Cleveland Indians: 3 Takeaways from a stress free win for the Tribe

The Cleveland Indians decided not to use any heroics today. They took care of business early and rode the pitching of Mike Clevenger to a welcomed stress free victory.

The Indians jumped on the White Sox early and never looked back as they brought their win streak to 4 games. The offense kept rolling as they pounded out 15 hits, Clevenger had a quality start, and the bullpen was solid for the 3rd straight game. As far as Indians games go this was ho-hum. There was no sitting on pins and needles with the feeling of impending doom while watching the bullpen. It was a nice, easy 7-3 victory.

The usual suspects on offense continued to produce. Rumors from earlier in the day didn’t impact Jose Ramirez at all as he went 2-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Michael Brantley was awesome again and Jason Kipnis continues to look as though he might be finally breaking out of his early season slump.

Michael Brantley stays hot

Michael Brantley extended his hitting streak to 18 games in a big way, going 3-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Over that period, including tonight, Brantley is batting .367 with 6 homers and 19 RBIs. The beat goes on for Dr. Smooth as he continues to be one of the most consistent hitters in baseball and help carry this Cleveland Indians lineup.

Mike Clevinger bounces back

After two sub-par starts Clevinger bounced back with a good outing against the White Sox. He gave the Indians 6.2 innings, allowing only one run on four hits, along with seven strikeouts and two walks. It was a nice reprieve for Clevinger after seeing the Houston Astros in his each of his last two starts. He took full advantage of an aggressive, young lineup.

Greg Allen getting comfortable

Over the last 10 games, including his 2-4 effort tonight, Greg Allen has started to pick it up offensively. His offense has added a nice punch to the bottom of the line-up. In those 10 games, he has posted a .303 batting average. Allen is going to make the decision tough when the Indians start getting players back from the disabled list.

Allen is now up to a .236 batting average on the season with a .621 OPS, which is a big improvement considering where he was and a step in the right direction.

Next: A false Jose Ramirez PED rumor?

The Indians will look to complete this 3 game sweep with some Wednesday afternoon baseball. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 pm. The pitching match-up is Corey Kluber vs. Reynaldo Lopez.