The Aftermath: Three Takeaways from the Indians’ 10-7 Win Over Houston

The Cleveland Indians took their second straight from the Houston Astros, finishing up a strong homestand.

In 2015, the Cleveland Indians won their 81st game on the final day of the season, October 4th, at home against the Boston Red Sox. The 2016 Tribe hit that mark a bit earlier, running their record to 81-58 with Thursday afternoon’s 10-7 victory over the Houston Astros.

Cleveland now leads the American League Central Division by a full six games, and trails the Texas Rangers by just a game and a half for the AL’s best overall record.

After dropping the first two games of the series against the Astros, scoring a combined five runs, the Indians bats came to life on Wednesday and Thursday, spurred by the kind of timely hitting that had been eluding them, and a controversial call that went the team’s way.

In the third inning on Thursday, in what at the time was a 2-1 ballgame, a pitch from Houston starter David Paulino that appeared to hit the bat of Lonnie Chisenhall was ruled to have instead been a wild pitch. Cleveland scored a pair on the play, and a lengthy delay followed as the umpiring crew discussed the play, Stros manager A.J. Hinch was ejected, and the league’s replay center was consulted.

When the dust settled, the runs stood, and the Tribe had taken command of the game. Was it the right call?

Carlos Santana hit his 30th home run of the season in the fifth inning of Thursday’s ballgame, Abraham Almonte delivered a double, a triple, two runs batted in, and a runner thrown out at second base from left field, and Francisco Lindor drove in three runs of his own to power the rest of the Cleveland attack.

The Indians now hit the road for a seven-game trip that includes three games in Minnesota against the Twins and four in Chicago against the White Sox. The season is coming down to the wire, and if the Tribe continues to win, the club’s first AL Central crown since 2007 can be secured.

Home Sweet Home

Thursday’s win gave Cleveland an 8-2 mark on the homestand, and pushed their record at Progressive Field to 47-25 for the season. That is the third-best home record in all of baseball, behind only the Chicago Cubs (51-20) and the Rangers (47-22).

The Indians are also 36-17 in 2016 against opponents from the Central Division, which gives them the highest winning percentage within their own division in the AL, a trend that will need to continue. The Astros were the last non-AL Central opposition the Tribe will face this season, with the final 23 games all taking place against the Twins, Whte Sox, Detroit Tigers, and Kansas City Royals.

Bauer “Sucked”

Trevor Bauer got the win on Thursday, moving to 11-6 on the season. But, pitching wins are kind of a useless statistic, and according to Bauer, this was not one of his better outings.

“Yeah, I sucked,” Bauer said after the game. “I was not good today…I’ll be better next time.”

In five innings of work, the 25-year old allowed five runs on seven hits, with two walks and just two strikeouts. This came on the heels of two consecutive starts in which he had pitched well, allowing a mere three runs on nine hits across 14.1 innings.

Cleveland needs a locked-in Bauer over the final three and a half weeks of the season, particularly with the fifth spot in the starting rotation being in a state of flux. He’s been highly inconsistent since the all-star break, but shown he has the ability to provide the Indians with dominant outings. Bauer and the Tribe both need to see that next time out.

Going Deep

Santana’s home run not only gave Cleveland two players with at least 30 home runs for the first time since Jim Thome and Ellis Burks did so in 2002, but it pushed the team to the 170-homer mark for the season, a feat the Tribe hadn’t accomplished since 2013.

In 2014 and 2015, the Indians hit 142 and 141 home runs, respectively, so the 2016 total, which will no doubt be added to over the final 23 games, is already a 20 percent increase. The longball has been on the rise across Major League Baseball since the tail end of last season. At its current rate, 2016 will see the second-most home runs per game in baseball history.

Next: What Should the Tribe Do About Its Fifth Starter?

There are plenty of theories as to why, from PEDs to juiced balls to umpire strike zones expanding. Whatever the reason, Cleveland has been taking advantage of the league-wide power surge, with the fourth-highest slugging percentage  and third-highest OPS in the AL.