Brantley caps special day with walk-off double By Jordan Bastian and Scott Merkin / MLB.com | April 11th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- On a day meant for celebrating all the Indians accomplished last season, the Tribe quickly turned the page with a walk-off win for this year's montage. In his long-awaited return to Cleveland, it was Michael Brantley who played the role of hero in Tuesday's home opener at Progressive Field. In a 2-1 win over the White Sox in 10 innings, Brantley slashed a pitch from righty Tommy Kahnle down the left-field line, scoring Francisco Lindor from first base. Brantley -- who missed most of last season due to a right shoulder injury -- raised his right arm skyward as he rounded second, and awaited a mob of teammates. "I don't know if you can write it up any better," Brantley said. "I guess if you hit a home run, but we got a win. That's all that matters. A lot of hard work went into this offseason. A lot of time away from my kids and my family." Kahnle said Brantley's game-winner was a case of good hitting. "That's what we're looking for," Kahnle said. "[Catcher Geovany Soto] gave me a fastball outside and I basically hit my spot, but he put a good swing on it and they won the game." For Brantley, it was his fourth career walk-off hit, and the first of the year for a Cleveland club that had plenty in its run to the World Series last year. The Indians, who received their American League championship rings before the game, led the Majors last year with 11 walk-off wins "They worked so hard for it last year," Brantley said. "We accomplished so much. Just to take a second and enjoy it and understand how hard they worked, we worked, to get there, I think is what's most important. Now, it's kind of past us now. It's time to look forward to this season." The late heroics followed a pitchers' duel between Cleveland's Carlos Carrasco and Chicago's James Shields. Over seven innings, Carrasco limited the White Sox to one run -- courtesy of a Todd Frazier homer that rocketed out to left with an exit velocity of 110 mph in the fifth. Carrasco struck out seven and walked none. Shields, who has a 1.69 ERA on the young season, held the Indians to one run (via a first-inning homer from Lindor) over his 5 1/3 frames. "That's a good lineup over there, one through nine they're pretty solid," Shields said. "Overall command was there." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Yandy's strong defense: The White Sox threatened to break through in the eighth, when pinch-hitter Matt Davidson's double put runners on second and third with one out. Tyler Saladino sharply pulled a pitch from relief ace Andrew Miller, but third baseman Yandy Diaz dove to his left for a highlight-reel grab. The runners had to stay put, and Miller escaped with a strikeout of Tim Anderson to end the inning. "I can't tell you what happened, because the ball just went into my glove," Diaz said through team translator Anna Bolton. "I saw that the ball was in my glove when I got up off the ground. What was important at that time was just to get an out." Brantley, who had a great view of the play from left field, said it was a game changer. "It was huge," Brantley said. "If that ball gets past him, I don't think I'm going to have a chance to throw out the pinch-runner who was running. He was too fast. The ball wasn't really hit hard enough, so two runs would've scored right there. It was a game-saving play. It was awesome." Taming Edwin: Twice, Chicago's bullpen quieted slugger Edwin Encarnacion with one out and the bases loaded. In the sixth, righty Zach Putnam got the job done with a splitter, which generated a 5-4-3 double play groundout off Encarnacion's bat. Right-hander Nate Jones followed suit in the eighth, inducing another 5-4-3 double play from the slugger to halt another potential rally for Cleveland. "We made the pitches we needed to at the time we needed," Jones said. "And the defense behind us made the play." QUOTABLE "You want that for yourself too, for your team. You see the glories of winning and it's pretty cool. To sit there on the other side and say it's not exciting to watch, it's a travesty to say that because everybody dreams of doing that. You get a ring for winning the American League, there's nothing better than that." -- Frazier, on the effect of watching the Indians' pregame ring ceremony "It was awesome. I was so happy for him. As soon as I touched home plate, I looked around and everyone was clapping for him, his family in the stands. It was pretty cool, special, happy for him. He's back. Brantley's back." -- Lindor SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is only the second time in baseball history that both reigning pennant winners (Indians and Cubs) enjoyed a walk-off win in each of their home openers. The last occurrence came in 1960, when the '59 World Series participants (White Sox and Dodgers) achieved the feat. Lindor's power surge Lindor received some of the loudest cheers during the Indians' pregame AL championship ring ceremony. In the home half of the first, the shortstop showed his appreciation by sending a souvenir into the right-field stands. Lindor's solo homer had an exit velocity of 105 mph and marked his team-leading fourth home run in seven games. WHAT'S NEXT White Sox: Derek Holland makes his second start and first on the road for the White Sox in the second game of the series Wednesday night, with a first pitch of 5:10 p.m. CT. Holland's last road win came on May 30, 2016, at Cleveland. He is 0-3 since. Indians: Right-hander Danny Salazar is scheduled to take the mound for the Tribe in a 6:10 p.m. ET clash with the White Sox on Wednesday night at Progressive Field. In his first start of the year, the righty struck out nine in 5 2/3 innings, and was charged with five runs (four earned).

Covering the Bases: Game 7 by Jordan Bastian

FIRST: After sprinting from first to home, and crossing the plate, where a mob of jumping and shouting teammates were swarming, Francisco Lindor looked into the stands at Progressive Field.

In that moment, within all the chaos, Lindor spotted Michael Brantley’s family. “Everyone was clapping for him,” Lindor said. “His family in the stands. It was pretty cool௘²௘special. Happy for him. He’s back. Brantley’s back.”

It had to be Brantley, right?

Before the game, the Indians received their rings for winning the American League championship last season. A flag was raised beyond the wall in center and a pennant joined the others in the upper deck. It was another reminder of how much Brantley௘²௘deemed the “heart and soul” of the team௘²௘missed while sidelined with injury last year.

While discussing the pregame ceremony, Brantley caught himself saying “they” in reference to all the team achieved in 2016. He corrected himself twice.

“They worked so hard for it last year,” he said. “It was a team effort all the way around, and they accomplished so much௘²௘we accomplished so much. Just to take a second and enjoy it and understand how hard they worked௘²௘we worked௘²௘to get there, I think’s what’s most important. Now, it’s kind of past us now. It’s time to look forward to this season.”

Tuesday’s tilt with the White Sox was a game in which neither team wanted to budge. Lindor homered in the first. Todd Frazier followed suit. That was it for nine and a half innings. It’s not like the teams didn’t have chances, either. The Indians and White Sox went 0-for-15 combined with runners in scoring position.

Within that offensive drought, Brantley was walked twice to load the bases. Both times (in the sixth and eighth innings), Edwin Encarnacion grounded into inning-inning double plays. Taking the bat out of Brantley’s hands was working.

So, it had to be Brantley, right?

With two outs in the 10th inning, Lindor drew a walk to bring Brantley to the plate. Facing hard-throwing Tommy Kahnle, Brantley took a pitch and fouled off another. He took a pair of offerings and fouled off one more. The count was full. At that point, White Sox manager Rick Renteria headed to the mound for what developed into a lengthy meeting.

Brantley waited patiently as some boos began to form.

“I was just trying to stay within myself,” Brantley said. “I knew I had an advantage in the hitting count and I was trying not to do too much. I just put a good swing on the baseball.”

Kahnle sent a 98-mph two-seamer over the outside edge and Brantley shot it down the left-field line. Lindor flew around the bases with only one thing in mind.

“I wanted to score,” Lindor said. “My reaction since the first pitch of that at-bat was, if the ball is hit in the gap, I’m going no matter what. I’ve got to score. We’ve got to finish this game. We can’t not give them any more chances.”

Lindor scored, and the mob went after Brantley.

But, they did so with less ferocity than past walk-off wins.

“It was nice,” said Brantley, who has had two surgeries on his right arm since November of ’15. “Usually, they rip your jersey, tear you up. It was nice. I just got a little bit wet. I’ll take that one. It was good.”

Quipped Lindor: “I love him. I wanted to punch him, but he had taught me so many things that I didn’t want to punch him.”

Of course it was Brantley.

“I don’t know if you can write it up any better,” Brantley said.

SECOND: Throughout Spring Training, Yandy Diaz was continuously described as a “work in progress” defensively. He wasn’t as polished as other third basemen in camp. His time in the outfield cost him reps. Playing him at the hot corner might be a risk.

So far, so good, and perhaps no more critical than on Tuesday.

