The Cleveland Indians had a 2-3 record entering play Friday and it was easy for fans to start worrying.
Would the offense ever wake up?
Would Terry Francona figure out how to construct a proper lineup?
Winning solves everything and a sweep of the Detroit Tigers capped off Sunday with a 5-2 win has turned a negative start into an exciting one.
Packing our bags and then heading to the Windy City.#OurCLE | #WWWWindians pic.twitter.com/pxTXBisSbj
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) April 11, 2021
Highlights From the Pitching Staff
Logan Allen was on the mound for his second start of the season and kept up the impressive work.
The young southpaw went five strong innings, allowing one earned run.
Early run support from the offense, which is a nice change, gave Allen the win as well.
The bullpen closed the game in a manner that should have fans and Francona excited.
Bryan Shaw was first out of the bullpen, followed by Nick Wittgren, James Karinchak, and finally Emmanuel Clase.
Clase got his second save of the season as he looks extremely comfortable in the closer role.
That job remains in a rotation for now, but Clase hitting triple-digits on the radar gun means his stock will only continue to rise.
Pleasant Surprises on Offense
The leadoff spot continues to be a fluid one in 2021.
Andres Gimenez sat atop the lineup Sunday and had one hit on the day.
Amed Rosario, who was back in center field, batted seventh and had two walks.
Both Ben Gamel and Jordan Luplow entered the game as well.
Center field remains a competition, but all that matters is getting production out of that spot in the lineup.
One spot not dealing with questions is the DH.
Franmil Reyes had two more hits Sunday and also came around to score once.
☑️ Reyes drives to RF
☑️ JRam scores
☑️ Wild throw
☑️ Rosario scores @Indians up 5-2 😎 pic.twitter.com/0ZDvagnh10— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) April 11, 2021
His single in the eighth inning allowed two runs to score on a Tigers error.
A Great Finish to the Weekend
The Indians looked like a completely different team one week after struggling against the Tigers to open the 2021 season.
They outscored the Tigers 20-6 in three games and even scored 11 runs Saturday night.
Last week it looked like 11 runs for a full series would be a tough task.
That is why it is important not to panic.
However, it should be noted the competition gets much harder starting Monday against the Chicago White Sox.
How the Indians perform against playoff contenders will be much more telling than how they do against the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers.
If the Indians are indeed contenders, the Royals and Tigers should not be a major challenge.
We are still only eight games into the 2021 season and the Indians have a 5-3 record.
Fans should be enjoying the start and hopefully, this upcoming week ends with another winning record.
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