Cleveland Indians: Michael Brantley extends hitting streak in impressive fashion

The Cleveland Indians pulled off an impressive win at home Wednesday night, thanks in large part to the play of Michael Brantley.

The Cleveland Indians needed all seven of their runs Wednesday night to defeat the Houston Astros. The team also needed someone to step up on offense after a rough game Tuesday night.

Michael Brantley entered the game with a nine-game hitting streak, and made it 10 on a night when he went 2-for-4 with three RBI.

He now trails Jose Ramirez by .002 for the team-lead in batting average, but is tied with Ramirez for the lead in on-base percentage with a mark of .384.

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Brantley is making an early case for Comeback Player of the Year and will easily win the award if he keeps playing at his current pace. And there is no reason to expect him to slow down anytime soon.

The fears over Brantley’s health have faded away as the former All-Star continues to be the most consistent piece in the lineup.

The consistency from Brantley in the third spot in the order helps take some pressure off Edwin Encarnacion, and usually means the cleanup hitter has some people on base to increase his chances of driving in a run. He has not been efficient in that regard yet, but the more chances he has means the more likelihood there is for success.

This post hopefully won’t serve to jinx Brantley, who looks to extend his hitting streak tonight against the Astros. Yet no amount of jinxing seems to be able to slow Brantley down. He saw all the skeptics doubt his return earlier this year and not only came back, but came back as one of the best players on the team.

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He is currently playing at an All-Star pace, and figures to be a key piece in the race to win another AL Central title. Continuing to build up his current hitting streak would only add to his resume.