Cleveland Indians: The big moment Jason Kipnis needed

The Cleveland Indians picked up an exciting win Wednesday night. The game may not mean much in the standings but it meant a lot to one player.

The Cleveland Indians were unfortunately in a familiar situation last night.

The pitching was lights out but the offense just couldn’t get things going. But this is not an ordinary team. This is a World Series contender.

The Indians entered the bottom of the ninth down 1-0. Two runners reached when Melky Cabrera popped a bunt right to the pitcher. Fans around the world cursed the bunt and thought it may doom the game.

But it did not. This was the final result:

There were several memorable moments from this game but this one obviously topped them all. Kipnis picked up his 17th home run of the year in the most dramatic fashion possible. He did this hitting out of the ninth spot in the lineup and playing in center field.

Kipnis has been an easy punching bag for fans all season long. He is slashing .229/.317/.388 and has been moved out of the second base position now that Josh Donaldson is here. But moments like the one last night are why Terry Francona keeps him in the lineup.

This game also saw Carlos Carrasco go 6.2 innings of one-run baseball. Four members of the bullpen combined to go scoreless in relief and keep the score at 1-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth.

The Indians are now 85-66 on the year. They can’t catch the Houston Astros for the No. 2 seed and are essentially just trying to stay in shape before October. But that doesn’t make the walk-off grand slam lose its meaning.

Another notable play from the game came in the seventh via the new third baseman.

https://twitter.com/Indians/status/1042805755550867457

I saw some real insane hot takes right after Donaldson signed regarding his talent level and how he fits on this team. He sure looks like a great fit to me and the fact he can make plays like the one above on defense show that there is no defensive downgrade by moving Jose Ramirez to second.

The next notable happening for the Indians is Trevor Bauer‘s return this Friday. In the meantime, fans can sit back and enjoy this team providing magical moments at a time when they could be complacent and just wait for the postseason to begin.