Cleveland Indians: Revisiting the talk of Friday’s momentum

The Cleveland Indians were given a spark by Lonnie Chisenhall late Friday night, and it seemed to carry over into Saturday.

The Cleveland Indians entered Saturday’s game against the Detroit Tigers ready for a pitchers’ duel. Instead, there was an offensive explosion.

I wrote an article yesterday wondering if Lonnie Chisenhall‘s late grand slam on Friday night would give the team any momentum heading into Saturday’s game. I am not a big believer in momentum in professional sports, but the Indians did come into the game against Justin Verlander ready to hit.

The score was 7-0 after three innings thanks to home runs from Jose Ramirez, Carlos Santana and Chisenhall. These were all scorching shots off Verlander, and I can attest to this as I was sitting out in the outfield and watching in horror as each ball came my way.

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

The final result was a 13-6 rout of the Tigers, giving the Indians the chance to take the series today when Carlos Carrasco takes the mound.

One explanation for yesterday’s outburst is the fact the Indians are a lineup loaded with talent and potential, and everyone finally put it all together. A 4-6 start, featuring little to no offense as of late, was not ideal, but it was hard to be too worried about the group as a whole.

Another explanation is that Chisenhall’s home run put the team back in Friday’s game, giving them a reason to keep fighting for a win and making them want one that much more on Saturday.

In reality, professional baseball players don’t go through the daily highs and lows that fans suffer when watching a team struggle. The Indians had not been playing great baseball throughout the past week, but that doesn’t take away from the talent on the roster. They knew they would pull through, it was only a matter of time.

Next: Indians and starting pitching health

That talent should continue to shine through after Saturday’s game, as everyone (except Yan Gomes) seems to have figured things out at the plate. They aren’t going to put up 13 runs every game, but no one (except Gomes) is having a horrible time at the plate anymore.