The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Tribe will beat Astros if Lindor, Ramirez end slump
There is no time like the present for each All-Star on the Indians to start performing like they can.
The Indians are good enough to win the last game they play in 2018 — an event that would make them World Series champions — but for that to happen, Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez have to play in October the same way they play in June and July when the pressure is minimal.
There is no time like the present for each All-Star to start performing like they can, because if they don’t, the Indians won’t get past the Astros in the ALDS, and it will be another disappointing end for the three-time Central Division champions.
Lindor has been in a postseason slump since the Indians took a 3-1 lead in the 2016 World Series. He was 1-for-4 in Game 5, 0-for-3 in Game 6 and 0-for-5 in Game 7. He had two RBI in the series. He followed that up last season by going 2-for-18 in the ALDS against the Yankees. One hit was a grand slam in Game 2 to account for all four of his RBI in the series.
Lindor hit .277, homered 38 times, drove in 92 runs and scored 129 times in the 2018 regular season.
Ramirez finished the 2018 regular season in a terrible slump, batting .167 in his last 15 games, but he still clobbered 39 home runs and had 105 RBI while batting .270 despite the September slide. Ramirez was 2-for-20 with no RBI in the ALDS last season.
Lindor and Ramirez, with Michael Brantley hitting between them at the top of the order, ignite the Indians. Their electricity runs through the batting order when they are hitting well. The opposite happens when they don’t.
The Game 1 matchup between Indians ace Corey Kluber and Justin Verlander should set the tone for the five-game series. Kluber, as with Lindor and Ramirez, failed in the clutch last year.
Kluber was dealing with a sore back and coughed up four home runs over two starts in just 6 1/3 innings against the Yankees. He is rested now, coming off the first 20-win season of his career (20-7, .288 ERA), so there is no reason to fear he won’t be stellar. Certainly, the Houston crowd will not ruffle him.
Owner Paul Dolan and Indians president Chris Antonetti built this team to beat the Astros and go deep into the postseason.
Antonetti traded for lateinning relief pitcher Brad Hand plus Adam Cimber, another reliever who came along with Hand in the trade that sent Francisco Mejia to the Padres. He got slugger Josh Donaldson from the Blue Jays in an 11th hour trade Aug. 31.
The Indians have a successful track record against Verlander; they were 24-20 against him over 13 years when he was with the Tigers. Kluber will face him twice if the series goes five games
The Astros are defending World Series champions. They won 103 games in the regular season — 12 more than the Indians won. Las Vegas has made the Astros a minus-140 betting favorite, meaning a person would have to place a $140 bet to win $100.
None of that matters to the Indians. They are not intimidated.
“I think pressure is just kind of what you put on yourself,” Donaldson said when asked about Lindor and Ramirez. “I don’t think these guys are feeling any more pressure to do more than they’re capable of doing. At the same time, it takes a total team effort.”
True, but if the Indians are going to feast, Lindor, Ramirez and Kluber have to set the table.