Cleveland Indians: 3 takeaways from the first win of the season

The Cleveland Indians made it close, but were able to pull out a 6-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners to pick up win number one in 2018.

At this pace, Cleveland Indians fans are going to need to stock up on Tums soon.

The Indians picked up a 6-5 win Saturday afternoon over a Seattle Mariners team that kept things close once again. This time, the Indians did just enough to pick up the one-run win.

Let’s take a look at what stood out from the win.

Yonder shows fans why he was brought in

Yonder Alonso got things going early with a grand slam in the first inning, spotting Carlos Carrasco a 4-0 before he threw a single pitch.

That is an absolutely beautiful swing right there.

Some fans were questioning why Rajai Davis was placed fifth in the lineup while Alonso was slotted sixth, so this grand slam really riled up the #TrustInTito crowd. And as a shoutout to Davis, he had a great at-bat to keep the inning alive and set the stage for Alonso.

Alonso is going to be compared to Carlos Santana throughout the year, and that is fair, although it is a bit much. But if he keeps swinging the bat like this, the comparisons will fade away and fans can simply appreciate Alonso.

The dominant bullpen is back

The bullpen didn’t get a chance to pitch on Thursday, thanks to Corey Kluber, but three bullpen pitchers appeared in this win.

Zach McAllister, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen combined to pitch 3.1 scoreless innings, striking out four and walking one.

The star of the group was Miller, who got into some trouble after the Mariners hitters decided to chop at the ball, which was a smart strategy, and get a few bloop hits.

This is how the rally ended for Seattle.

Seeing opposing hitters flail at Miller’s slider this early in the season is a great sign. He will be needed to be great once again now that Bryan Shaw is gone, and his first outing was promising.

Oh, and Allen had a perfect ninth to close things out. It shows how great this bullpen is that a perfect save is simply expected by now. Well, at least by most fans.

Yan Gomes continues to fight for more playing time

Yan Gomes has started both games for the Indians this season and has picked up hits in each game. He added a two-run home run today that proved to be the difference in the game.

Roberto Perez is still going to get his fair share of playing time, but Gomes has the early chance to do well at the plate and force Perez to compete for the job.

I should also note that Gomes struck out three times in the win, so it wasn’t a stellar performance even with the home run. Alas, runs win games and Gomes helped out his pitcher with a big hit.

Next: How much time will Rajai Davis actually see?

The Indians are back on Easter Sunday at 4:10, so that gives fans a perfect excuse to watch some baseball if casual family conversations aren’t going well.