The idea in a marathon is to maintain a steady pace, conserving energy for the last segment of the race. Cleveland has accomplished that to this point by hovering around the break-even mark and staying within range of the leaders in the postseason picture.
The time has come for the Indians to reach down and find another gear.
On Tuesday night, Cleveland began a daunting run of 30 games in 30 days that will most likely serve as a make-or-break stretch on the schedule. The Indians opened the final sprint with a seesaw affair on the South Side of Chicago, where rookie Zach Walters delivered a two-run home run in the 10th inning to lead the Tribe to an 8-6 victory.
Reliever Bryan Shaw shut the door in the bottom of the 10th, finishing off a spectacular outing. He threw 2 1/3 perfect innings with three strikeouts.
“We know exactly where we are,” Indians starter T.J. House said. “And we know that we have to turn it on at this moment in time if we expect to catch anyone, whether it’s the Wild Card or division. But, I don’t think we’re pushing or forcing anything.
“I definitely think we’re more relaxed than at any point in the season since I’ve been up here. Guys are having fun and you see the results that are happening right now.”
It marked the 10th win in the past 14 games for Cleveland, helping the club hold its ground (5 1/2 games back) in the American League Central, as both the first-place Royals and second-place Tigers won Tuesday, too. In order for the Tribe to get where it wants to go, taking care of business against a Chicago team that sits further down in the standings is essential.
With the win, Cleveland (67-63) also moved four games over .500 for the first time this season.
The Indians’ offense overcame an abbreviated outing from House as Chicago countered throughout the night.
“They came right back, but then we came right back,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “And they kept doing that, but we kept scoring or trying to score, at least giving ourselves a chance. The way we’ve pitched lately, it was nice to see the hitters kind of pick us up a little bit.”
House allowed no more than three earned runs in his previous eight starts, posting a 3.07 ERA. This time around, the rookie southpaw did not fare as well and was charged with five runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings by the time the fireworks smoke cleared after Alexei Ramirez’s two-run home run in the fifth.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
