Cleveland Indians: 3 takeaways from the 6-1 win in Puerto Rico

The Cleveland Indians returned to action after several days off with an exciting win over the Minnesota Twins in Puerto Rico.

The Cleveland Indians picked up a victory over a division rival Tuesday night, but that wasn’t the main storyline from the game.

The team’s ace pitched another gem, but even that couldn’t tackle the headlines.

Tuesday night was all about Francisco Lindor, who made a statement in his return to Puerto Rico. The crowd was chanting his name and he gave them a reason to go wild.

Let’s start this set of takeaways from the 6-1 victory over the Twins with a look at the shortstop who had an entire stadium rocking Tuesday night.

Lindor’s big blast

The crowd noise from this home run gives me goosebumps even after seeing this video at least 20 times.

https://twitter.com/SInow/status/986408564137824256

The only time you will hear a reaction like that at any MLB ballpark is for a walk-off home run in the playoffs, or maybe a game-tying home run in Game 7 of the World Series.

But this was simply a two-run homer in the sixth inning of an April game. Yet it meant so much more to Lindor and the people of Puerto Rico in attendance.

Moments like this are why Lindor is such a special player, and why he is set to be the next face of Major League Baseball if the league takes a hint and starts marketing its stars better. For now, Lindor can market himself with magical moments like this one.

Kluber shuts it down again

Twins fans in attendance didn’t have as much fun thanks to Corey Kluber.

Kluber went 6.2 innings, allowing one run on five hits. He struck out six on what was an average night for him, but what would be considered a great night for most.

He got himself another win and saw his ERA drop to 1.52 through four starts this season. If anyone was worried about Kluber slowing down, he may actually be getting better in 2018. And that is scary for opposing batters.

A somewhat important win in April

The Twins remain the Indians’ top competition in the AL Central so it is nice to see the Indians take care of business. Both teams had long layoffs due to bad weather, but the Indians had the benefit of bringing Kluber to the matchup.

Next: Should Tribe claim Trayce Thompson?

A win over the Twins in April isn’t too memorable, but it could be important as we get closer to October.