The Aftermath: Three Takeaways from the Indians’ 1-0 Win Over Minnesota

The Cleveland Indians outlasted the Minnesota Twins for an exciting walk-off 1-0 victory in 10 innings.

For whatever reason, when the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins step on the field against one another, the standings and win-loss percentages get thrown out the window and it’s just game on. The Indians, who are 34-17 against Central Division opponents but just 6-8 against the Twins, needed 10 innings to pull out a win in the first game of a 10-game homestand, but got it done in walk-off fashion.

With zeroes on the board in the bottom of the 10th with two on and one out, Jason Kipnis sent a liner into left-center and Chris Gimenez came around to score the game’s only run and deliver the W.

This was a pitcher’s duel, plain and simple. Tribe starter Trevor Bauer went six scoreless innings, yielding five hits and a walk while striking out four. It was the third straight start that the right-hander gave up three earned runs or fewer after having gone through a rough patch.

Behind Bauer, the bullpen combination of Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen, and Zach McAllister held Minnesota without a run for the final four innings. Miller, in particular, was fun to watch in his 1.1 innings, as he struck out three and made another batter (Brian Dozier, in this case) fall down.

For the Twins, lefty Hector Santiago, acquired from the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline in a trade that sent Ricky Nolasco to the west coast, had his first quality outing for his new squad, going 6.1 scoreless, allowing three hits and four walks, and striking out a pair. In his first 19 innings for the Twins, Santiago had an ERA approaching 11.00.

After a brutal seven-game stretch on the road, Cleveland really needed this win, even if it came ugly. Two more contests against Minnesota remain in this series, and despite how tough the Twins have played the Indians this year, they are the sort of games that a first place team should win.

Good Trevor

As was mentioned, Bauer was excellent on this night, and has been in his past few starts. Despite some tough luck in Oakland during the most recent roadtrip and a string of mediocre performances right after the all-star break, the Tribe has won four of the 25-year old’s last five starts.

Watching this game, the intensity Bauer was exuding was palpable, and that’s a great sign. He wanted the ball and wanted to be the one to stop his team’s bleeding. He only threw 97 pitches before giving way to Miller (more on that decision in a moment), but his four-seamer, cutter, and especially his curveball were working for him. When Bauer can get three of his pitches going like he did against the Twins, generating swings and misses and weak contact, he can be an incredible weapon for this pitching staff.

Tito and his Bullpen

Bauer pitched well, and has been stretched out to the point where he’s thrown 100+ pitches in 14 of his 21 starts. Which made it slightly head-scratching when manager Terry Francona pulled him after six innings.

Despite that, Miller came in and dominated, yet after retiring Joe Mauer to start the eighth inning, was given the hook after throwing 23 pitches. Shaw got the last two outs of the inning, and was then pulled for Allen.

When Allen ran out of gas in the ninth, giving up a single and two walks to load the bases, Francona was forced to go the pen once more, this time for McAllister. I’ll never be one to pretend I know better than a major league skipper, but it seemed that the relief pitcher usage could have been managed more efficiently.

With the way Miller gets batters out in both sides of the box, taking him out mid-inning feels like overthinking. Had he completed the eighth, Shaw and Allen would have been fresh for the ninth and tenth, respectively, and the heart-stopping situation that fans experienced could have been avoided.

Bats are Scared

The last time the Indians won an extra-inning game by a 1-0 score via the walk-off was July 23, 1992. Progressive Field was still a hole in the ground at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario at the time. Carlos Baerga lifted a sacrifice fly that scored Sandy Alomar in the bottom of the 14th inning for the win off the Kansas City Royals’ Mike Magnante.

History is fun and all, but the Tribe’s offense has been in such a total team slump for the past eight games that reminiscences of Baerga and Alomar in their MLB youth can only distract for so long. In the past eight games, Cleveland has scored a total of 17 runs, a fact that is made all the worse by the fact that 12 of them came on Friday night’s game against Texas.

Take away that one and the Indians have not scored more than a run in seven games, and have been shutout twice. This from the third-highest scoring club in the American League.

Next: Salazar Back to Being His Old Self?

It’s a long season, and the Tribe’s win on Monday night kept their lead in the AL Central at 4.5 games over the Detroit Tigers and 5.5 over the surging Royals. Progressive Field has been a magical place for the team this season, but it’s going to take more than one run in 10 innings to turn this homestand into something that inspires confidence.