Nine consecutive wins overall. Nine consecutive wins versus the Tigers.  Josh Tomlin with a 9-1 record.

The Tribe bats would rock Justin Verlander for four home runs in the fifth inning alone, en route to a convincing 9-3 victory and the exclamation point on a weekend sweep.  Cleveland continues to make a major statement in establishing who is king of the American League Central, as they have now outscored Detroit 60-20 in winning all nine contests against the Motor City Kitties in 2016.  Cleveland hitters had Verlander talking to himself in the fifth inning, an inning in which the Tigers ace fell apart and had to be lifted for a relief pitcher.

Let’s take a look at some key stats and notes as Cleveland continues to rock:

*Verlander Vanishing: Verlander would look sharp early, as the Tribe lineup went just 1/9 on the first time through the order.  After scoring single runs in the third and forth innings, the Indians would get back-to-back solo home runs from Juan Uribe and Tyler Naquin, followed by 2-run homers from Mike Napoli and Lonnie Chisenhall, all in the  fifth inning.

*Cowboy Up: With Sunday’s win, Josh Tomlin moves to 9-1 on the season with an ERA of 3.32.  Tomlin would “scatter” three solo home runs (two to Victor Martinez) over eight solid innings pitched, consistently keeping hitters off balance all day as he struck out three and walked just one.

*The Ultimate “Fifth Starter”: Tomlin in 2016: 9-1, 3.32 ERA, 56 strikeouts, 8 walks.  Unreal.

*Big Lon Thriving: With his 4 for 4 day Sunday, Lonnie Chisenhall has propelled his batting average to .290.  With solid glovework in right field, Chisenhall has been huge in the Tribe outfield during the absence of Michael Brantley (injury) and Marlon Byrd and Abraham Almonte (suspensions).

Winning Convincingly: With their season-high 9th consecutive win, the Indians are also a season-best 14 games over .500 at 44-30.  The Tribe sports an American League leading run differential of +81, second only to the Chicago Cubs in all of MLB.

Pitching is Key:  Cleveland pitching ranks first in the American Leauge in ERA, Complete Games, Shutouts,  WHIP, and Batting Average Against.

On Deck–Can the Streak Reach Double Digits?:  The Tribe travels to Atlanta to take on the Braves in a 3-game series.  This will be the final time Cleveland plays in Turner Field.

Monday 7:10pm:  Trevor Bauer (5-2, 3.20) vs. John Gant (1-2, 4.45)

3 Comments

  • Chris Burnham says:

    Everything is AWESOME.

  • Michael Strozewski says:

    Crazy stat from the ESPN recap, which I will take with a grain of salt since they credited Mike Tomlin with the win on the mound, but apparently when Aviles gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the 3rd, that was the first time all season the Tigers have led the Tribe. Talk about total domination of one team, leading to everything indeed being awesome right now.

  • Jimbo says:

    I still can’t believe how good Tomlin looks this year–there really isn’t a weak spot in our rotation.