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Cleveland Indians Sweep Angels While Michael Brantley’s Season is Over

By Matt Bretz

Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Indians Steal a Sweep From the Los Angeles Angels

The Cleveland Indians kicked off their 11-game homestand in style with a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels. They outscored the Angels 37-12 in the four games and now lead the American League Central by five games over second-place Detroit. The Indians also regained the honor of best record in the American League as their .583 winning percentage (67-48) puts them just ahead of the Texas Rangers (.580, 69-50). The Indians took the season series from the Angels winning six of the seven contests and outscored the Angels 54-21.

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The Tribe scored at least five runs in all four contests including putting up football-like numbers in the first two games scoring 14 and 13 runs. The Tribe also tied a franchise record on Friday night, stealing eight bases in the game, which tied the record last set on August 27, 1917. The eight steals came via four players with Rajai Davis and Jose Ramirez each stealing three bags while Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor each stole one.

Jason Kipnis hit another milestone on Sunday afternoon with his 20th home run of the season. It’s the first time in his big league career the second baseman has hit 20 home runs and he joins Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana in the 20-home run club this season. Speaking of Santana, he returned to the lineup yesterday, playing first base, after missing two games with a head contusion. Santana left Thursday night’s game after taking a four ball liner to the head off the bat of Lindor. There was some fear Santana would have to go on the 7-day concussion disabled list but thankfully he was able to avoid that.

The other big milestone from this weekend was rookie starting pitcher Mike Clevinger picked up his first win of his career on Saturday. Clevinger also had a no-hitter going into the 6th inning before allowing a groundball single past Lindor at shortstop. Clevinger did struggle with is control, walking four in 5 2/3 innings but was able to work around those, striking out three and allowing just a single run. It was the first win for Clevinger in five starts (six appearances).

Michael Brantley Done for the Year

Not all the Tribe injury news was good news this weekend as the club announced that injured outfielder Michael Brantley will have season-ending shoulder surgery. Brantley had missed nearly the entire season after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery last November. He appeared in just 11 games this season hitting .231 with a pair of doubles. Brantley had attempted to come back and appeared close several times throughout the year but a recent procedure to clean out the shoulder did not help. He’s been diagnosed with chronic bicep tendonitis and the hope is this procedure will get him ready for the 2017 season.

The Indians have made due without Brantley and have gotten some great play from the outfield including the breakout season they’ve seen from rookie Tyler Naquin. However, it’s still a blow to the team knowing Brantley is officially done for the year. There had been some hope he could return and help the club down the stretch but the club will have to continue to survive without his services.

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Luckily they’ve got that great core of guys and the offense seems to be clicking on all cylinders. In fact, the team is scoring 5.11 runs per game which is third base in all of baseball and second-best in the American League behind only the Boston Red Sox. So while a bat like Brantley’s can never be truly replaced, at least the team is showing they can score and win in his absence.

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