Game Thread: Indians continue battling within the division, taking on the Tigers

Good evening.

You may remember me from such articles as “Yesterday’s Recap” or “So you think you can chop; a gentleman’s guide to chef’s knives.” Tonight, I am thrilled to be writing this game thread and game recap for the first game of the latest Cleveland Indians vs Detroit Tigers baseball series. Once, the Tigers dominated the division, primarily by being the best team in it. Now, the Indians hold that mantle, and would do well to pad their lead against its foes by sweeping the heck out of the Tigers this week.

The Indians come into this series with a completely ludicrous level of performance from Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez. The left side duo is hitting like Mantle and Maris in ‘61 at the moment, and neither shows signs of stopping. Will they each hit something like 60 home runs? Probably not, but at the same time it feels like every other decent hit is flying 430-feet at the moment. I mean,

Also worth keeping an eye on: Yan Gomes looks like good Yan Gomes this season. We’ll see if the 30-year-old backstop can sustain it, but he sports an OPS+ of 113 and a wRC+ of 119. These are both his highest totals since 2014, and the only time it’s really been anywhere near league average since, let alone above it. Or, as longtime Indians fan and youth pogostick world championship head referee Nate Rocheck probably said, “Maybe he decided to stop sucking.”

Anyway, you know what is next.