Franmil Reyes is apparently the fastest player on the Cleveland Indians roster.
Only kidding, a little.
Reyes got his first career triple earlier in the week and decided to hustle for his second in Sunday’s much-needed win over the New York Yankees.
And to top himself he even recorded his first ever stolen base in MLB.
The big man finished the day with three hits and three RBIs thanks to a three-run homer that put the Indians ahead for good in the fourth inning.
This was a huge day for Reyes and for the team as a whole.
A four-game sweep to the Yankees would have been incredibly demoralizing.
Losing three of four is not great, but at least the team begins the week on a high note.
It's been a speedy April for Franmil: First triple and now he gets his first career stolen base.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) April 25, 2021
Positives From the Sunday Victory
Franmil had his first career stolen base earlier this afternoon.
This was definitely not his first career home run though.#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/voQlahovxL
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) April 25, 2021
Reyes was the star from the one.
After that it was all about the bullpen.
Four young pitcher in Sam Hentges, Cal Quantrill, James Karinchak, and Emmanuel Clase combined for five innings of scoreless work after Triston McKenzie allowed three runs in four innings.
That bullpen quartet is the future in plain sight.
Hentges got called up recently and fans may be getting flashbacks to when Andrew Miller was dominating opposing hitters as a southpaw.
Karinchak continues to do just fine in a set-up role and had three strikeouts to breeze through his one inning of work.
Then there is Clase, who is just unreal.
It only took him 10 pitches to end this 7-3 Indians victory.
Even Quantrill continued to look solid as he adjusts to a bullpen role.
Bad News for Jake Bauers
Terry Francona decided to put Amed Rosario in center field and shifted Jordan Luplow to right.
Josh Naylor got the start at first base and Jake Bauers rode the bench on what would have been a normal day for him to start.
That is, if he was playing at a suitable level.
Naylor starting to get more time at first base is a terrible sign for Bauers’ future job prospects in Cleveland.
He is out of minor league options so the team will have to send him to waivers if they want to move on.
Doing just that is starting to seem more likely considering Naylor’s start and the fact Yu Chang has already been platooning at the position.
A Tough Series at Home
The Indians dropped three of four and are now 9-11 on the season.
That was not the plan against the struggling Yankees and with Shane Bieber on the mound Saturday.
The Minnesota Twins are now coming to Cleveland for a three-game set.
Minnesota is currently a bit of a mess at 7-13, but we were saying the same thing about the Yankees last week.
Hopefully, Sunday’s win and seven runs can be topped Monday night.
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