Cleveland Indians: Danny Salazar states a strong claim to retain his old job

The Cleveland Indians picked up an eighth straight win Friday night, while Danny Salazar had his second straight dominant start since returning from injury.

Just over one week ago, optimistic Cleveland Indians fans were beginning to feel the emotional toll of constantly telling others the team would turn things around. What a difference eight games makes.

The Indians picked up an eighth straight win Friday night, the second game in that streak started by Danny Salazar. And while the win streak has been amazing, Salazar’s return has been a gift from the baseball gods.

Before giving up a two-run home run to the final batter he faced Friday night, Salazar pitched six strong innings and struck out eight. He had early run support to help alleviate the pressure, but that didn’t stop him from pitching like an ace against the Chicago White Sox.

Salazar made his long-awaited return to the rotation last Saturday, when he went seven innings of one-hit baseball against the Los Angeles Angels.

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It was an amazing comeback, but one start was not enough to declare Salazar to truly be back. But Friday night’s start showed he maintained his control and his velocity, so it appears he is indeed back to his old form.

He admitted to being injured at the start of the season, so some time off appears to have done the trick. The key now is to stay healthy, and continuing to run a six-man rotation can help keep his workload down, given all six pitchers keep going at a high level.

What Salazar has done is prove he is not even in the conversation to be removed from the rotation, and he actually looks like he has retained his spot among Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco in a projected postseason rotation.

Mike Clevinger was on a bit of a hot streak, but nowhere near the levels of where Salazar has been over the past week.

The good news is the entire team is playing great as a unit, meaning no rash decisions have to be made by Terry Francona. He can allow his six starters to get work in to see who lines up as the best unit heading into the final two months of the season.

Next: A hybrid six-man rotation

What we do know is that Salazar will be a key piece heading into October.