In the eighth inning, Andrew Miller had runners on second and third with out out, and the game stuck in a 1–1 tie. The lefty sent an 84-mph slider tailing just below the zone, and Tyler Saladino pulled it to the left side. Diaz dove to his right and made a highlight-reel grab.

“It was huge. It was a game-saving play at that time,” Brantley said. “If that ball gets past him, I don’t think I’m going to have a chance to throw out the pinch-runner who was running [at second]. He was too fast. The ball wasn’t really hit hard enough, so two runs would’ve scored right there. It was a game-saving play. It was awesome.” Just before the play, Mike Sarbaugh, the Indians third-base coach and infield instructor, moved Diaz back a few steps.

“Sarby deserves the assist,” Francona said. “About two pitches before that he turned to me and goes, ‘Hey, you OK if I back him up a couple, three steps?’ If he doesn’t back him up, he doesn’t have a chance to make that great play. It was a great play.”

Diaz said that slight adjustment played a big role.

“Yeah, he told me to back up,” Diaz said. “The play before, I was a little bit further up. He told me to back up for that play and that’s why I was able to make that play.”

Defensively, Diaz has made a handful of stellar plays out of the gate this year. Offensively, following an incredible spring showing (.458 average), the rookie has posted only a .222 average. Looking a little deeper into it, though, Diaz has run into some tough luck.

Take Tuesday’s game, for example. Diaz had a single in the ninth that came with an exit velocity of 109 mph. That marks his team-leading seventh ball in play with an E.V. of 105 mph or higher. Diaz also had a lineout to left that had a 106 mph exit velo.

Diaz is now tied for the Major League lead with four outs on balls in play that had exit velos of 105 mph or higher.

“His at-bats have been really good,” Francona said. “There’s a lot of balls that he’s hit at people so far, so his batting average doesn’t show. But, the quality of his at-bats have been really good.”

THIRD: Before Tuesday’s game began, Francona was asked about the mini-slump that Encarnacion has endured to start this season. I mean, Cleveland is seven games into the season. It’s hardly fair to draw conclusions good or bad at this point.

That said, Encarnacion was paid a lot of money௘²௘the most a free-agent has ever received from the Indians௘²௘so every at-bat will be put under the microscope.

“His track record is so good. I think he might have been trying to do a little much,” Francona said. “If we’re talking about Edwin struggling in about a month, I’ll be surprised. I don’t think that will be one of the conversations we’re having. And he’ll be that guy when he gets hot, he has a chance to kind of carry a team for a while.”

Encarnacion had a chance to carry Cleveland to the win on Tuesday.

In the sixth, Zach Putnam induced a 5–4–3 groundout from Encarnacion to end a bases-loaded threat. In the eighth, Nate Jones got the same result in the same situation. On the year, Encarnacion has one homer to go with a .333 slugging percentage and a .600 OPS.

Tuesday’s showing was rough, but let’s have some early-season perspective for a moment.

Ten games into last season, Encarnacion had zero home runs to go with a .289 SLG and a .599 OPS. One day later, he had two home runs to go with a .476 SLG and an .824 OPS. Positively or negatively, things can change in a hurry in April. Give Encarnacion some time to acclimate his parrot to Cleveland.

HOME: Given the way this one ended, it’d be easy to lose sight of the effort turned in by Carlos Carrasco.

Over seven innings, Carrasco allowed just one run on four hits, ending with seven strikeouts and no walks. The righty threw 95 pitches after logging 80 in his first outing of the year. Remember, Carrasco dealt with elbow inflammation in the spring and wasn’t fully stretched out when the preseason ended.

Well, he’s looked just fine through two starts (2.14 ERA, 14 strikeouts, one walk, 12.2 IP).

“He established his fastball early,” Francona said. “And off that, the changeup and breaking ball that he could throw really in all the counts. He and Gomer followed the game plan really well. You can tell he’s starting to get confident now. As his pitch-limit grows and his endurance grows, he’ll be better, too.”

EXTRAS: Lindor’s homer was his fourth in seven games. He is now tied for the MLB lead in home runs. Told of that, Lindor quipped: “I’m a power hitter now” … I’m not going to win the home run title. I guarantee you that.” … Cody Allen struck out the three hitters he faced in the ninth. That gives the closer nine strikeouts against no walks in 3.2 innings to start the year. Indians ring in home opener with ceremony CLEVELAND -- As the American League championship flag was raised beyond the center-field wall on Tuesday afternoon, the sellout crowd at Progressive Field roared and offered a standing ovation for the Indians' memorable 2016 season. A red pennant was unveiled in the upper deck above right field, and every player, coach and staff member from the Tribe's incredible run to the World Series, was recognized in a much-anticipated ceremony before the home opener against the White Sox. After each person was announced, they were given a wooden box containing the Indians' AL championship ring. Francisco Lindor received some of the loudest cheers, but the electric scene was not satisfactory. The Indians came two runs shy of winning it all in the Fall Classic against the Cubs. That means there is still plenty of work left to do. Winning the World Series remains the team's focus. "I'm going to see it," Lindor said of the ring, "and I'm going to say, 'I want a bigger one.'" In their return to Progressive Field for the first time since that eventful Game 7 loss against the Cubs, the Indians were welcomed back by the Cleveland faithful. For Tribe fans and the team alike, the ring ceremony was the last time that they could celebrate last season, when the Indians captured the sixth pennant in franchise history (the first since 1997). Celebrate, they did, and Lindor flashed his famous smile when receiving his hardware. "It's a little sense of hope for the fans," Lindor said of the ceremony. "They're going to see the banner and they're going to see the rings, and After the rings were distributed --- each containing 94 diamonds to represent the team's 94 regular-season wins last year -- and the starting lineups were announced, Cleveland sports legends Jim Thome (Indians' all-time home run king), Jim Brown (Browns) and Austin Carr (Cavaliers) threw out the ceremonial first pitches. Now that the Indians can officially put last year behind them and look forward to this season, manager Terry Francona said that the team will look to create the kind of magic generated by last year's squad. "Every year, even with so many of the same names, it's a new personality, it's a new team," Francona said. "Things happen and the identity, all those things have to start from scratch again. I think because we've been together for five years now, a lot of us, I think it's an advantage, but you still start from scratch." With most of last season's roster returning, along with the offseason signing of Edwin Encarnacion and the return of former AL MVP Award candidate Michael Brantley, the Indians have embraced the high expectations that have been set for them this season. "It's the past for a reason," Lindor said. "Nobody remembers second place. We're working hard, trying to finish in first place now. We came that close last year."

Diaz's defense makes walk-off win possible By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | April 11th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- The mob reached Michael Brantley on the infield grass to the left of the mound. As the fireworks popped overhead, and the sellout Progressive Field crowd reacted in a manner reminiscent of October, the outfielder was swarmed and swallowed by the pack. Brantley provided the highlight that will be played on a loop -- a two-strike, two-out, 10th-inning double to left that sent the Tribe to a 2-1 walk- off win over the White Sox on Tuesday. In the wake of the home-opening victory, Brantley raved about another play -- a critical diving catch by rookie third baseman Yandy Diaz -- that made the decisive blow possible. "It was a game-saving play," Brantley said. "It was awesome." The situation arrived in the top of the eighth inning, when Indians manager Terry Francona handed the ball to relief ace Andrew Miller with the game caught in a 1-1 deadlock. Indians starter Carlos Carrasco had locked horns with James Shields in a tightly-contested game that felt like the winning moment would come when one team finally flinched. Miller allowed a one-out single to Geovany Soto and then watched pinch-hitter Matt Davidson slice a pitch deep to right field for a wind-aided double. That put runners at second and third for Chicago, which sent Leury Garcia to second as a pinch-runner. A few pitches into Miller's next battle with White Sox leadoff man Tyler Saladino, Indians third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh surveyed the infield alignment. Sarbaugh, who doubles as Cleveland's infield instructor, asked manager Terry Francona if he could move Diaz back a few steps. "Sarby deserves the assist," Francona said. That is because of what happened next. Miller spun an 84-mph slider that dropped just below the strike zone, and Saladino pulled it to the left side at an exit velocity of 79 mph. It was hardly a rocket, but that actually made the liner potentially more detrimental for the Indians. In left field, Brantley was not sure he would be able to get the ball home in time to stop Garcia from scoring from second. "He was too fast," Brantley said. "The ball wasn't really hit hard enough, so two runs would've scored right there." Diaz sprung to his left and snared the baseball with a diving play that elicited a stunned roar from his home audience. After realizing he had actually made the catch, the third baseman quickly scrambled to his feet, holding the runners in check. "I can't tell you what happened," Diaz said through team translator Anna Bolton. "The ball just went into my glove. I saw that the ball was in my glove when I got up off the ground." Miller followed with a strikeout of Tim Anderson to escape the inning unscathed. With each passing game, Diaz has looked more comfortable at third base. That has been an encouraging development, because the rookie was described as a "work in progress" defensively when he made the Opening Day roster. With Jason Kipnis on the disabled list, and Jose Ramirez sliding to second base, the Indians had a need and Diaz won the job after going on an offensive tear in the preseason. In his brief time in the big leagues -- a tenure that could end upon Kipnis' return -- Diaz has impressed Francona and his teammates. "He doesn't look nervous to me," Francona said. "He's enjoying the opportunity to play here." Brantley won the game, but Diaz's play made it possible. "Yandy came and saved the day," Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor said. Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog,

