The Cleveland Indians continue to win even without a proper starting rotation.
Thursday night saw a hero emerge in Eddie Rosario.
But it was a dynamic game for the veteran as a terrible blunder nearly defined his night.
However, he was able to bounce back and help take down his former team in the Minnesota Twins.
Getting Rosario going is going to be a monumental help for the Indians, regardless of the pitching situation.
He is needed on offense because he was brought in to be a key piece alongside Jose Ramirez.
Thursday night was a great example of his year so far, and a sign things are changing.
The Worst Play Ever
Let’s start with Rosario’s blunder.
Eddie Rosario is tagged out after rounding second base and then slowly walking back pic.twitter.com/SZR6bdylE6
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 25, 2021
This is truly something.
And for some Indians fans, seeing Rosario do this may have been the final straw.
He only has five home runs in 2021 after he was advertised to be a real power bat in the lineup.
Not paying attention on the bases seemed to be a sign of the veteran either not caring or just giving up.
Luckily, he did not actually give up.
Hero Of The Night
It would have been easy for Terry Francona to bench Rosario after that blunder.
But he let the veteran stay in the game and it paid off.
He came to the plate in the top of the eighth after the Twins walked Ramirez to load the bases.
That was a sign of disrespect, but Rosario had not yet proven he deserved much respect this year.
Then he did this.
The Twins intentionally walked Jose Ramirez to load the bases for Eddie Rosario… and he made his former team pay 😤😤#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/ixx8IYyJx8
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) June 25, 2021
He took the lead, bat flip and all, and Indians fans rejoiced.
Rosario is now batting over .300 in the month of June and has been good for at least one hit per night nearly all month.
A Much-Needed Outburst
The Indians need Rosario to be a sure thing almost every night.
Even if he doesn’t hit home runs, he needs to get on base and also come around to score.
To Rosario’s credit, he is second on the team in RBI (41), but fifth in runs scored (24).
However, the latter category is not necessarily his fault because he is second on the team in hits this year.
The power numbers are the focus when talking about Rosario.
But one thing among fans that is not new is some people sticking with a narrative formed in April and never letting the viewpoint change.
Rosario has been a different player in June and while his blunder on the bases was ugly, he proved he could bounce back in record time.
He is slowly but surely getting better and the fact he was able to get the go-ahead hit Thursday night was fitting against his former team.
The Indians improved to 41-31 and J.C. Mejia looked like a veteran starter.
Nothing is quite “normal” with this team in 2021, but that is fine as long as they keep winning.
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