Cleveland Indians used the 2016 winning formula on Monday

The Cleveland Indians did just enough on offense to win on Monday, turning to the pitching staff to pull out what was a much-needed victory.

Cody Allen made it tense for Cleveland Indians fans, but he was able to close out Monday night’s 3-1 victory to bring the Indians back within one game of the .500 mark.

The win was a much-needed one after the Indians went 2-4 at home last week, and it was done in a familiar fashion.

The offense wasn’t great, but the three runs scored by the Indians gave the team a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning. This may not have been enough in other games this year, but Danny Salazar was dominant.

He had a shaky first two innings, but pulled it together to get through six innings with one earned run, striking out seven and walking two batters.

His performance was good enough to set up a familiar trio to come in and finish out the game.

First came Bryan Shaw, who pitched a perfect seventh. Then came Andrew Miller, who walked a batter but got out of the eighth without allowing a run.

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

Allen entered with his team holding a 3-1 lead and although he loaded the bases with two outs, he got Joe Mauer to fly out to end the game.

The Indians haven’t been able to utilize this trio much this year, thanks to shaky starting pitching and the offense not keeping the games close.

But seeing its return on Monday showed Indians fans that if the offense and starting pitching can give the team a lead heading into the seventh inning, the bullpen can shut it down without a problem.

There are going to be nights when Shaw, Miller or Allen won’t be perfect, but more often than not all three are going to be able to do what they did Monday night, which was what they did for much of last season.

Next: Lindor, Miller ranked among best MLB players

While the offense and starting pitching haven’t been great, it is at least nice to see the top players in the bullpen playing at an elite level this early in the season.