Cleveland Indians GIFs of the Week: March 2nd-8th

Apr 22, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; General view of home plate prior to a game between the Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Kansas City won 8-2. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

In a new feature here at Wahoo’s on First, each week I’ll be going through the Indians’ highlights and bringing you some GIFs of the Week. While games are going on, you can follow us at @WahoosOnFirst to see GIFs just minutes after the plays happen. Unfortunately not all Spring Training games are televised, so there will be some games where there is no coverage.

So let’s get started with some highlights of the Indians’ first week of games.

March 3rd

Reds 10, Indians 0

Reds outfielder and leadoff hitter Billy Hamilton started things off with a high chopper to shortstop Jose Ramirez, who made a quick transfer and an accurate throw to catch the 80-grade runner.

In the bottom of the second, Yan Gomes threw out Zack Cozart despite a low pitch from Zach McAllister. Aviles saved a potential error with a nice scoop.

The Tribe went their first three and two thirds innings without a base hit until Mike Aviles singled to left off Reds pitcher Keyvius Sampson.

In the fifth, Tyler Naquin used an inside-out swing to hit a sharp single the opposite way.

Despite the loss, the Indians ended up with the best highlight of the day, when Destin Hood made a leaping catch as he crashed into the wall to end the fifth inning. Hood was signed to a minor league deal this December. He was drafted in the second round by the Nationals in 2008, staying with the franchise through last year when he reached Triple-A for the first time, hitting .294/.344/.482 over 334 plate appearances.

March 5th

Indians 9, Reds 3

Yan Gomes threw out another runner trying to steal second base, this time gunning down Jason Bourgeois for the first out of the third inning.

Bruce Chen came on to replace starter Trevor Bauer in the fourth inning. He came out of the gate strong, striking out the side in order in his first inning as an Indian.

Jose Ramirez gave the Indians the lead in the fifth with single up the middle.

Gomes provided some insurance with a long home run to left field, giving the Tribe a 5-2 lead.

After some sloppy defensive play by the Reds that made it a 8-3 games, 2014 first round selection Bradley Zimmer hit an RBI triple to center.

March 7th

Dodgers 5, Indians 5

Kluber recorded his first strikeout of the year, getting Adrian Gonzalez to chase a changeup in the dirt.

Yan Gomes continued his defensive dominance, picking off fellow catcher Yasmani Grandal at first base to end the first inning.

In the The Tribe turned a nice double play in the third, with Carlos Santana making a great scoop on a tough hop. Santana has continued his strong defense that he flashed in the second half of 2014 after moving to first base permanently. It’s becoming increasingly apparent that Santana might be able to provide average to above average defense at first this year, a big boost for the Tribe after their subpar defensive performance in 2014.

The Tribe looked to be out of it until they got two men on with nobody out in the ninth. Then Ryan Rohlinger brought the game within one with a three run homer to left field.

Brett Hayes followed Rohlinger with a home run of his own to tie the game at 5, completing the four run comeback before the Dodgers could even get one out. The game ended as a tie but the Indians must have been happy to end the game on a good note.