The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Tribe clinches playoff spot with wild win
Jose Ramirez slugged a threerun homer in the 10th as the Tribe beat the White Sox and clinched a playoff spot.
The Indians clinched a playoff spot for the fourth time in five years Sept. 22 when Jose Ramirez hit a dramatic threerun home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat the White Sox, 5-3, at Progressive Field.
The Indians (31-24) have won five of six games and scored seven, seven and five runs in a three-game winning streak. It is a stretch to say the hitting drought has ended, but Ramirez is a fire that cannot be doused.
So who would be your choice for unsung hero of the Indians in this rapidly ending 60-game season?
It couldn’t be anyone from the starting rotation; they are showered with praise like medieval knights returning from battle almost every time they pitch.
Francicso Lindor and Ramirez are the heart and soul of the everyday lineup, so it couldn’t be either of them.
None of the catchers qualify. They are fine defensively and handle their pitchers marvelously, but Roberto Perez, Sandy Leon and Austin Hedges are all liabilities with a bat in their hands.
The outfielders? Not much to see there.
Franmil Reyes has eight home runs, tied with Lindor for second most behind the 16 clouted by Ramirez, but Reyes hasn’t homered since Sept. 1 and has only five RBI this month.
Tyler Naquin homered twice and drove in all five runs Sept. 2 when the Indians beat the Royals, 5-0, in Kansas City. Since then — zero home runs and three RBI in 17 games.
A strong case could be made for Cesar Hernandez as the Indians’ unsung hero. The Tribe signed Hernandez to play second base when they decided to move on from Jason Kipnis.
Hernandez, batting leadoff most of the season, has played in 54 of 55 games (the only game he missed was last week to be on hand for the birth of his son) and is hitting .282. He is a slick fielder and Sept. 22 homered in the bottom of the first inning to give the Indians a 1-0 lead over the White Sox that stood until Jose Abreu tied the score with a solo shot in the top of the sixth off Adam Plutko.
Another player has contributed more to the success of the Indians this season than perhaps everyone but pitching coach Carl Willis and the player himself might have expected — closer Brad Hand.
Hand leads the major leagues with 14 saves. Media and fans were ready to bury the 30-year-old lefty after he gave up four runs in one-third of an inning July 29 in a 4-0 loss to the White Sox.
“He didn’t read what all you guys wrote and said about him, which was probably a good thing,” Willis said, half-jokingly, before the Sept. 22 game with the White Sox.
Hand has saved five games the Indians won by three runs, five they won by two runs and four by one run. He did not pitch in the playoff-clinching victory.
Hand doesn’t throw as hard as he once did, but he is a perfect 14-for-14 in save opportunities. He has pitched 18 2/3 innings and not allowed a home run in his 20 appearances this season. He saved a careerhigh 34 games last season, but ran out of gas in September, which was the basis for predictions of doom for Hand this season.
“It’s an easy thing to go through to look up at the scoreboard and a lot of closers in today’s game, we’re not seeing 97 (mph), we’re not seeing 98,” Willis said. “There’s nothing to indicate anybody’s overly intimidated. But Brad Hand knows more than anyone who Brad Hand is and what he does, and what he does well.”
Willis used the Indians’ victory over the Tigers on Sept. 18 as an example of Hand’s poise. His mission was to protect a 1-0 lead when he took the ball in the bottom of the ninth in Detroit. He gave up a oneout triple and then struck out the next two Tigers for his 13th save.
“There’s never a moment that overcomes him,” Willis said. “There’s never a moment that seemingly he’s rattled.”
Tight games are going to be the norm for the Indians in the playoffs. They are going to need Brand Hand in those pressurecooker ninth innings.