To be completely accurate, Frankie, meaning Francisco Lindor, along with his fellow Indians teammates, went to Anaheim to play a series with the Los Angeles Angels. And on Wednesday afternoon, the Indians won the third and final game of that series, thanks largely to a go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth inning off the bat of the aforementioned Frankie.
That homer changed the score from 1-1 to 4-1, which is how it read four innings later when the game ended. And the credit for that goes to the best bullpen in baseball. After Tribe starter Danny Salazar left the game with two outs in the third inning, the firm of Zach McAllister, Dan Otero, Andrew Miller, Nick Goody, and Tyler Olson combined for 6 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball. The only hint of trouble occurred in the bottom of the seventh, when the Angels loaded the bases with one out on two walks and an infield single. But the unflappable Miller bore down to quell the rally attempt by striking out the next two batters on six pitches.
The game ended on a spectacular play by third baseman Giovanny Urshela, who went deep into the hole at third to field a grounder hit there. From several feet past the foul line, he righted himself and threw a perfect dart to first. Ballgame!
The win was the fifth in a row for the Tribe, and their 27th win in their last 28 games. That sounds like something from a drug-induced dream, but it’s not. The Indians, the Cleveland Indians, have been exactly that good over the last month. If you live to be a hundred years old, you may never see a baseball team perform at that level again for the rest of your life. I hope you’re enjoying this as much as I am.
Tomorrow the Tribe remain out west to play the Mariners on the first day of autumn. If the Tribe can keep playing anywhere near as well as they have been, it will be a very good autumn indeed for Indians fans.