Cleveland Indians: 3 takeaways from the series in Kansas City

The Cleveland Indians finished off a great road trip with a series win against the Kansas City Royals. Here is what stood out.

A quick scroll of Twitter on Sunday revealed some frustration from Cleveland Indians fans, but it is hard to be too upset after a road trip in which the team went 8-3.

The Indians went to four cities and picked up a win in all four, giving fans confidence that this team can win on the road in the postseason.

The best part of the trip is that the Indians come home with a five-game lead over the surging Minnesota Twins, along with a 6.5-game lead over the Kansas City Royals. With only 40 games remaining for the Indians, the competition is running out of time to make a comeback.

The hype is real but fans may still be wary of this team. But things are going well now and an overwhelming feeling of positivity is in the air.

The Indians are back home and Jay Bruce is set to make his home debut, but before that let’s take a look at what stood out in the series in Kansas City.

Bauer emerging

Fans around the nation will remember Trevor Bauer for his drone incident in the 2016 postseason, but he has quickly moved past that lowlight with a great season in 2017.

Bauer had his best start of the season on Saturday night, going 6.1 innings of scoreless baseball, striking out four batters. It was his first start of the year in which he didn’t allow a single run, and it came during a crucial point in the season.

He now joins Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco as the three all have 12 wins this season. The return of Danny Salazar has been the big story over the past few weeks, but Bauer is making it clear he belongs in the conversation about being included in a postseason rotation.

Bruce’s legend grows

Jay Bruce is the hero this city deserves, and the one it needs right now.

Bruce continued his dominance in Kansas City by picking up five hits in the three games, hitting two home runs and driving in six runs. Thanks, New York.

Bruce has not only been a nice addition, but he has been the best bat in this lineup and has done it all on the road. Let’s hope he keeps it up at Progressive Field this week.

Frankie the slugger

While Jay Bruce has been a star on offense, Francisco Lindor recently reached a milestone that may surprise most fans.

Lindor now has 20 home runs on the season, which puts him behind only Bruce and Edwin Encarnacion for most on the team this season.

This type of production from the shortstop position is amazing, and remains a positive now that Lindor has gotten his average back up to the mark of .266 on the season. Home runs are nice, but not if his average suffers greatly from trying to hit one out every time.

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His slash line of .266/.322/.463 is not as impressive as it was a year ago, but the marks still keep him ranked among the best hitters on the team.