The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Indians take firm control of weak A.L. Central
The Indians will resume ripping through the American League Central Division like a tornado shortly, but first they must return to playing against a major-league opponent.
The Indians begin a threegame series in St. Louis on June 25 with six-game winner Mike Clevinger on the mound. The Cardinals, 40-36 after defeating the Brewers on June 24 in Milwaukee, are the first team with a winning record the Tribe will face since it swept a two-game series in Milwaukee on June 5 and 6.
In between the Brewers and Cardinals, the Indians played a season-long 16-game stretch against Central Division teams. It was baseball’s version of Godzilla stomping an ant hill.
With Adam Plutko on the mound June 24 and the Indians stealing bases on Detroit starter Matthew Boyd like children running free at recess, the Tribe swept the Tigers out of Progressive Field, 12-2, to win for the seventh straight time and surgically remove themselves from the rest of the Central by going 11-5 in this stretch against division teams. The Indians (43-33) have an eight-game lead over the second-place Tigers (36-42).
“We knew it was an important homestand because we were playing all divisional opponents,” said second baseman Jason Kipnis, who had two hits, including a 416-foot home run to center field.
“Our starting staff was going well.
“This was a good opportunity to put some distance between us and second place. When this offense lengthens itself out and our pitching staff does what it does — that’s why we’re a pretty good team. It’s fun when everything is clicking like that. Hopefully we can take it on the road and play like that, too.”
But success is relative. The Indians are 25-13 against the Central Division and 18-20 against everybody else.
The Indians, even with the seven-game winning streak, would be eight games behind the firstplace Yankees if they had the same record in the A.L. East and seven games behind first-place Houston if they played in the American League West.
There is no crying in baseball, nor is there parity — at least not in 2018.
The Tigers, White Sox and Royals are all rebuilding in the Central Division. The Indians are a combined 22-7 against those teams. The Twins are further ahead in their development; the Indians are 3-6 against them this season.
The Indians have far
more talent than any team in the division, but they still have to play baseball the right way to win. They are 18-4 in division games at Progressive Field because they have played heads-up defensively, gotten dominating pitching and crush the ball at the plate.
The Indians beat Minnesota, 4-1, on June 17 to start their longest winning streak — so far — of the season. They outscored the White Sox, 245, in a three-game sweep and hammered the Tigers, 26-3, in another threegame sweep.
After playing the Cardinals, the Indians play the A’s in Oakland and
then play the Royals three games in Kansas City.
The Royals, last in the A.L. Central (they were 2015 World Series champions) have the worst record in baseball at 23-53.
“We’re doing all the little things right,” first baseman Yonder Alonso said. “We’re running the bases well. We’re playing solid defense, and we’re pitching. We just have to continue to score runs.
“In general, it’s key to take care of important games in the division. That was our motto from Day 1. We’ve been doing a good job and just have to continue that.”
The Indians learned a lesson last year. They won
102 games but then met better competition in the ALDS and were bounced by the Yankees in the fivegame series after winning the first two games. Everything that helped them win the division by 17 games — starting pitching, timely hitting, solid defense and a sturdy bullpen — crumbled against the Yankees.
The Indians are well on their way to their third straight A.L. Central title. But it won’t mean much if that’s how the season ends again.