Cleveland Indians: 3 takeaways from the series victory in Detroit

The Cleveland Indians finished off a great week with two wins against the Detroit Tigers. Here is what stood out from the three games.

There is plenty of excitement surrounding the Cleveland Indians now that the team is officially sending five players and the coaching staff to the All-Star Game, but the weekend also provided some great baseball.

After a rainout on Friday, the Indians took two of three over the weekend from the Detroit Tigers to increase the division lead to three games.

The series capped off a week in which the Indians went 5-2 following a disastrous weekend before that. No one should have panicked, but it was a bit alarming.

But that is all in the past as the series victory against the Tigers has the Indians back on track. Or so I hope.

Let’s take a look at a few things that stood out over the weekend.

1. Jose the GOAT

Not only did Jose Ramirez get voted in as an All-Star Game starter on Sunday, but he had himself an amazing day.

Ramirez hit a home run from each side of the plate Sunday, driving in four runs a day after he hit a home run and drove in two. His feat Sunday marked the second time this season he has hit home runs from each side of the plate in a single game. No Indians player had ever done that before. And Jose has plenty of time to do it again.

His .325 batting average puts him third in the AL, just .002 behind Aaron Judge who is sitting at .327.

Among qualified hitters, Ramirez leads the Indians in hits, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, doubles, triples and stolen bases. Not too bad.

Related: Jose Ramirez highlights 2017 All-Star class

He deserved the starting nod in the All-Star Game so it was great to see the fans come through and get him there.

2. Tomlin’s struggles continue

The first game of the series ended as a 7-4 victory for the Tigers in a game that saw Josh Tomlin last just 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits.

The team was able to tie it up at 4-4, but Bryan Shaw allowed three runs in the seventh that proved to be the difference in the game.

The loss wasn’t entirely Tomlin’s fault, but it was yet another bad outing from the veteran. It was his fourth consecutive start in which he allowed at least four earned runs, with the Indians losing the last three of those games.

He has also allowed eight home runs in that span, bringing back more flashbacks to how he finished the 2016 regular season before redeeming himself in the playoffs.

Indians fans may want to see Tomlin out of the rotation, but unless the team makes a trade it may not happen. Danny Salazar is still working his way back and we don’t even know if he will ever make a full return. So it will either come down to making a trade or fans just have to hope Tomlin will turn it around.

3. The road dominance continues

Sunday’s victory gave the Indians their 26th victory on the road this season, which is good for second in the AL behind Houston’s 29. The Colorado Rockies lead the National League with 26.

The problem for the Indians has been winning at home, as the 18-21 home record is good for second-to-last in the AL, ahead of only the Minnesota Twins, who happen to have 25 road wins of their own.

The dominance on the road has kept this Indians team in first place, but it needs to happen at home as well. For the Indians to begin pulling away from the Twins and the Kansas City Royals, winning at home would be a good start, as it is hard to expect them to keep up this pace on the road.

Next: 5 Indians minor leaguers who are future All-Stars

The Indians do have six home games remaining before the All-Star break, with three each against the struggling San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers. Perhaps this is where the turnaround begins.