Mejia looking to extend hit streak Hitter to watch: Francisco Mejia (Indians' No. 2), Akron vs. Trenton (6:35 p.m. ET onMiLB.TV) Mejia has, unsurprisingly, hit safely in his first four games with Akron to begin his Double-A career. The 21-year-old switch-hitter, ranked 37th on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list, has gone 6-for-14 in those contests, with four doubles and three RBIs. He's also thrown out a pair of attempted basestealers in as many chances.

Santana: Cleveland is my city By Carlos Santana / Special to MLB.com | April 11th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- I play for the Cleveland Indians, but I am also a father, a husband and a friend. I am more than a baseball player. I'm Carlos Santana. This is my story. Cleveland is my city. Opening Day at home is something that every player dreams about, and every day I thank God I get to play in front of our awesome fans. There are high expectations this year, especially here in Cleveland since we are coming off a World Series, but it's something we embrace. We take on the challenge. We look forward to Opening Day. There's no other day like it in baseball, and I love it. Listen, last year nobody thought this Cleveland team would make it that far, so it was really something wonderful to be a part of as we made the ride to the top. We can do it again. Disappointment? I don't think there was any disappointment after losing to the Cubs in the World Series because I felt like a champion. Yes, we felt like champions, even though we didn't win it all. Crazy, right? We lost but still felt very grateful to God, and I think the main reason we felt like champions is because we fought until the end. We gave it everything we had. Somebody had to lose. We lost, but this town loved us the same as if we won. And we loved them right back. That's why the Cleveland organization and the city means the world to me, and I thank God they gave me the opportunity to play in the Major Leagues. They were the ones who opened the doors. Cleveland, for me, has been the best. It's a place where people are always pushing forward and working hard, just like in the Dominican Republic where I am from. We players work hard and give the maximum effort because that's what the city deserves and that's how the people here work, too. I come from the bottom, a humble background, and it was a difficult childhood, so I understand. We are all hungry to work hard, to take care of our families and play every day. That's who we are. Community matters to us. As players, we are gone a lot of the time on the road and safety for my family is very important, so that's why one of the first things I did when I moved here was meet the police in the neighborhood. I introduced myself, told them our address, we talked baseball When I say I am close to the police department, I am not exaggerating. We are so close that I remember returning from a road trip -- we sometimes get home at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. after road trips -- and at 11 a.m., the police show up to congratulate me on a good game the night before. I had hit two homers. It was a good night. I remember lying down in my bed and the next thing you know they are sitting on chairs in my bedroom talking baseball and life. It's funny now. Me in bed holding my child and two armed officers in full uniform just chatting like it was something normal you do all of the time. But it just shows how close we are to the police and to the communities here. We are brothers and sisters. Another family member is Niko Lanzarotta. He is a young boy with cerebral palsy, and he is a very special person to me. I remember the day we met at Progressive Field. He called me over, and I gave him a ball. He asked me if I could sign it for him and if I could hit a home run for him. I said, "If you give me a hug," and he gave me a hug. I homered for him that game. Whenever I see him, I embrace him with so much love and respect. Niko is my best friend here in Cleveland and I'm so happy he is in my life. I know I am a very lucky man. This city, this community and this organization mean so much to me. I don't know what the future holds, and I'm not going to allow myself to think about being a free agent. What I am going to think about is going to work, being a good citizen and taking care of my loved ones. That's who I am and what we do here in Cleveland.

Tribe's ascent brings buzz back to Cleveland Despite raising flag, Lindor and Co. not content with AL superiority By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com | @castrovince | April 11th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- Josh Tomlin got a notification about it from his MLB At Bat app and quickly swiped it away. Terry Francona caught a glimpse of it on the lobby bar TV and turned his back. Andrew Miller didn't even have his cable set up yet but admitted he would have avoided it, either way. In an unscientific survey of the Indians' clubhouse, only Francisco Lindor claimed to watch more than a couple minutes of the Cubs' banner- raising championship ceremony on Monday night. "It's tough, it's tough," Lindor said. "It hurts watching the Cubs. But you've got to deal with it. You don't like it? Win." So the Indians won on Tuesday -- beating a Chicago team in the 10th inning, no less. The 2-1 win over the White Sox was small consolation after the way Game 7 unfolded, but it was also a small step toward getting back. After the Indians received their American League championship rings, the two guys who weren't even active in October -- Brantley, who lined the game-winning RBI double to left, and Carlos Carrasco, who was sharp for seven innings -- were the heroes of the home opener. Ignore the six men stranded by prized (and clearly pressing) free-agent import Edwin Encarnacion in his home debut and accentuate the positive, which is that the Indians are possibly a more complete team than the one that walked off the field last November dazed, wet and angry. The long-awaited return to Progressive Field did not find these guys ensconced in gold-lettered jerseys or flaunting the Tiffany-crafted World Series trophy. And heck, the AL pennant they raised to the sound of exploding fireworks had actually already been flown during last year's Fall Classic, making this moment the ceremonial equivalent of reheating leftovers. But the Indians are proof that there is value even to finishing an oh-so-close second. It is there in the hungry words of young Lindor, who, shortly after describing his new ring encrusted with 94 diamonds (one for every regular-season win in 2016) as little more than motivation to win "a bigger one," went deep in the first inning. It is there in Brantley and Carrasco, who saw October from the sidelines and want badly to experience the real thing. And it is there in the unmistakable enthusiasm of a fan base reinvigorated by the run and hopeful that what is now the game's longest title drought (69 years) will soon end. The Tribe's ticket sales have already hit the 1.3 million mark -- a number that wasn't reached until late July last year. Season-ticket sales are up more than 42 percent, giving the Indians a daily base of 12,300 on which to build. "That's the way it should be," Miller said. "You don't just deserve to have fans, especially if you're not playing well. But if you put a good product on the field and back it up like the way we played last year, you earn them." Remember, in a 2016 season in which the Indians ran away with the AL Central, they had the third-lowest average attendance in the Majors. Their AL Championship Series home dates against the Blue Jays were infiltrated by a cavalcade of Canadians, and Game 7 against the Cubs might as well have been played at a neutral site. So in the Tribe's clubhouse, they hear about the encouraging uptick and feel their home park might be morphing into the advantage it's intended to be. "In July and August, when guys might be dragging, if you get to the seventh or eighth inning down a run and get guys on first and third with one out and the crowd gets into it, the game might speed up on that reliever for the other team," closer Cody Allen said. "I saw it myself two years ago when we went to Toronto in August and they had just made those moves for David Price and Troy Tulowitzki. You really had to fight yourself to slow the game down. That's what you want. You want the other team to feel uncomfortable at your place." And if you're going to lose Game 7 in extra innings on your own turf, you want to turn that misery into an emotional advantage, too. That's what the Indians have chosen to do. Even when up 2-1 and 3-1 in the Fall Classic, the Indians' players would take note of the national coverage and joke, "Hey, any idea who the Cubs are playing in the World Series?" So you can only imagine how they've felt about the "Saturday Night Live"-starring, White House-visiting, national television-dominating aftermath. "They've earned it, and it's hard to avoid," Miller said. "It seems like it's been a pretty steady parade for them since they got the last out, but it is what it is. It's our goal in here to seek out that last win." Tuesday's triumph was one tiny piece of the Indians' big picture, one potentially enhanced by a healthier roster. And if they do what they came here to do, they'll have a celebration to soak in, not tune out.

