Cleveland, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) - Franmil Reyes is establishing himself as one of Major League Baseball’s premier power hitters.
Reyes hammered two tape-measure shots to left field to lead the Indians to a comeback win over the Minnesota Twins, 7-4 on Tuesday night.
It was Reyes’ 10th career multi-homer game and his second this season.
His first home run landed roughly five rows from the top of the bleachers in straightaway left field. It was an absolute moonshot that traveled approximately 452 feet – believe it or not, that’s only the sixth longest in his career.
Reyes’ second one may not have traveled quite as far (434 feet), but it sure got out in a hurry.
Can he hit the scoreboard? He certainly seems to have that ability.
“I think he can do anything in terms of power, so I wouldn’t put that past him.” Aaron Civale said of Reyes.
“He’s got some of the best power I’ve ever seen man, and it’s loud when he hits it. It’s fun to hear that in the bullpen.” said James Karinchak.
Reyes entered the night having tallied a hit in all but one game at Progressive Field this season (10 of 11 games). He was slashing .405/.432/.857 over his first 11 home games this year with three doubles, two triples (both hit this homestand), four home runs and 12 RBI. Tonight, he finished 3-for-4 with two more bombs.
Jose Ramirez also blasted a no-doubt solo shot in the first inning, his sixth round-tripper this month. His home run came at a critical time after Aaron Civale had allowed a pair of 2-out runs in the top of the first.
By night's end, only the Los Angeles Angels have hit more home runs than the Indians in American League play. The Tribe now has 29 long balls on the season, including seven from Reyes and six for Ramirez.
Meanwhile, Twins’ starter Kenta Maeda was coming off arguably the worst start of his career, allowing seven earned runs and eight hits in three innings at Oakland last week. Maeda didn’t fare too much better this evening, allowing five earned runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings, including three home runs. Last year, Maeda was the runner-up to Shane Bieber in the American League Cy Young voting. He is one of the all-time great Japanese-born Major League pitchers, but his 2021 campaign hasn’t gone nearly as well as he’s shown he’s capable of performing.
Extra Base Hit Parade
Seven of Cleveland’s nine hits on the night went for extra bases. While Reyes homered twice and Ramirez hit a solo shot in the first inning. Aside from the three aforementioned homers, Ramirez, Cesar Hernandez, Josh Naylor and Jake Bauers all doubled against the Twins on Tuesday night. It was the second-most extra-base hits that the Indians have had in a single game this season, falling just short of the eight they registered against the Tigers on April 10 (they hit five home runs that day).
The four doubles is a new single-game season-high for the Tribe.
Civale Shakes Off Early Rust
Aaron Civale had never beaten the Minnesota Twins during four previous tries. And while things certainly didn’t get off to a good start, he settled down nicely after the fourth inning. Civale allowed two first inning runs after recording two quick outs to start the night. He also worked through some adversity in the third inning, allowing a leadoff single to come around and score. He retired 12 in a row before Byron Buxton took him deep to knock him out of the game in the eighth.
“Carl (Willis) said that coming out of the bullpen, he (Civale) didn't have his changeup,” Terry Francona said after the game. "And then at the start of the game, he was elevating a little bit and they were taking some pretty good swings. But to the kid's credit, I mean you look up there and he's still pitching in the eighth inning. I thought he did a great job. He kind of pitched his way into finding his offspeed pitches, got in a groove and stayed out there long enough to get the win."
Civale earned his fourth win of the season in his fifth start, as he got plenty of run support on Tuesday night. In fact, Civale has never lost in his career (10-0 across 13 starts) when he has received just three or more runs of support in an outing. Conversely, he is 1-10 in 14 starts when receiving two or fewer runs of support.
“It's a comforting feeling” Civale said afterwards of the offense backing him up. "If I'm keeping the game close and doing the best I can out there, then they're going to feel comfortable and know that at any point we can take the lead or tie the game."
A Few Numbers and Trends
- Ramirez now his hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games. He is batting .300 (12-for-40) in that stretch and has homered in each of the first two games of the series against the Twins.
- Reyes has torched visiting pitchers on this homestand.
With one game remaining before one of the longest homestands of the year concludes, Reyes is 12-for-27 over these last seven games, with a double, two triples, three home runs and nine RBI. This is also Reyes’ fourth 3-hit game and fourth multi-RBI game of the season – both team-highs.
- Jake Bauers entered Tuesday’s game 4-for-33 on the year, with just one multi-hit game. But he finished the night 2-for-3 with an RBI double in the sixth inning that drove home the fifth run of the night. It was his first base hit of the year with a runner in scoring position.
- Hernandez hit leadoff tonight for only the second time all season. He finished the night 1-for-4 with a double, run scored, two strikeouts and a walk.
- Game Attendance: 6,303
Up Next
The Indians and Twins wrap up Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 p.m. Lefty Logan Allen (1-3, 6.28 ERA) will go for the Tribe against Minnesota southpaw J.A. Happ (1-0, 1.69).
