Cleveland Indians: 3 takeaways from the series win in Minnesota

The Cleveland Indians dropped the final game, but still picked up a series win over the Minnesota Twins. Here are three things that stood out.

The Minnesota Twins were on a bit of a second-half surge, but the Cleveland Indians went north and showed that they are the true kings of the American League Central.

The Indians took two out of three from the Twins, losing a game at Target Field for the first time this season, and now head to Kansas City with a six-game lead over the Twins and a 5.5-game lead over the Royals.

That series begins tonight, but first let’s take a look back at three things that stood out from the series win in Minnesota.

Zimmer finally records a hit

Bradley Zimmer entered the series without a hit in the month of August, but he powered through to pick up a hit in Thursday afternoon’s win.

The rookie is now 1-37 in August and in danger of losing his starting spot if these woes continue. With the impending return of Lonnie Chisenhall, the outfield looks like it will be Chisenhall, Jay Bruce and Austin Jackson if Zimmer keeps struggling.

Even a stint in Columbus may be needed just to get his confidence back.

Jose isn’t injured, thank the baseball gods

When Jose Ramirez left Thursday afternoon’s game, Indians fans were scared. He was drilled by a pitch on his wrist and had to leave the game, but he was smiling in the dugout so there was a sign of hope.

The X-rays came back negative and he won’t miss any time which is just miraculous after the many injuries seen over the past two seasons.

His exit from the game shows just how fast fortunes can change after every single pitch, but the fact he isn’t injured means maybe the Indians will have some good luck the rest of the way.

Salazar looking elite

Jay Bruce and Joe Smith were great acquisitions, but Danny Salazar may be the best of all.

Yes, Salazar was simply on the disabled list, but there was a point when a lot of fans were calling for the Indians to make a trade for a starting pitcher. Instead, the front office didn’t panic and banked on a strong return from Salazar.

His latest start in Minnesota saw him go seven innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out 10 batters. He has now struck out at least eight batters in each of his five starts since returning, and has allowed a total of five runs in that span.

Next: Ramirez fine after injury scare

So while other teams traded prospects for starting pitching, the Indians knew they had a dominant group all along, just waiting to put it all together.