Cleveland Indians: 3 Takeaways from the blowout of the Rangers

The Cleveland Indians have come out hot in the second half as they scored a combined  25 runs to win two in a row over the Texas Rangers.

This is fun, I want the second half of the season to last forever! The Cleveland Indians have taken care of the Texas Rangers in dominant fashion. They racked up 16 runs to give Carlos Carrasco his second consecutive start with double digits of run-support.

The Indians are now 2-0 in the second half and it’s thanks to the pitching finding ways to bend but not break (except for Cody Allen). The offense is also unstoppable right now but we’ll get to that. For now the Indians are taking advantage of their short road trip. Their schedule gets a little funky here early in the second half but it doesn’t seem to be bothering them.

Carlos Carrasco able to work deeper

The question about Carrasco coming into this game was how deep would he work. He hadn’t gone beyond six innings in his prior two starts coming off the DL but that changed last night. He worked 6.2 innings and was absolutely dominant.

Carrasco struck out eight Rangers hitters and preserved a shutout into the seventh inning. He allowed just two earned runs in that inning and proved that he is back for good. With a healthy and effective Carlos Carrasco this rotation reaches a whole new level of dominance.

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He has always been the one-b to Corey Kluber‘s one-a but this year had been shaky for Cookie. If Carrasco can continue to pitch like this with an improved bullpen the Indians won’t have much to worry about.

Offense is on a complete tear

Scoring 16 runs is pretty fun. The offense getting into high scoring games is even more fun. In six of their last 10 games they have scored 5 or more runs. Last night everybody in the lineup except for Jason Kipnis had a hit. Eight players in the game had multiple hits. On Friday the Tribe had 15 hits and tonight they combined for 21.

This kind of offensive firepower makes the Indians lineup truly unstoppable. When guys like Yonder Alonso are able to hit two home-runs, it means Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez aren’t left with the burden. They are able to relax and produce even better.

The Indians were even able to get production from the bottom of the lineup as Tyler Naquin and Yan Gomes combined for three RBIs. Well rounded production is big for the Tribe. If they are able to add another productive outfield bat to this lineup, it will terrify opposing pitchers.

Not playing down to competition

Something the Indians have done a bit too much off is playing down to bad competition. It can be infuriating to see a first place team play bad baseball but this has not been the case against the Rangers.

The Indians have handled the last place Rangers and have a series of games coming up against a whole plethora of sub .500 teams. Winning those kinds of games will prove to be a big difference maker for the Tribe. They have a lighter schedule than some of the MLB leaders. They can catch up  a lot of those teams by winning these kinds of games.

Next: Top 5 players from the first half

There is a lot of baseball left to be played but the Indians have come out with a statement here in the second half. They want to win, and they want to win now. Let’s hope we can see them win tonight as well.