Lindor's 33Rd HR Sets Tribe Middle-INF Record by Jordan
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Lindor's 33rd HR sets Tribe middle-INF record By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | September 23rd, 2017 + 1 COMMENT SEATTLE -- As Francisco Lindor sprinted around third base, the Indians' shortstop turned to look at the third-base dugout at Safeco Field. While his teammates cheered and pounded the rail, Lindor's eyes went wide and he dropped his jaw. Maybe he is even surprised by what he is doing right now. The leadoff home run that Lindor launched to open Saturday's game lit the spark on an 11-4 romp over the Mariners. The shortstop has been bursting with energy of late and setting a torrid tone atop the lineup, but manager Terry Francona has wanted to give him a breather. They compromised with a day spent as the designated hitter, and keeping his bat in the mix proved important once again.Full Game Coverage "I'm fine," said Lindor, who flashed the smile that's seemingly becoming more famous by the day. "There's no point to having an off-day when we've got another one on Monday." The home run was Lindor's 33rd of the season, giving him the most in a single season by a middle infielder in franchise history. The previous mark of 32 was set by Hall of Famer Joe Gordon in 1948, when the Indians last won the World Series. Cleveland can only hope that a footnote such as that one is offering a bit of foreshadowing, because Lindor is hoping to help the Tribe end that championship drought. Lindor has done more than his part of late. Over the Indians' past 30 games, in which the club has notched 28 victories, Lindor has hit .339/.414/.737 in 133 plate appearances. In that time period, the switch-hitting shortstop has hit more homers (12) than doubles and triples combined (nine). He has more walks (14) than strikeouts (13), and he has as many RBIs and runs scored as games played (28). In Saturday's win, Lindor went 2-for-5 with a homer, a double and three runs. "He's dynamic, man," Indians outfielder Jay Bruce said. "He takes really, really good at-bats and he's not just a home run threat. He hits the ball all over the field, switch-hitter. So, he's tough. It kind of mitigates the matchup opportunity. He's impressive -- he really is." It is funny that Bruce would describe Lindor as being more than "a home run threat," because this many homers were not a part of the projections during the shortstop's early days as a prospect. Yet, here Lindor is with 30-plus homers and 40-plus doubles, joining Travis Hafner (2005), Manny Ramirez (1996), Albert Belle ('95), Hall Troski ('34 and '36) and Earl Averill ('34) as the only Indians players to achieve those marks in one season. Lindor is the only player in Cleveland history with at least 10 steals, 30 homers and 40 doubles in a single campaign. Justin Upton is the only other player in the Majors to claim that kind of season this year, and it is something that has only been done 59 times since 1913. Asked if he envisioned himself as a 30-homer hitter, Lindor smiled. "I envisioned myself driving the ball," Lindor said. "If it goes out 30 times -- 33, 34 or 20 times -- I'm fine with it. As long as I'm helping my team win. That's what it's all about." And, when Lindor trots around the bases, he will keep looking back at his teammates in the dugout. "I love it," Lindor said. "Whenever I hit a home run and they're right there on the top step cheering me on, it's pretty cool." Tribe eyes AL edge behind ace Kluber By Josh Horton / MLB.com | 27 minutes ago + 16 COMMENTS Two of the hottest pitchers on their respective teams go toe to toe on Sunday, as Seattle's Mike Leake faces Cleveland's Corey Kluber to cap off a three-game series between the Mariners and the Indians at Safeco Field. The Tribe is 1 1/2 games ahead of the Astros for the best record in the American League and 1 1/2 games behind the Dodgers for the best record in baseball. The Mariners are six games back of the Twins for the AL's second Wild Card spot. Kluber hasn't just been one of the best pitchers on his club, he's also been one of the most dominant in the game. The 31-year-old right-hander, pitching on six days' rest, has not allowed a run in 22 consecutive innings, and he has won five consecutive decisions. He owns a 1.52 ERA in 10 starts dating back to Aug. 3. For the Indians, who have lost only twice in September, the challenge will be balancing their sweltering hot month and building momentum with resting key contributors, especially Kluber, for the postseason. "It's sort of a give and take," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "We're trying to put a lineup out there where we can win every day -- that's your goal -- but we're also trying to accomplish some things. We need to kind of keep our house in order." Leake, whom the Mariners acquired in a trade with the Cardinals on Aug. 30, has obtained his success by keeping the ball on the ground and not giving out free passes. He owns a ground-ball rate of 50.4 percent, and he has issued 0.91 walks per nine innings in four starts since joining Seattle, a stretch in which he owns a 2.13 ERA. Leake is excited to face Kluber in his fifth start with Seattle. "That will be very cool," Leake said. "He's been the guy in charge of the AL for the last couple of years, and it will be a nice matchup to put in the books. I look forward to watching him and learning from him and seeing what he does. It will be good to see a different arm. I haven't seen him pitch. Seeing a different way to get ground balls and strikeouts will be fun to watch and compete against." Three things to know about this game • Mariners manager Scott Servais said on Saturday that right-handed reliever Tony Zych was shut down from throwing, and he will not pitch again this season. He's missed 30 games with a right elbow flexor bundle strain. • Edwin Encarnacion is expected to be back in the lineup Sunday after missing Saturday's game, as well as Jason Kipnis, who received a scheduled day off. • Yandy Diaz (jammed right middle finger) might be back Sunday. Saturday was the fourth game in a row in which he's been out of lineup. Tribe maintains home-field lead after W vs. M's By Greg Johns and Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | 12:11 AM ET + 118 COMMENTS SEATTLE -- It's not like the Indians need a lot of help these days, but Cleveland took advantage of five Mariners errors and a five-run ninth on Saturday to roll to an 11-4 victory and even the series at Safeco Field. Carlos Carrasco won his career-high 17th game, allowing one run and six hits over 5 2/3 innings, and the Indians blasted four home runs, including a pair by catcher Yan Gomes. Gomes went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and Jose Ramirez was 3-for-3 with a home run and another four RBIs as the Indians rebounded from a rare loss to win for the 28th time in their past 30 games. "It's part of the game," Gomes said of bouncing back from Friday's walk-off loss. "I could've told you that we were going to lose before the season ended. That's part of this game. Any time something happens, the best thing we do is just come back and put that behind us. I think we've done that all year. Whatever it is, we just put games behind us and go out there and compete." The Indians remain 1 1/2 games ahead of Houston for the best record in the American League, at 97-58, after the Astros topped the Angels. They're one back of the Dodgers (98-57) for the best mark in the Majors. Carrasco improved to 5-0 with a 1.52 ERA over his past six starts, and the lone run he allowed came on an RBI double by Kyle Seager in the sixth inning. "He's a good pitcher," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "We feel like we have a good chance to win whenever he pitches." Francisco Lindor went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double and three runs scored for the Indians, while Austin Jackson had three hits, including a double, along with two runs and an RBI. Ramirez had a pair of sacrifice flies along with a two-run homer in the ninth, his 28th of the season. Mariners designated hitter Nelson Cruz homered for the fourth straight game with a solo shot in the eighth off reliever Nick Goody, giving him 37 homers and an AL-leading and career-high 115 RBIs. The Mariners' five errors equaled their season high for a game. They committed five in the first inning in a 10-1 loss at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 27. "We played a nice clean game last night, but today was just the opposite," Mariners manager Scott Servais said.