Cleveland Indians set a new franchise record with ease

The Cleveland Indians picked up a 15th straight win Thursday night and did so with ease, making the new record seem like just another win.

The Cleveland Indians faced the pressure of trying to set a new franchise record for consecutive wins on Thursday night, which may stress out some teams. Not this one.

The Indians put up four runs in the top of the first and never looked back, picking up a 15th consecutive win in what was, dare I say, a rather boring game. I mean that in the best way possible.

A 10-2 win wasn’t a dramatic way to get this record-breaking win, but it is a great illustration of how this streak has gone. There have only been a few close games, while the Indians have been quick to score early and often, letting the pitchers work without stress.

Looking at that run differential is mind-blowing before you add in the fact the Indians have won their last 11 games on the road, on a trip that saw two doubleheaders in three days.

It is even crazier when realizing guys like Greg Allen, Yandy Diaz, Erik Gonzalez, Giovanny Urshela and Brandon Guyer have been receiving regular playing time. It shows how deep this team is and how the group can find a way to win even without stars like Michael Brantley, Jay Bruce, Jason Kipnis and Andrew Miller.

I see a lot of “just wait until this team is healthy” takes on Twitter, but it is hard to top what this team is doing right now. Yes, in theory the team should only improve when getting all the starters back, but everyone else has stepped up to the point where even if the starters were all healthy, there is no better result than 15 straight wins.

The key is for no more injuries to occur. Everyone playing now is doing well, but you can only be stretched so thin before you run out of players to contribute.

Anyway, the Indians are now just 2.5 games behind the Houston Astros for the best record in the division and are on pace to clinch the AL Central title in just over a week. This weekend’s series against Baltimore will be much more difficult than the games in Chicago, but it would be foolish to doubt this Indians team.

Next: Evaluating Kipnis' future in Cleveland

With the Los Angeles Dodgers on a tough losing streak, the Indians are clearly the best team in baseball.