swisher brought some much needed offense to the lower part of the lineup especially from the right side of the plate.
With Yan Gomes activated, the Indians have their steady rock behind the plate back and another right-handed bat to help against left-handed pitching.
However, season-high winning streak really stems from the pitching. The starters are performing well and the bullpen isn’t coughing up the leads.
Corey Kluber (2-5, 3.49 ERA) has won two in a row and has resumed his dominant role as the team’s ace especially after his now legendary 18-strikeout performance. Meanwhile, Trevor Bauer (3-1, 3.31 ERA) has established himself as the team’s second best starter.
The Tribe’s bullpen has recently pitched fairly well alleviating some concerns that this part of the pitching staff might be a worrisome problem this season.
Shaun Marcum (1-0, 2.31 ERA) makes his second start for the Tribe at 4:10 p.m. May 25 in Progressive Field in Cleveland as he faces righty Phil Klein (1-0, 4.50 ERA) who makes his second Major League start during the opening game of the three-game series against the Texas Rangers.
The Memorial Day game is likely to have national interest as outfielder Josh Hamilton is slated to return to the lineup for the Rangers after he was dealt to the team from the Angels following injury and reported off-the-field issues.
Marcum gave the Indians a shot in the arm on May 20 as he took over the fifth spot in the rotation giving up just four hits and two runs in 6.2 innings. The team looks for the crafty veteran to keep up the momentum and it will be interesting to see what eventually happens with T.J. House.
Danny Salazar (5-1, 3.50 ERA) takes the hill at 7:10 p.m. May 26 against lefty Wandy Rodriguez (2-2, 3.38 ERA).
Salazar has begun to be the dominant force on the mound that Indians fans have been waiting for a few years and he leads all qualified starters with the best strikeout/walk percentage, according to MLB.com.
Rodriguez has been a solid starter for the Rangers and beat the Red Sox 3-1 on May 21. He lost to the Indians on May 15th when he gave up five runs in 4.2 innings.
Carlos Carrasco (5-4, 4.74 ERA) isn’t having quite the same season as he did in 2014, when he was a dominant starter once he became a part of the rotation. During his first start this season against Texas, Carrasco gave up five runs in a complete game (eight innings) loss.
He makes the last start of the series against the Rangers as he faces righty Colby Lewis (4-2, 3.49 ERA) at 12:10 p.m. May 27. Lewis gave up six runs in five innings in an appearance earlier this season against the Tribe.
The Indians will head to the West Coast to take on the Seattle Mariners for a four-game series at Safeco Field.
No starter for the Tribe has been announced for the 10:10 p.m. May 28. Seattle plans to use lefty James Paxton (3-2, 3.52 ERA), who has been outstanding in last six starts compiling a 3-1 record with a 1.63 ERA.
Starters for the final games also have not been announced as the games will begin at 10:10 p.m. May 29, 10:10 p.m. May 30, and 4:10 p.m. May 31.
Who’s Hot – Who’s Not
It’s time to give the Indians bench some credit here. David Murphy faced criticism heading into this season as he’s a left-handed rightfielder in a crowded outfield, but he’s been clutch in recent weeks and is now hitting .330 with a .362 on-base percentage, .489 slugging percentage and .850 OBP. He’s also struck out just seven times in 88 at-bats this season. Murphy has been making the most of his limited opportunities in 35 games.
Mike Aviles also is playing well since his return to the team after dealing with a family matter. He’s also swinging the bat with a .324 average, along with a .390/.515/.904 slash line.
Lonnie Chisenhall has slumped and has seen his batting average drop down to .204 and he’s not getting on base either with just a .240 percentage. His power has disappeared with just three home runs and a .336 slugging percentage in 137 at-bats in 40 games.
Roberto Perez did an decent job filling in for the injured Gomes, but now he’ll settle back into his more suitable role as the team’s backup catcher. To be fair, this was the first amount of extended playing time at the Major League level. Hopefully, his experience playing everyday will give him some confidence that he can handle a staff and perform better in a more limited role.
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