Roaring 20: Indians tie AL record with win
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians share a record with a team celebrated by Hollywood. Moneyball has its sequel. Following a familiar script of scoring first, playing strong defence and riding dominant pitching, the Indians extended their winning streak to 20 games and matched the AL mark held by the 2002 Oakland Athletics, beating the Detroit Tigers 2-0 on Tuesday night.
Cleveland’s streak, which began on Aug. 24 in Boston, is tied for the majors’ second-longest in 82 years — and the Indians show no signs of stopping.
Corey Kluber (16-4) strengthened his Cy Young Award case with a four-hitter as Cleveland joined the 2002 A’s, 1935 Chicago Cubs (21) and 1916 New York Giants (26) as the only teams to win at least 20 in a row.
Francisco Lindor homered leading off the first inning against Matthew Boyd (5-10), and the crowd of 24,654 stood and roared when Kluber sprinted to the mound for the ninth.
Second baseman Jose Ramirez made a sensational diving stop in short right field to throw out Ian Kinsler for the second out, and after allowing a double to Alex Presley, Kluber sealed win No. 20 — and Cleveland’s seventh shutout during the streak — by getting Miguel Cabrera on an easy grounder to third.
Fireworks exploded overhead and the Indians lined up to celebrate yet another win in this unthinkable streak.
The Giants’ revered 101-year-old streak includes a tie that interrupted 12- and 14-game unbeaten runs. However, the Elias Sports Bureau, the official statistical custodian for Major League Baseball, has always regarded the Giants’ stretch as the top mark because tie games were replayed from the start back then.
Cleveland can equal the Cubs’ 21-game run this afternoon, and the Indians are within striking distance of the illustrious-but-imperfect mark of those 1916 Giants.
The Indians and A’s, whose unexpected run to the post-season 15 years ago was retold in the film starring Brad Pitt, don’t have much in common besides their 20-game streaks.
Oakland was an overachieving squad loaded with pitching and a roster composed of low-salaried players assembled by a front office that forced baseball to rethink how it evaluated talent. The Indians, on the other hand, have spent millions to get better, and have been expected to win — big.
Maybe not at this amazing rate, but after getting to Game 7 in 2016, Cleveland was a favourite to return to the World Series.
While understanding the fascination with his team’s roll, Indians manager Terry Francona has been downplaying the streak so as not to make it a distraction. As far as Francona’s concerned, there is nothing magical going on.