Did we all watch the same Cleveland Indians team this week?
The now first-place Indians polished off a four-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals on Thursday in what was an inspired performance all four days.
The young Cleveland bunch pulled off several miraculous comebacks and decided to finish the sweep with a 4-0 shutout.
Players like Harold Ramirez, Jake Bauers, and Josh Naylor all had big moments and the pitching was spectacular.
The series began with fans just hoping the Indians could hold their own against the first-place Royals.
Now it appears the Indians may have exposed the Royals as frauds as they now sit atop the American League Central.
Came into the road trip in 3rd place.
Won 6 of 7.
Left in 1st place.#OurCLE | #WWWWWindians pic.twitter.com/yG5fF7vEuv
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) May 6, 2021
Picking up the Ace
Wednesday’s game may have been the most thrilling of all.
Shane Bieber was on the mound so it was easy to assume he would roll through the Kansas City lineup.
Instead, he had to battle through six innings, allowing three earned runs in the process.
The Royals even held a 4-0 lead heading into the sixth inning.
But the confidence never wavered and having to provide Bieber real support seemed to inspire the offense.
Eddie Rosario and Naylor had clutch at-bats that cut the lead to 4-3 in the top of the sixth.
Then Bieber left and Bryan Shaw pitched a clean seventh.
All hope finally left Kauffman Stadium for the home club once Jose Ramirez launched a home run to make it 4-4 in the eighth.
Nick Wittgren then struck out the side before Naylor hit a bomb of his own to make it 5-4 in the ninth.
Like Nayls on a scoreboard.#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/VfWDsfhGoU
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) May 6, 2021
The Royals failed to score a run in the bottom half of the inning and couldn’t push one across Thursday either.
Genuine Excitement in the Dugout
The actual results on offense are a nice change from the inconsistency seen earlier this year.
But it is also amazing to see the passion from the players when someone else has a big hit.
Jake Bauers finally got a home run this year earlier in the series and the dugout went wild.
The same was true Wednesday night when Naylor hit his go-ahead blast.
This team truly seems to like each other and can hold its own even given all the youth.
Bieber is only 25 years old and the entire pitching staff looks to him as a leader.
That says a lot about his maturity and the composure this team maintains under Terry Francona.
Finally in First
The Indians now sit alone atop the Central division as the Chicago White Sox had Thursday off.
And as it stands now, there is no reason why the Indians can’t be favorites to win.
The White Sox are dealing with a ton of injuries and are not being helped by Tony La Russa‘s decision-making.
The Royals clearly have issues in the bullpen and are not as good as their record showed.
The Minnesota Twins are now 11-19 as that pitching staff continues to get shelled.
The Detroit Tigers are in a massive rebuild that is not ending in 2021.
This Indians team is no joke and picking up a four-game sweep on the road proved just that.
Vegas will have to adjust the betting odds accordingly.
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