Kipnis, Chisenhall nearing return to lineup CLEVELAND -- The Indians did not want Jason Kipnis or Lonnie Chisenhall to miss the pregame festivities at Progressive Field for Tuesday's home opener against the White Sox. As far as being activated to Cleveland's roster, both players remain in a holding pattern. Prior to Tuesday's game, Indians manager Terry Francona noted that both Kipnis and Chisenhall -- each on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder issue -- are expected to continue their respective Minor League rehab assignments on Wednesday. With Double-A Akron playing at home, it is likely that they will suit up for the RubberDucks. Full Game Coverage Chisenhall could have been activated for Tuesday's game in Cleveland, but he was not due to arrive at the ballpark until around 3 p.m. ET. Given the timing, Francona did not feel it was fair to activate him shortly before first pitch. With lefty Derek Holland starting for the White Sox on Wednesday, Thursday now looks like a realistic target date for the right fielder's return. "Lonnie is doing pretty well," Francona said. "It was just going to be really rushed today. I think before we activate him, we want to sit down with him and let the trainers examine him. [Activating Chisenhall today] was just not the best idea." In three rehab games with Triple-A Columbus, Chisenhall has gone 5-for-12 with one double. Kipnis played on Sunday and Monday with Akron, going 1-for-6 in two games. Francona indicated that the next step for the second baseman will be to play in at least two consecutive games, beginning on Wednesday. The manager added that the Indians might make it three straight games for Kipnis by having him play as a designated hitter in one. "He's going well," Francona said of Kipnis. "He's going to try to get to four at-bats [on Wednesday] playing second. Then we'll go from there." Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog,

