CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) - On a hot Monday night in Cleveland, the Indians offense was on fire.
The club set season-highs in runs (13) and hits (19) as they handled the Detroit Tigers 13-5, led by a scorching performance by Jose Ramirez, who went 3-5 with five RBIs - three of them on a home run in a fourth-inning which saw the Tribe score four runs.
To prove how blazing the Tribe’s batting was in the game, only in two innings did the Indians not manage to score, and they managed every starter in the lineup to record at least one hit, with five of those starters had multiple hits.
This gave more than enough cushion for Cleveland starter Eli Morgan, who went five innings of work to record his first major league win.
After the game, Indians manager Terry Francona talked about the feeling of the victory following Sunday's incident involving Josh Naylor.
"I was kind of worried about our energy. We had a long trip, and yesterday was an emotional day, but our guys did a really good job of showing up and playing, and having a good energy."
The Indians didn’t wait to get the offense going, as they scored twice in the first inning on a Jose Ramirez RBI groundout and an Eddie Rosario sacrifice fly. The Tigers did get a run back on Miguel Cabrera’s solo home run off Morgan in the top of the second - Miggy’s 493rd career jack - but after a scoreless third, the Indians tapped four runs in the fourth inning on a Cesar Hernandez RBI double and Jose Ramirez’s 17th home run of the year - a 3-run shot down the right field line to make it 9-2 Tribe.
The Tigers got a run back on a Jeimer Candelario run-scoring single in the fourth and they also went yard in the top of the fifth when catcher Jake Rogers cleared the left-center field wall, making the score 5-2 and pressuring Morgan with a runner on first and a full count on Robbie Grossman with two outs - with Cabrera on deck.
However, Morgan struck out Grossman on a changeup and completed his outing with six hits and four runs allowed, along with no walks and four strikeouts.
"It's incredible," said Morgan on his first career dub. "Anytime we win, it's fun in the clubhouse. For it to be my first major league victory is a big moment for me."
In the bottom half of the fifth, Harold Ramirez drove in Bobby Bradley on a ribbie double, and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Austin Hedges (who blasted a two-run home run earlier in the contest). In the sixth, Ramirez (Jose) and Rosario (Eddie) knocked back-to-back doubles to increase the lead to 12-4.
Jose wasn’t done however, as he knocked in Clement with a single to make it 13-4 - leaving Jose short of a triple for the cycle.
After Morgan completed his work, the bullpen only allowed one run on a Robbie Grossman solo home run in the eighth off Nick Wittgren, while Nick Sandlin, Blake Parker, and Bryan Shaw held Detroit scoreless over the sixth, eighth, and ninth innings, respectively.
The Indians move to 41-33 and will face the Tigers again Tuesday night, with J.C. Meija (1-2, 6.11 ERA) expected to face Tigers righty Jose Urena (2-8, 6.00 ERA).
