Cleveland Indians: Top 5 games from the 2018 season

2) Greg Allen plays hero against the Red Sox

It feels like we’re mentioning Greg Allen a lot on this list. Probably because of how well he broke out this season. That breakout continued during the series at Fenway Park against the Red Sox. The first game between the Bo-Sox and the Tribe was a doosey.

It saw the Red Sox take an early lead and it felt like Corey Kluber would be in a heap of trouble. But the Indians stayed persistent. Thanks to homers from Michael Brantley, Greg Allen, and Melky Cabrera, the Indians scored five runs in three innings.

The effort gave the Tribe the lead that they needed to win the day. The Red Sox did make things interesting in the ninth. They even pulled within one run. But Cody Allen pulled through for his 25th save of the year.

1) Tribe and Astros play the long game in a classic

This game felt like the closest possible thing to October baseball in May. Probably because these teams played in October. The Indians took an early two-run lead against the defending champs, and the teams traded runs in the second inning. It felt like a pitchers duel from then until the eighth inning.

The Astros ran Trevor Bauer out of the inning and Evan Marshall (don’t worry, I forgot about him too) allowed the Astros to put up a six spot in the inning. All felt lost until a long at-bat for Jose Ramirez in the ninth saw him reach base. What followed was a remarkable rally in which the Indians scored five runs to send the game to extra innings.

I can still remember listening to the final innings on the radio while on vacation. I wasn’t able to enjoy the nice Sunday afternoon with family because I was so caught up in the intensity of that game. When the teams traded home runs in the 13th inning my heart skipped a beat.

To make things come full circle, the hero of the day was none other than Greg Allen. The mobbing of Allen at the plate was narrated beautifully by Tom Hamilton and it was the perfect ending to the holiday weekend.