Salazar ready for first home start By William Kosileski / MLB.com | April 11th, 2017 In the middle game of a three-game set between the Indians and the White Sox on Wednesday, Danny Salazar's long road back to starting in front of Tribe fans will finally come to an end. The Indians right-hander will make his first start at Progressive Field since Sept. 4 of last season, and only his second total start overall since Sept. 9, when he suffered a forearm injury that prevented him from starting again in '16. Now healthy, Salazar will be making his second start of the season. In his previous start against the Rangers on April 5, Salazar pitched 5 2/3 innings and gave up five runs (four earned) while striking out nine en route to a no-decision. Salazar will pitch opposite left-hander Derek Holland, who is making his second start as a member of the White Sox. Holland put forth a quality start in his first outing of the season against the Twins on Friday, allowing two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts and one walk in six- plus innings. Three things to know • In his last three road starts, Holland is 0-3 with an ERA of 5.74. His last win on the road came on May 30 against the Indians. In fact, Holland has been solid against the Tribe throughout his career. Holland is 5-1 with a 2.60 ERA against the Indians in his career, and is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in four career starts at Progressive Field. • White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu has had a lot of success against Indians pitching over his first three seasons in the Major Leagues. In 54 career games against the Tribe, Abreu has hit 14 home runs with 36 RBIs. In 16 career at-bats against Salazar, Abreu has posted a .375 average with three home runs, a double and four RBIs. In 10 career starts versus the White Sox, Salazar is 5-2 with a 3.74 ERA and 64 strikeouts. • With his home run on Tuesday, Francisco Lindor now has connected for six barrels -- batted balls whose combination of exit velocity and launch angle give them at least an estimated .500 average and 1.500 slugging percentage. In just seven games, that ties Lindor's career high for a month, set in September/October 2015. Indians 2, White Sox 1: 22 Walk-Off Thoughts on Michael Brantley, Yandy Diaz, more By RYAN LEWIS Published: April 11, 2017 Here are 22 Walk-Off Thoughts after the Indians beat the Chicago White Sox in walk-off fashion 2-1 in their home opener on Tuesday afternoon on Michael Brantley’s game-winning double down the left-field line in the 10th inning. 1. How’s that for a homecoming? The first time since May 10 of last season that Michael Brantley is able to step in the batter’s box at Progressive Field during a game, and hear the home-town fans cheer his introduction, he ends it with a walk-off double in the club’s home opener. 2. After all Brantley has been through during his road back to the lineup—two surgeries, a third procedure to remove scar tissue, multiple setbacks, a truckload of frustration and the inability to contribute on the field during the World Series run—the Indians getting to see him raise his arms celebrate and be covered in Gatorade was a party 11 months in the making. 3. Brantley: “I don't know if you can write it up any better. I guess if you hit a home run. But, we got a win. That's all that matters. A lot of hard work went into this offseason. A lot of time away from my kids and my family, but they're my support. They kept me going and motivated. I just thank my family so much for always being there for me.” 4. Brantley wasn’t just relegated to the clubhouse during the Indians’ postseason run. He was away from his family for extended periods of time over the winter as he continued to work at the club’s facilities. His teammates have had a front-row seat to the work that was put in. 5. Lindor: “It was awesome. I was so happy for him. As soon as I touched home plate, I looked around and everyone was clapping for him, his family in the stands. It was pretty cool, special. Happy for him. He’s back. Brantley’s back.” 6. Carrasco: “Yeah, you know what? That was unbelievable. It was great. Everyone played hard. To see Michael Brantley coming back. He had a tough last year and I’m really happy for him. He’s part of the team so he got the hit and the winning run and so I’m really happy for him.” 7. Francona: “It was nice for us to win. It’s added when it was Michael. Today was a special day. For him to cap it off, I’m sure felt really good for him and it felt really good for us.” 8. And, knowing all that, they took it easy on Brantley during the celebration. He didn’t receive the normal, friendly beating that accompanies a walk-off hit. He was just covered in blue Gatorade. 9. Brantley: “No, I think they knew. It was nice. Yeah, usually they rip your jersey, tear you up. It was nice. I just got a little bit wet. I'll take that one. It was good.” 10. Brantley has now been up to bat in five potential walk-off situations in his career. Four of those five ended in wins. 11. Francona: “He uses the whole field. So he doesn’t have to reach back for more, a lot of times guys try to do more and you get yourself into trouble. he’s a good hitter. And he’s the same hitter when there’s nobody on but he just rarely, with a runner in scoring position especially, rarely do you see him pull off or roll over. He’ll make a pitcher beat him and he’ll hit the ball the other way like he did today.” 12. Prior to Brantley’s walk-off double, rookie Yandy Diaz had arguably the biggest play of the game. In the top of the eighth and with two runners in scoring position, Tyler Saladino lined a ball that was snagged by a diving Diaz at third base. If the ball gets through, it scores at least one run, probably two, and the White Sox take the lead. 13. Diaz: “I can't tell you what happened, because the ball just went into my glove. I saw that the ball was in my glove when I got up off the ground.” 14. It was a terrific play to dive to his left and snare a would-be go-ahead hit. It was also some nice coaching. A few pitches before that liner, infield coach Mike Sarbaugh had Diaz back up 2-3 steps. Without that extra space, the ball very likely gets by Diaz and the White Sox most likely go on to win. 15. Francona: “That was a great play. I’ll tell you what though, Sarby deserves the assist. About two pitches before that he turned to me and goes, ‘Hey you ok if I back him up a couple, three steps?’ If he doesn't back him up, he doesn't have a chance to make that great play. It was a great play. I just think Sarby deserves a huge assist.” 16. Diaz: “Yeah, he told me to back up. The play before, I was a little bit further up. He told me to back up for that play and that's why I was able to make that play.” 17. Carlos Carrasco tossed seven strong innings, a particularly good sign not only for the win on Tuesday but for his progress as he’s continued to be stretched out. He threw 95 pitches, allowed one run on four hits and struck out seven while walking none. 18. Francona: “I think he established his fastball early and off of that, the changeup and breaking ball that he could throw really in all the counts. He and Gomer followed the game plan really well. You can tell he’s starting to get confident now. As his pitch-limit grows and his endurance grows, he’ll be better, too.” 19. Carrasco: “Yes, I felt that from the first game. I know I had a tough Spring Training, but you know what? When you come in here and you start playing real games, it's way different. My first game, I went 75 pitches. This game, I went a little bit more. Today, I felt the way that I felt last year before I got hurt.” 20. From the You Can’t Predict Baseball category, Francisco Lindor, as of this typing, is currently tied for the major-league lead with four home runs after he belted a solo shot in the first inning. He’s the first Indians hitter to hit four home runs in the club’s first seven games since Mark Reynolds in 2013. 21. When asked about it, Lindor jokingly replied, “So I’m a power hitter now?” Then added, “No chance. I’m just blessed to get a couple good swings on the ball early. I’m not going to win the home run title. I guarantee you that.” 22. And on the home run, Lindor said: “As soon as I hit it, I looked up and was like, ‘Oh my, I hit a home run.’ And I was just the whole entire time thinking about my family in the stands. I just wanted to say hello. I play for my family, I play for the City of Cleveland, and it meant a lot for me.” Indians notebook: Jason Kipnis, Lonnie Chisenhall continue rehab assignments By Ryan Lewis Cleveland: Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall were each able to attend the Indians’ home opener festivities on Tuesday at Progressive Field, but it’ll still be at least a couple of days until they can retake the field in Cleveland. Kipnis, on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation, was originally given a timetable of 3-to-4 weeks, putting his probable return around mid- April. Kipnis recently began his rehab assignment, playing in back-to-back games with the Double-A RubberDucks. According to Indians manager Terry Francona, Kipnis is set to continue his rehab assignment Wednesday night. The Indians would like Kipnis to play in two, possibly three, games in a row. “He’s doing well,” Francona said. “We might mix in [a game with him as the designated hitter] to get him to that third day in a row, but he’s going to try to get four at-bats [Wednesday] playing second. Then, we’ll go from there.” Chisenhall, recovering from a sprain of the AC joint in his right shoulder sustained when he crashed into a wall in spring training, is nearing a return. He’s also slated to play Wednesday night, likely with the Ducks, before the club will look into activating him. Chisenhall flew to Cleveland on Tuesday afternoon for the ceremony, but the Indians didn’t want to rush things and make roster moves just before the game if not needed. “I talked to him before I got on the plane the other day coming from Arizona, it was just going to be really rushed today,” Francona said. “I think before we activate him, we want to sit down with him and let the trainers examine him.” The Indians and Chisenhall had been targeting the home opener as his possible return date, but will take a few more days to decide. That means an outfielder, most likely Abraham Almonte, will have some extra time in Cleveland. Since his game-tying home run on Opening Day, slugger Edwin Encarnacion has cooled during his first week with the Indians, though one week is a minuscule sample size. With the Indians trailing nearly the entire weekend in Arizona, Francona said the slugger has been trying to bring back his team with one swing. That’s the power of a hitter with Encarnacion’s pedigree. Francona is confident it won’t be long until the Indians’ cleanup hitter heats up. “It’s amazing because his track record is so good,” Francona said prior to Tuesday’s game, another tough one at the plate for Encarnacion. “I think he might have been trying to do a little much. “The last two at-bats were really good. I was almost wishing we didn’t have an off day because he really — he hit the ball off the wall, but he hit it so hard it was a single, and then he hit the line drive kind of to the left of center and I thought those were his best swings and he took a walk the one before. … If we’re talking about Edwin struggling in about a month, I’ll be surprised.” Ryan Lewis: Indians’ Michael Brantley has homecoming worth waiting for By Ryan Lewis CLEVELAND: As the Indians celebrated their American League Central title in Detroit last September, soaking the visiting clubhouse at Comerica Park in beer and champagne, a still-rehabbing Michael Brantley stood just off to the side, enjoying the moment from the hallway near the door. As the Indians made their run to the division crown and then the World Series, Brantley continued to spend day after day with the training staff, working to come back and overcome one of the many setbacks delaying his return. And as many players went home to their families over the winter, Brantley, for the most part, remained at the club’s facilities. He contributed as he could, mentoring some of the younger players and providing a presence in the clubhouse as one of its leaders. But he wasn’t able to join his teammates on the field or hear the hometown crowd cheer his name. But on Tuesday, the first time he was able to step into the batter’s box at Progressive Field in roughly 11 months, Brantley watched as 24 teammates sprinted toward him after his walk-off double down the left-field line scored Francisco Lindor from first base and sealed a 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. After such a long road, it was a homecoming to remember. “I don’t know if you can write it up any better,” Brantley said. “A lot of hard work went into this offseason. A lot of time away from my kids and my family, but they’re my support. They kept me going and motivated. I just thank my family so much for always being there for me.” Brantley’s teammates are well aware of the work he put in during the past year and a half. Indians manager Terry Francona has repeatedly raved about his work ethic. They have had a front-row seat to what he had been through in his repeated attempts to contribute to the club on the field. “It was awesome,” Lindor said. “I was so happy for him. As soon as I touched home plate, I looked around and everyone was clapping for him, his family in the stands. It was pretty cool, special. Happy for him. He’s back. Brantley’s back.” Standing near second base, it was if a person hadn’t been able to really breathe for 11 months and was finally able to come up for air. Brantley didn’t wait. He was fist-pumping even before Lindor crossed home plate. “You don’t even feel your body, you’re just jumping around and I guess waiting to get wet,” Brantley said. “You know it’s coming, but just excited that we won our home opener, our fans all came out in the cold. Our fans hung in there for us and we were able to get a win in front of them. It was great.” The Indians are still being cautious with Brantley as such a key piece to the lineup, so the celebration didn’t include as much as the normal beating. Often times, the game-winner’s jersey is ripped up and they have a couple of bruises. Brantley mostly just received a Gatorade bath. It was 11 months in the making for Brantley to return to action at Progressive Field. Leaving it covered in blue Gatorade was about as sweet as it could have been. Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: 04.12.2017 Indians’ home opener brings hopes for October baseball By Craig Webb Cleveland: Indians fans had waited for this moment since Nov. 2. At 1:56 p.m. Tuesday, the wait was over and the talk of October ball resumed on a windy April day. Crews threw open the gates at Progressive Field for the team’s home opener. The sunny skies were a stark contrast to a brisk rainy night when the team’s World Series dream was dashed by the Chicago Cubs and fans were left to walk back to their cars brokenhearted. The first homestand started with another team from the Windy City, the White Sox. Standing first in line to get in at the Home Run Porch in left field and eager for the first home game of the season to get started was Mike Schiller. “I am wearing the same sweatshirt I wore to Game 7,” Schiller said, proudly pointing to the blue Indians-logo garment. A Phoenix resident, Schiller said he travels to about 40 Indians games a season and attended all of the Tribe’s playoff games last season. Schiller said he caught the Indians bug from his wife, a Northeast Ohio native, and was fully infected during his stint as an instructor at the University of Akron from 2005 to 2009. As disappointing as that loss was last November, Schiller said he takes solace in the fact he attended what he believes to be the best series of baseball games ever and thinks the team will be back again this year. “I’ve been to thousands of games,” he said. “[Game 7] was one of the best ... baseball games I have ever been to.” It was good day to have tickets for a game that sold out months ago in mere minutes. John Rivera of North Royalton was among those carrying a pocketful of optimism rather than a lucky ticket as he walked around the plaza between the ballpark and Quicken Loans Arena. He lugged around a tall pole with Indians flags and signs attached, thanking the team for an “incredible” 2016 season. “We can do it this year,” said Rivera, a University of Akron graduate. “We spent a lot of money. We have great players.” Just outside the right-field entrance about a dozen demonstrators gathered in a small park to protest the team’s name and more specifically its mascot, Chief Wahoo. John Maiken, who traveled from Englewood outside Dayton, traveled north to join the small protest that elicited expletives, jeers and mocking war cries from some fans making their way to the end of long lines to get into the ballpark. Maiken wore a Dodgers blue jersey and a matching hat to show you don’t have to have a mascot or name that, in his words, disparages someone else. “I think it is offensive to the Indigenous Native Americans,” he said. He held a sign that said the Indians are jinxed because of the mascot and team name. But for the fans, it was all about baseball and the pageantry of the home opener that included the raising of the American League championship flag and the handing out of the rings. The Indians won 2-1 in 10 innings. “This is a big party, man,” Schiller said. “This is a gigantic party.” Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: 04.12.2017 Cleveland Indians home opener: Raising a pennant, still hard to believe -- Terry Pluto By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio --The Cleveland Indians will be giving out American League championship rings and raising the 2016 American League pennant before today's home opener. When I was a kid, those were words I never thought I'd read about my Tribe. Defending American League champions? Really? Not if you grew up with the Tribe in the 1960s... Or 1970s... Or 1980s... Or a chunk of the 1990s... It wasn't until 1995 that the Tribe won a pennant. I was born in 1955, the year after the Indians were swept in the 1954 World Series. And there never was another World Series for 41 years. The fans of the Indians were like baseball's lost Tribe, wandering in the wilderness and wondering if they'd ever see the promised land. I know, the Indians still haven't won a World Series since 1948. And I know that after the Cubs defeated the Indians in the 2016 World Series, the Tribe has the longest streak without a World Series title. Of course, that's an asterisk as so many teams around now weren't existing in 1948, when baseball had only 16 franchises. So what's the point? Tribe fans have a team going for its fifth consecutive winning season. The Indians went to the 2013 wild card game, the 2016 World Series. We are in a period that will eventually look like the "good old days" when looking back in the baseball rear view mirror of life. I think about my father, who took a a streetcar to games at old League Park to watch the Tribe in the 1930s. He was a member of he "knot hole gang," who watched games through holes in the outfield fence. If a ball came over a fence and a kid got it, he could hand it to an usher -- and be admitted to the game for free. That was a dark baseball decade. The Indians never finished closer than 12 games out (1936) and never drew more than 652,006 fans (1938). My decade coming to the Tribe was the 1960s. They never finished closer than 15 games out (1965), and never drew more than 950,564 fans (1960). From 1960-1978, the Indians only drew one millions fans once (1974). They never were closer than 14 games out of first place. MORE GOOD DAYS COMING? ESPN has 35 "baseball experts" and all 35 of them picked the Tribe to win the Central Division. In the end, the Tribe is favored to return to the World Series. This is a fun team to watch. In the 1930s, my father didn't have a dynamic player such as Francisco Lindor to watch play. His favorite was a power-hitting first baseman named Hal Trosky, a man haunted by migraine headaches. In the 1960s, I had Rocky Colavito for a few years. From 1960-93, no Tribe player had the charisma and talent of Lindor. The 1994-2001 era saw a galaxy of baseball stars pass through town. But since then, there has been nothing like Lindor. Now, the Indians are the defending American champions with a true ace in Corey Kluber. They have a sensational bullpen in Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. They have an elite in manager (Terry Francona), solid-to-good hitters at most positions and a smart front office. And an American League pennant being raised over the ballpark. For the little kid who went to the old Stadium holding my father's hand as we walked down the West 3rd Street Bridge, a team like this would have been baseball heaven. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 04.12.2017 'This is going to be something special': Indians' home opener sparks old memories, new excitement By Zack Meisel, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Union Avenue No. 15 bus would drop off John Adams and his dad at the corner of E. 4th Street and Prospect Avenue. The father and son would walk past Otto Moser's restaurant, with the big pickle jars in the window. They would continue for a few blocks, a drab stretch of nothing but concrete, asphalt and brick, before they reached their destination: Cleveland Stadium, the Indians' massive residence that rested on the shores of Lake Erie. They would walk inside the structure, mosey up a ramp and bask in the baseball atmosphere. "It's like the Wizard of Oz," Adams said, "when Dorothy opened the door and everything was in living color." Another season means another home opener, which sparks memories for anyone who has ventured to the ballpark, eyes wide and expectations high. The Indians' aims this year are as lofty as they have been at any juncture during the franchise's 117-year tenure. "It's a whole, new adventure," Adams said. "Opening Day brings back all of these memories, back to the first ballgame I ever went to when I was a wee, little lad." On Tuesday afternoon, Adams will occupy his perch atop the left-field bleachers at Progressive Field, the same spot he has shared with his 26- inch bass drum for nearly 44 years. What's your favorite Cleveland Indians Opening Day memories? The Indians will host their 24th home opener at the venue since they relocated from the giant (and typically empty) building on the lakefront. The Indians and White Sox will assemble on the first- and third-base lines for introductions. Tribe players will receive American League championship rings (yes, that's apparently a thing). The team will raise an AL pennant flag and unveil a banner. It will be a festive afternoon marked by tradition and anticipation, a springboard into an annual marathon and a prelude to a six-month stretch of ups and downs, balls and strikes, wins and losses, elation and despair. The Indians figure to draw more fans to the ballpark than they have in nearly a decade. "It's the sharing part," Adams said. "You feel like you're one community. Young, old, rich, poor -- nothing matters. It's just like one family outing. You're all connected." The city's sports scene will be well represented, with icons Jim Thome, Austin Carr and Jim Brown tossing out ceremonial first pitches on Tuesday. It's a nod to the strengthening bond shared between the three teams. It was only five, short months ago when LeBron James, the Cupid to the town's half-century of athletic heartbreak, flexed his biceps and howled after Rajai Davis provided one of those moments that make time stand still. There may be more such memories created at Progressive Field this year. The new journey begins on Tuesday. When Adams would reach the Cleveland Stadium entrance, he would think: "Wow, I know this is going to be something special." "You remember the past and you smile," Adams said. "I like to say that anything can happen at a baseball game and it always does. Every year is a new adventure." Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 04.12.2017 Cleveland Indians to receive AL championship rings, but Francisco Lindor only cares about a World Series ring By Zack Meisel, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians will receive one final reminder of their postseason feats from 2016, a season that ended with a soggy Game 7 World Series loss at Progressive Field. Before they assemble for pre-game introductions on Tuesday afternoon, the players and staff will add some jewelry to their collections in the form of American League championship rings. The Indians, absent their All-Star left fielder, catcher and two starting pitchers -- with a third starter dealing with a damaged digit -- marched to the World Series as they swiftly dispensed of the Red Sox and Blue Jays. Granted, the Indians fell short of their ultimate aim. And that leaves Francisco Lindor a bit unfulfilled when it comes to Tuesday's ring presentation. "The guys that weren't here last year, they're going to see the rings and they're going to be like, 'Wow, I want to get one,'" Lindor said. "And I'm going to see it and I'm going to say, 'I want a bigger one. I don't want this one.'" There is no mystery surrounding the Indians' expectations this season. They enjoyed the October thrill ride, but they would prefer a different conclusion. "It's the past for a reason," Lindor said. "Nobody remembers second place. We're working hard, trying to finish in first place now. We came that close last year." Of course, there's no guarantee that the team can simply duplicate last season's magical ride. It requires plenty of production and work, a tweak here and an addition there. "Even with so many of the same names," said Tribe manager Terry Francona, "it's a new personality, it's a new team, things happen and the identity -- all those things have to start from scratch again. "People will remember October because it's kind of glamorous because you're the only teams playing, but getting through April isn't always that way. ... The teams that grind through that give themselves a better chance to play later when it's in front of the whole world." Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 04.12.2017 Cleveland Indians' Jason Kipnis: "It's all right to take one last look into 2016 yearbook'' By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio - Manager Terry Francona has said the Indians' home opener will be a good time to take one look back at what the 2016 team accomplished before concentrating on the task at hand - the 2017 season. Second baseman Jason Kipnis agreed. "We know how special last year was," said Kipnis. "We know how much fun the city and ourselves had last year. I think one peek into the yearbook isn't going to hurt, but I think this team is ready to turn the page. But we will enjoy ourselves today." The Indians received their AL championship rings before the game. In 1995 and 1997, the last two pennant winners, the team received AL championship rings, but there was no pregame ceremony. That is usually reserved for the presentation of World Series championship rings. The Cubs, who beat the Indians in seven games last year, received their World Series rings Monday night. Kipnis saw no problem breaking from tradition. "Not many people get to do it. Take it for what it is," said Kipnis. "It's an honor to have gotten that far. It's a special thing to accomplish. We don't take that lightly. "We'd all like to have the other one, but it is what it is. We can't do anything about it now. There's no reason to hang your head. Be proud of what you did. This is what you got. "If you want the other one, now is the time to start going after it." Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall, who opened the year on the disabled list with right shoulder injuries, took part in Tuesday's pregame festivities. Monday night Kipnis played five innings at second base for Class AA Akron. He is not sure how much longer his rehab assignment will take. "My shoulder feels really strong," said Kipnis, recovering from a strained right rotator cuff. "Right now it's about building up the volume (of work) and getting my timing back. "I think we got over the hump a couple of weeks ago with the shoulder. It feels good. We've done the right process with it. Now it's just getting up to game speed." Manager Terry Francona said the plan for Kipnis is to play two or three straight games this week with Akron or Class AAA Columbus. Akron goes out of town after Wednesday. "We might mix a DH (game) in to get him to that third day in a row," said Francona. "He's going to try and get to four at-bats Wednesday while playing second and we'll go from there." The Indians were considering activating Chisenhall for the home opener, but didn't want to force the issue because he wasn't landing in Cleveland until 1:30 p.m. Tuesday from his rehab assignment with Columbus. Francona said Chisenhall would probably play another rehab game Wednesday night and then, "we'll revisit whether to activate him or let him play another game. " Kipnis had 60 at-bats last spring. He had five in Cactus League play this spring before the Indians shut him down. "I got five this spring and six more in Double-A," said Kipnis. "Who knows? You don't want to worry about results when you're injured. You just want to worry about being healthy. "But at the same time, the better the results, it's like 'OK, he's ready. We'll bring him up.' Obviously, I'd like to do better, but time will tell. It's not easy to get right back into it and expect to be full go. You could be looking at 25 at-bats to 50 ... whatever you need." Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 04.12.2017 Indians Opening Day 2017: Right field terraces become favorite spot for fans By Nathaniel Cline, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio - The right field terrace at Progressive Field has been referred to as an area of shipping containers. However, the area designed with the retired numbers of former Tribe greats has become one of the stadium's best kept secrets, according to fans. The multimillion dollar project, which included the removal of nearly 7,000 seats to add gathering areas, didn't sit well with fans. But the results have slowly won them over since the project was completed two years ago. "I didn't really like what they were doing because you always want more seats in the crowd, but once you get up here the view is definitely nice," said Indians fan Riley Hand. Andrew Miller, Indians senior vice president of strategy and analytics, said he was aware of the mixed feedback in an interview with Cleveland Business. One disadvantage is the foul pole obstructing some of the view. "What used to be a group event in a tent in a parking lot is now overlooking the field, and it's actually a very exclusive experience within each terrace," Miller stated. "If you have the right groups of people, you end up having a very exclusive area for a group to use." When fans are unable to get a seat they want or a standing spot at The Corner in right field, the right field terraces have become a favorite spot with access to shorter restroom lines and similar amenities offered in the concourse. Tribe fans like the Muellers thought they needed a reservation before they took their first trip the upper deck. "When I got up here, I found out that it's a party deck," said Jacob Mueller. You can come up here bring your party, your family and you get a great view of the game." Homer-happy Francisco Lindor insists he isn't a power hitter: Zack Meisel's musings By Zack Meisel, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland versus Chicago. Tenth inning. Packed house. Bryan Shaw on the mound for the Tribe. Ah, what a familiar sight. Well, except for the fact that the Indians were playing the White Sox, not the Cubs. And it's April, not early November. On this occasion, the Indians prevailed, in fitting fashion, as Michael Brantley -- the injury-plagued left fielder who missed all but 11 games last year -- delivered the decisive RBI double. And, wisely, his teammates withheld the typical painful pounding that follows such a walk-off hit. Here are a collection of thoughts and observations from the Indians' home opener. 1. Power hour: Francisco Lindor sits atop the major-league leaderboard with four home runs in seven games, but he insists he is not a power hitter. 2. Three's company: The Indians halted their losing streak, which sat at three after the miserable weekend in the desert. They have not endured a losing streak of four or more games since July 2015. Since then, the other 29 major-league teams have combined for 236 losing streaks of four or more games. 3. Rock solid: The last time Carlos Carrasco took the mound at Progressive Field, a line drive cracked his wrist and ended his season. On Tuesday, he submitted his second straight strong start, as he limited Chicago to one run on four hits over seven innings. 4. Loaded and locked: The Indians posted a .228/.272/.277 slash line with the bases loaded last season. They went the entire year without a grand slam. On Tuesday, Edwin Encarnacion grounded into a pair of double plays with the bags packed. It's far too early to claim that Encarnacion wasn't worth the $60 million commitment the Indians granted him over the winter. But Francona admitted the slugger might be pressing a bit. "It was a tough day," Francona said. "And he's had them before. As frustrated as you get or as cold as you get, good hitters get that hot. There will be days, hopefully soon, when I'm sitting here saying he carried us or he did this and this. He's too good. Just right now, he's a little stuck in-between." 5. Last, but not least: Abraham Almonte continues to offer value from the No. 9 spot in the order. He contributed a double and a walk in Tuesday's triumph. He'll live to see at least one more day on the big-league roster, as Lonnie Chisenhall will play for Double-A Akron on Wednesday. 6. The flow: Jose Ramirez colored his hair several shades of orange before Tuesday's home opener. He has a thin, bright orange ring at the base of his hairline and a dark orange/red color fills in the rest of the 'do. It looks ... interesting. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 04.12.2017 When Larry Doby broke the American League color barrier in Cleveland: Nicolaus Mills (Opinion) By Guest Columnist/cleveland.com BRONXVILLE, N.Y. -- Like baseball fans across the country, on April 15, I'll celebrate the 70th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's Major League debut. But the player I'll be thinking about that day is the Cleveland Indians' Larry Doby, who, 11 weeks after Robinson broke in with the Brooklyn Dodgers, became Major League Baseball's second African-American player. As a child growing up in post-World War II Cleveland, I got to see Doby at the start of his career when the Indians, a mediocre team in 1947, still played in the Depression-era Municipal Stadium. Doby's July 5, 1947, debut with the Indians made the breaking of baseball's color line real for me. Doby was just 23 when he arrived in Cleveland, but what I remember most about him, at a time when I thought most ballplayers were giants, is how thin he looked. Players in those days were not into weightlifting, and Doby, who stood just over six feet, certainly was not. It never surprised me when Doby stole a base or beat out a hit with his speed, but I was always amazed that he had the strength to become a home-run hitter. Doby did not appear in the two Indians home games I was taken to in 1947, but I rooted for him as if he had been with the team for years. In my liberal household, it was important for Doby to succeed, but it did not take long for me to discover that my family's enthusiasm for Doby was not shared by many of my friends' parents. When I re-read The Plain Dealer from those years, I am struck by the seriousness with which its editors and writers took the arrival of Doby. The July 4, 1947, Plain Dealer editorial page contains a syndicated column by Joseph and Stewart Alsop, an essay about the need to aid postwar Europe, and an unsigned editorial, "Pulling for Larry Doby," that concludes, "Negroes have risen to stardom in the other sports. If given the opportunity they will do so in baseball." In the 1947 Plain Dealer sports pages, the writers were cautious about whether Doby had the ability to succeed in the Major Leagues, but they were optimistic about how fans would treat him. In late July, Gordon Cobbledick, The Plain Dealer sports editor, concluded his column on Doby with the observation, "I earnestly hope that he will blossom into a big leaguer in every sense of the term. I believe the great majority of white fans will give him every possible break." Doby did not play well in 1947. In contrast to Jackie Robinson, who began his career by being named Rookie of the Year, Doby finished 1947 with a .156 average in just 32 at bats. But by 1948, the year the Indians won the American League pennant and World Series, Doby's playing was a different story. He was on his way to a Hall of Fame career. In 1948 Doby batted .301 and hit 14 home runs. In midseason he took over the center field position after starting the year in right field, and in the World Series, he hit .318, winning the fourth game with a home run off the Boston Braves' ace pitcher, Johnny Sain. The locker-room picture of Doby and Steve Gromek, the Indians' winning pitcher, hugging, their cheeks pressed close to each other, made news across the nation and became emblematic of baseball at its best. But the picture is also emblematic about how far baseball and the country had to go in 1948 when it came to race. When Gromek went back to the white, working-class city of Hamtramck, Michigan, where he lived in the offseason, he was given a hard time by friends. People he had known all his life didn't want to speak to him because of the picture. Doby's hard time began the minute he joined the Indians. On the road, many of the hotels that housed the team refused to accommodate Doby, and in spring training in Tucson, Arizona, Doby was not welcome at the hotel where the white players on the Indians stayed. In Bill Veeck, the owner of the Indians, Doby had Cleveland's equivalent of Branch Rickey, the general manager and president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who paved the way for Jackie Robinson's baseball career. But there were limits as to how much Veeck felt he could do on behalf of Doby -- even in Cleveland. When Doby began with the Indians, he stayed at Cleveland's primary African-American hotel, the Majestic Hotel on East 55th Street and Central Avenue. As a child rooting for Doby, I knew he faced an uphill battle. What I never truly grasped was how much of a toll the threats and humiliations he experienced over a season must have taken. There had to be days when coming to bat felt like the lifting of a cloud. Nicolaus Mills is a native Clevelander and author of "Winning the Peace: The Marshall Plan and America's Coming of Age as a Superpower." He chairs the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N. Y. Have something to say about this topic? Use the comments to share your thoughts, and stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the Notification Settings (in blue) just below. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 04.12.2017

