Energized Indians get big hits, deeper starts?

CLEVELAND -- This is the way the Indians needed to respond to their nine-game losing streak.

The team appeared to be running out of gas just three days ago. But instead of limping to the first-half finish line, Cleveland found its second gear and has accumulated a three-game winning streak, capped by a 14-6 victory over the Royals on Saturday at Progressive Field.

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“I think it just goes to show that you can’t sit on some bad games, even a stretch of bad games,” Indians outfielder Bradley Zimmer said. “Things turn around quickly, as you can see.”

The energy from the last two wins -- both walk-off homers -- laid the groundwork for Saturday’s offensive explosion. The Indians logged 17 hits and scored a season-high 14 runs, as each hitter recorded at least one hit, four smacked homers and seven plated at least one run. After hitting just .193 with a 69 wRC+ during the nine-game skid, the club has batted .310 over its last three games, including a 17-for-38 effort on Saturday.

“Yeah, that’ll light a fire in any ballclub,” Indians outfielder Oscar Mercado, who went 3-for-4, said of the win streak. “Everyone wants to win, but just the fact that the last two nights you get to go out and win in walk-off fashion with home runs, that really just sets the tone and brings the energy life back into the clubhouse.”

The Indians had a difficult stretch over the last month, with 30 games scheduled in 31 days, while injuries sidelined a handful of their main contributors. But playing teams with losing records has kept them afloat. So far this season, Cleveland has gone 30-17 against teams with sub-.500 records, while going just 15-25 against clubs with winning records.

The team has one game remaining, weather permitting, against the sub-.500 Royals on Sunday before the first half of the season is officially in the books. No matter the outcome of that matchup, the Indians are heading into the break with a much better taste in their mouths. And the key has been getting back into their recipe for success: Deeper starts and timely hits from the heart of the order.

Before Triston McKenzie’s seven-inning gem on Friday, the team had received just one start of at least six innings (J.C. Mejia on June 24) in its previous 25 games. But McKenzie and Saturday starter Cal Quantrill turned in back-to-back quality starts to get the team back into the groove of relying on its rotation. The club is 25-6 in games in which its starter tosses at least six frames.

“It certainly helps everybody,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “It helps our offense. It helps our bullpen. Again, we made some mistakes tonight. Would like to clean those up. But we did some things really well also.”

Cleveland has depended on slugger Franmil Reyes, who launched one of the two walk-off homers, over the past week after getting activated off the injured list. But the team knows it needs more contributions to find a consistent groove. That’s why Saturday’s outburst, especially a four-RBI night from Mercado, was so encouraging.

In 2019, Mercado dazzled in his rookie campaign, creating high expectations for his future. But after a sophomore slump, he started the 2021 season in Triple-A and has only had a handful of games to prove he belongs in the big leagues. After a slow start, he’s begun to settle in offensively, showing flashes of his ‘19 form, and punctuated this hot stretch with a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh.

“I feel good. It’s been nice to go out there and get the chance to play,” the 26-year-old said. “I’m enjoying it, I’m having fun and I’m excited for what’s to come in the second half.”

The momentum is building for the Indians only to soon be halted by a much-needed All-Star break. Cleveland enters Sunday sitting 7 1/2 games behind the first-place White Sox and will need a strong start to the second half to assure that the division doesn’t get too far out of reach.

“Our lineup is very strong and is gonna have off nights, and it’s gonna have nights like this where you explode,” Zimmer said. “It’s good to see consistency the last couple nights, and I think we’ll take that momentum into tomorrow and through the All-Star break.”