Indians’ offense comes alive to finish off sweep of Tigers

Well that was fun.

We Tribe fans have suffered many heartbreaking and/or humiliating losses to the Detroit Tigers this decade. Whether it was Miguel Cabrera’s utter dominance of Indians’ pitching or Detroit’s aces throwing gems, the Tribe took plenty of lumps when playing the team from Motown.

Thankfully, the tides have turned. The Indians wrapped up a fantastic series sweep Thursday with a 9-3 beatdown of the Tigers and dating back to last year have won 11 straight over Detroit. On what turned out to be a gorgeous night in Cleveland, the Tribe ripped 15 hits, two early home runs, and coasted to their 8th victory of the year. Fun times, indeed.

Francisco Lindor got the party started with a leadoff home run off Tigers’ starter Michael Fulmer. Lindor’s blast was an opposite field shot that traveled 406 feet and was the shortstop’s first homer of the year. Jason Kipnis followed with a double to right field and later scored on a throwing error.

The Tribe would add four more in the second inning. Roberto Perez and Tyler Naquin led the inning off with singles, and both scored on a double by Lindor. After a Kipnis groundout, Jose Ramirez used some helping wind to sneak a homer over the right field fence and give the good guys a 6-0 lead.

Lindor and Michael Brantley finished with two hits, while Kipnis and Bradley tallied three hits. After the big night, the Indians’ offense is now hitting a robust .189 on the year. Baby steps!

Trevor Bauer earned his first win of the year, going seven innings and allowing just two earned runs. The right-hander struck out seven.

Next up for the Indians is a three-game home series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Tomorrow’s matchup of young guns is a doozy, as Mike Clevinger and Marcus Stroman are the scheduled starters.