Cleveland Indians: Offense explodes for an exciting comeback in 15-9 win

The Cleveland Indians were facing an early deficit but didn’t let that affect them in what was one of the most memorable victories in recent memory.

Last night was a weird one.

After the Cleveland Indians fell into a 9-2 deficit against the Texas Rangers in the top of the fourth inning, some fans may have declared the game to be over. Carlos Carrasco came out terrible and seemed to give his team no chance to win.

But with Mike Napoli in the house, some of that 2016 magic made its return to Progressive Field.

After cutting the deficit to 9-3 after the fourth inning, the Indians scored four in the fifth, followed by five in the sixth and three in the seventh, combining for 13 unanswered runs against a bewildered Rangers team.

The stats from the game are ridiculous. The main one that stands out is the Indians going 11-28 with runners in scoring position. That came after getting just one hit with RISP during the entire series against the Minnesota Twins, but the 28 chances last night shows just how bad the pitching was for the Rangers.

Every player in the lineup had at least one hit, while everyone except Jason Kipnis had at least two.

More from Away Back Gone

• Cleveland Guardians tantalizingly close to locking up AL Central tiebreakers
• Cleveland Guardians: Terry Francona becomes meme in profanity-laced ejection
• Say goodbye to defensive shifts and hello to bigger bases, pitch clock in 2023
• Cleveland Guardians: Shane Bieber second-fastest to 800 strikeouts in major-league history
• The next week will make or break the Cleveland Guardians’ season

Jose Ramirez and Edwin Encarnacion were the only two players without at least one RBI, but the two combined for five hits and five runs scored. The two now have identical .381 on-base percentages, while Ramirez has his average up to .326.

The bottom third of the lineup combined for seven hits and seven RBI, highlighted by a 2-3 night by Roberto Perez, bringing some life to the catcher spot in the lineup.

The only negative from the game was Carrasco’s start, which we will get to in a separate article later today.

Terry Francona also left the dugout early with an illness, but hopefully it is nothing major.

This is the kind of win that could change the season for the Indians. Being down 9-2 had some fans wondering if the weekend hangover would continue throughout the week, but once Carrasco left the game and the bullpen stopped the bleeding, the offense took over.

This is also a reflection on the Rangers’ entire pitching staff, which is a unit the Indians took advantage of at the beginning of the year as well.

After a horrible weekend on offense, the Indians now have the Rangers reeling heading into the remaining three games of this series. Winning at home has been difficult for the Indians all year, but perhaps a this win can be the turning point of the season. Other moments this season seemed like turning points of their own, but we can continue hoping until it finally happens.

Next: 5 players to target at the trade deadline

For now, Indians fans have to be excited after this 15-9 victory. It put the Indians back in first place and helps move past the horrible weekend against the Twins.