Cleveland Indians perfect after the top of the first in victory over Seattle

The Cleveland Indians were in an early deficit thanks to Danny Salazar, but he turned things around fast to help lead his team to a victory.

Cleveland Indians fans who braved the cold weather this afternoon were likely questioning that decision when Danny Salazar allowed three runs in the top of the first inning.

But the offense responded for the Indians and put up four runs in the bottom half of the inning, giving fans a reason to get up and cheer and not question life decisions.

The Indians ended up winning the game 4-3, as neither team scored after the first inning. But what was more interesting was how dominant the Indians pitching staff was after the opening frame.

Salazar didn’t allow a hit after the first, while Andrew Miller and Cody Allen combined for 2 2/3 innings of no-hit baseball. The bullpen duo also struck out six Mariners hitters in that span.

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It was a great performance that shows how secure leads are with this bullpen if the offense and starting pitching can pick up a lead heading into the latter half of a game.

The bad first inning remains a common theme for Salazar in 2017, but it was great to see him settle in after that, which also remains a common theme this year.

His offense was able to pick him up, as Jose Ramirez and Lonnie Chisenhall both had two RBI in the first inning when all the scoring happened.

Getting no runs the rest of the way isn’t ideal, but fans will move on from that fact thanks to the great final eight innings from Salazar, Miller and Allen.

The Indians now have the chance to win a second consecutive series at home over an AL West squad tomorrow afternoon.

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It will be up to Josh Tomlin to come out and have a good performance if the offense continues to struggle, but based on how the season has gone, it is impossible to make game-by-game predictions. Guess we will just have to wait and see.