Cleveland Indians: 3 takeaways from the sweep of the Angels

The Cleveland Indians just finished off a perfect homestand by sweeping the Los Angeles Angels. Here is what stood out from the series.

The Cleveland Indians have spent the past week changing the narrative surrounding the team after a rough start to the second half of the season.

Seven games at home brought seven wins, and the Indians are now 55-45 as the team heads to take on a Chicago White Sox team that has already raised the white flag.

The homestand saw a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays, another over the Los Angeles Angels and a victory over the Cincinnati Reds in a makeup game. Two of the wins came in walk-off fashion making it a great week for Indians fans.

The Indians need to keep the winning going as the Kansas City Royals have been keeping pace throughout this exciting stretch. The Royals are winners of eight straight and enter play Friday just two games back of the Indians, so there isn’t any room for another bad stretch of baseball by the Indians.

But as of right now, confidence is soaring after sweeping an entire homestand. Let’s take a look at what stood out in the sweep over the Angels that capped off the week.

1. Edwin’s big moment

Indians fans have been waiting all season for Edwin Encarnacion to have a memorable moment, and he finally had it in Tuesday night’s 11-7 victory.

An early 7-0 lead in the second inning made the game seem like it was over before it could get started, but the Angels responded and tied the game in the sixth inning.

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Cut to the bottom of the 11th and Encarnacion came to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs. After the Angels displayed a five-man infield, Edwin made them look foolish by blasting a walk-off grand slam into the bleachers. It was a glorious sight.

One great moment doesn’t make a season, but it does serve as Encarnacion’s defining moment up to this point. Let’s hope there are plenty more of those to come.

2. A resurgent Bauer

The Indians are currently running a six-man rotation, and Trevor Bauer appeared to be the one on his way out when the team goes back to just five.

He responded by going eight strong innings in Thursday’s win, allowing just one run on seven hits and striking out six. It was by far his best start of the season, but it may not be enough to keep his job, unless Josh Tomlin or Mike Clevinger string together a few terrible starts in a row.

Regardless, the good news is that the Indians have six capable starters, which is a great problem to have.

3. Great at home and bad on the road?

The Indians were dominant on the road in the first half of the season, but struggled at home.

Naturally, the team opened the second half by going 1-5 on the road, and 7-0 at home. This is a small sample to judge from, but it continues the theme of constant surprises from this team. Trying to make any concrete claims about this team is difficult, as different players seemingly step up every game and an offensive explosion may be followed by a one-run day.

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But as long as the team keeps winning, it doesn’t matter where or how it happens.