The Aftermath: Three Takeaways from the Indians’ 3-2 Win Over Toronto

The Cleveland Indians came from behind once again to edge the Toronto Blue Jays and pick up a series win.

Where would the Cleveland Indians be this season without Jose Ramirez? Ramirez came through once again on Sunday afternoon, hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to propel the Tribe to a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

With the win, Cleveland improved its record to 71-51, clinching the season series against Toronto four games to three and maintaining its seven-game lead in the American League’s Central Division over the Detroit Tigers.

Ramirez’s blast, which came off Jays’ reliever Brett Cecil with two outs and Francisco Lindor aboard, marked the twelfth game-tying or go-ahead homer the Indians have hit in the eighth inning or later, and the fourth time the club has done it against Toronto.

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Rookie Mike Clevinger got the win out of the bullpen after tossing 1.1 pressure-packed innings. Clevinger relieved starter Corey Kluber in the seventh with the bases loaded, two outs, and Edwin Encarnacion at the plate with the Blue Jays leading 2-1. After a confusing, controversial situation in which he was erroneously called for a balk while the home plate umpire had time called, the right-hander came back and struck out Encarnacion to escape the jam.

Kluber delivered another quality start, going 6.2 innings and allowing two runs on six hits while striking out eight and walking four, but did not factor in the decision. His counterpart for Toronto, Marcus Stroman, was equally as good, throwing 7.1 innings of one-run ball, striking out nine and rolling twelve groundball outs that included three double plays.

Melvin Upton, Jr. homered and Josh Donaldson smacked an RBI single in the third inning for the Jays, but Tribe pitching was able to bend without breaking the rest of the way, punctuated by Cody Allen’s heart-pounding ninth inning for the save.

This was a series that had a definite playoff atmosphere, and could well serve as a preview of things to come for both of these teams in October. The resilience shown by the Indians in all three games was an encouraging sign against a quality opponent.

The K in Kluber

Kluber looked to have electric stuff in the early going of the ballgame, and other than the two-run third, he kept the Blue Jays in check. With his eight strikeouts, the Tribe ace moved into 12th place on the franchise’s all-time list, passing Bartolo Colon.

Since the all-star break, Kluber has been the only consistently solid member of the Cleveland starting rotation, and may be in line for his second Cy Young award. More importantly, though, he may be pitching the Indians into their first division title in nine years.

Mike Clevinger: Bullpen Weapon?

It seemed strange at the time that Terry Francona went with Clevinger in the bases loaded situation in the seventh given that Andrew Miller hadn’t pitched the previous two games. Miller is dominant against both left and right-handed hitters, and the high-leverage moment seemed tailor made for him.

Yet, Francona went with the rookie, and Clevinger showed excellent poise in not only striking out Encarnacion, but in getting through the eighth and keeping it a one-run game. With a mid-90s fastball and a plus breaking ball, he could make an excellent complementary bullpen weapon to Miller, Allen, and Bryan Shaw, much in the way that David Price and Chris Sale did during their respective rookie seasons.

Mr. Clutch

It almost seems to belabor the point to continually be mentioning just how clutch Ramirez has been this season, but his performance on a near-daily basis makes it impossible to ignore. His game-winning home run off Cecil was his 10th of the season, and six of those have come in the eighth inning or later.

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In delivering the Tribe’s 27th come-from-behind victory of the season, Ramirez improved upon his already staggering success hitting with two outs. It was his third two-out longball of the season and boosted his RBI total in those situations to 28. To answer the question posed at the top of the page, the Indians would be downright lost this year without JRam.