Cleveland Indians: 3 takeaways from the sweep over Toronto

The Cleveland Indians followed up a horrific road trip with a great sweep at home over the Toronto Blue Jays. Here is what stood out from the series.

The 2017 Cleveland Indians are unpredictable, and that continued this weekend as the Indians swept the Toronto Blue Jays.

The starting pitching was phenomenal and the offense showed up big in two of the games, while the series also provided fans with the second walk-off win of the season.

Winning cures all, and this sweep should have fans feeling much better after the Indians went 1-5 out in the Bay Area. Let’s take a look at a few things that stood out from the sweep.

1. Two dominant pitching performances

Indians fans were eager to see Danny Salazar pitch again, and he didn’t disappoint. He went seven innings and allowed just one hit, walking no batters and striking out eight. Naturally, the Indians only mustered up one run to that point, but Salazar’s outing put the team in a great position to win.

His velocity was in the upper-90s for the duration of the game and he appeared to be back in All-Star form. With the knowledge that he was injured during the first half of the year, perhaps the time off will have him back as a key piece in this rotation.

The ace of the rotation is still Corey Kluber, who put in another insane day of work Sunday. He struck out 14 batters in 7.2 innings, allowing just one run on five hits.

Fans know Kluber is going to remain a dominant force, which is why Salazar’s outing is so inspiring. If he can keep pitching like he did, the Indians have a playoff rotation that looks unbeatable. I know, it’s only July, but things are looking much better than they were before Salazar returned.

2. Frankie’s big hit

The Indians offense couldn’t give Salazar much help, but the fact the team won is all that fans will remember.

Francisco Lindor hit a huge walk-off home run in the rain Saturday night, and he needed it. The young shortstop has been struggling since his great month of April, and you could see how much that home run mattered when he couldn’t contain his excitement rounding the bases.

Wins in general are great, but picking up a win in walk-off fashion in front of a sellout crowd could do wonders for this team moving forward. They needed a spark after a bad trip, and Lindor gave his teammates a highlight to watch for the remainder of the season.

3. Improving the home record

The Indians’ road dominance has leveled out as the season has progressed, making it important for this team to start picking up wins at home. And after this sweep, the team finally made it to the .500 mark with a 24-24 record at Progressive Field.

The stadium was packed the entire weekend so it was great to see the Indians give fans reasons to cheer instead of reasons to get angry on social media.

Next: Indians draft recap

They need to keep it up, and have a chance to do so with four more home games this week.