All hail the Cleveland Indians' walk-off win; and the defensive play that made it possible By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Progressive Field is the breeding ground for the walk-off win. The Indians did it 11 times last year. This year they're at one and counting after Michael Brantley doubled home Francisco Lindor Tuesday in the 10th inning to win the home opener, 2-1, against the White Sox. This isn't a fad like hover boards or the statues of owls that people put in their front lawns. The Indians have won 190 games in their last at-bat since Progressive Field opened as Jacobs Field in 1994. They are experts at delivering heartbreak. As exciting as it is, a lot more goes into a walk-off win besides a game-winning hit. It's true that's the most important thing. It gets the headline and the player who delivered it gets his video on the Internet and his name in the paper. But how about the defensive play that made the walk-off hit possible? Yandy Diaz delivered it in the eighth inning Tuesday with the score tied, 1-1. Without Diaz's defense at third, the White Sox could have easily won the game in regulation. Andrew Miller started the eighth by retiring Avisail Garcia on a drive to track in right field. Geovany Soto and pinch-hitter Matt Davidson, riding the jetstream to right field, singled and doubled to put runners on second and third. Abraham Almonte had a chance to catch Davidson's drive, but didn't get to the wall in time. The White Sox were looking good. They had runners on second and third with one out and the top of the order coming to the plate. Diaz was positioned at third when third base coach Mike Sarbaugh, who doubles as infield coach, told him to move back a couple of feet when Tyler Saladino came to the plate. Yandy Diaz discusses his diving catch, first week in the majors Right after Diaz moved back, Saladino sent a low liner between third and short. It was destined for left field as a two-run single, but Diaz made a diving stop to his left for the second out. "I can't tell you what happened because the ball just went into my glove," said Diaz, through team interpreter Anna Bolton. "I saw the ball was in my glove when I got up from the ground." Brantley was in left field as Diaz took flight after the baseball. "It was the game-saving play at the time," said Brantley. "If it gets past him, I don't think I would have had a chance to throw out the pinch- runner (Leury Garcia for Davidson) because he was too fast and the ball wasn't hit that hard. So two runs would have scored right there. "It was a game-saving play. It was awesome." Diaz has done a nice job defensively in the first seven games of spring training. He won the job late in spring training when Jose Ramirez moved from third to second to replace injured Jason Kipnis. He credited Sarbaugh for telling him to move back. "He told me to back up and that's the reason I was able to make that play," said Diaz. Said manager Terry Francona, "It was a great play. I'll tell you what though, Sarby deserves the assist. About two pitches before that he turned to me and goes, 'Hey, you OK if I back him up a couple, three steps?' --- it was a great play, I just think Sarby deserves a great assist." Diaz went 1-for-4 Tuesday and is hitting .222 (6-for-27) in seven games. In spring training, he won the job mostly because he hit .458. Most of the questions were about his defense. Now that Diaz has made the club, he's playing better defense than expected, but isn't hitting like he did in the Arizona desert. "As the days are going by I'm feeling more confident in the field and the clubhouse," said Diaz. "I look at the hits I've gotten. I'm just trying to improve on what I've done." Before the game, the Indians received their AL championship rings from last season. Diaz spent last year in the minors, but he enjoyed Tuesday's ceremony. "Of course that motivates me," he said. "I enjoyed watching it and even though I didn't get a ring it still motivates me. It's something to get excited about." Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 04.12.2017 Indians win home opener from place of 'sheer dominance' - the bullpen: Doug Lesmerises By Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians' new $20 million bat in the middle of the lineup grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded -- again -- and out here it didn't matter. Cody Allen was on his 22nd warmup pitch in the center field bullpen before Edwin Encarnacion stepped to the plate in the eighth inning of a tie game in the home opener. Allen threw six more pitches during the at-bat. Then two more after the 5-4-3 inning-ender kept the game tied into the ninth. And down the steps he went. Fans held up cellphones, the crowd three deep on the concrete stairs next to the bullpen, recording the actions Tuesday that will once again serve as the centerpiece of this season. Francisco Lindor cracked a first-inning homer and raced home with the winning run in the 10th on Michael Brantley's double, and, as will be true for the next 155 games, the bullpen made it possible. This statement is barely more educated than the decision some fans made to wear shorts to a Cleveland Opening Day that experienced a 20- degree temperature drop over the 10 innings and 3:37 of a 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. Bullpen. Good. But this was the most taken-for-granted line of the day: 3 innings, 2 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts, 0 runs from the four relievers who followed Carlos Carrasco's 7 one-run innings. It was an afterthought because it was expected, but let's see Andrew Miller give up a couple runs in the eighth (a diving Yandy Diaz grab of a low liner saved him) and wonder if anyone would be ignoring the bullpen. Miller escaped and Cody Allen was dominant striking out the side in the ninth and then Boone Logan and Bryan Shaw set the Lindor-Brantley stage with a scoreless 10th. Expected. And that's why out here, with a fan in a Miller jersey high-fiving his seatmates, Encarnacion can make six outs in four at-bats and, after the initial deflation, no one seemed all that worried. "I feel sheer dominance," fan Ethan Lind said, leaning by the mesh fence behind bullpen catcher Ricky Pacione, who caught those 30 Allen warmups. "Seeing these guys warm up, I have all the confidence in the world they're going to go 1-2-3, no questions asked." It's easy to forget, but it wasn't always this way. Not when Miller wasn't an Indian until July 31 last season and Allen had a 6.97 ERA last April and Shaw was worse, his last April ERA 9.64. But what developed in the late-season and postseason of 2016 is what should hold together this World Series favorite for seven months in 2017. Carrasco is off to a terrific start, but this rotation isn't as certain as is being depicted. Both Carrasco and Danny Salazar have one fully effective, fully healthy season in their careers, and no one can pretend the fourth and fifth spots are sure things. Yes, the rotation is better than most. But you can find some buts. The lineup, without Jason Kipnis so far, looks good one through five. Encarnacion is probably pressing to live up to his contract, but he's also 34, which means he could step back a bit from his 42 home runs and 137 RBI of a season ago. Most teams in the American League would trade their lineups and rotations for what the Indians roll out there. But the only way this season goes south is if the bullpen breaks down, or whatever else goes wrong renders the pen moot because the games aren't close. Otherwise, it will continue to be OK out there, with the visiting bullpen stacked right on top of the Indians'. A team like the White Sox can peer down at those fastballs snapping into the gloves of Pacione and fellow bullpen catcher Armando Camacaro and remind themselves, "Yep, they're better than us." A year ago, the Indians' relievers ranked seventh in baseball in WAR (wins above replacement), which is pretty good. But that playoff bullpen wasn't seventh in anything. That was the most effective part of any postseason team. That's what lives out in that bullpen now, every game. "I feel like with this bullpen, no matter what, as long as we're within two or three runs, we have a chance," Lind said. "It's like that every game, except, unfortunately, Game 7." Yes, back when a pen completely out of gas allowed four runs in six innings last November, so the ring ceremony Tuesday was for the American League champions, not the World Series champions. That's what happens when the pen is off. When they're on, you get a game like Tuesday's win. Expect many more wins like that this year. If you ever forget why those wins are coming, hang out just over the center field wall at Progressive Field, and you'll remember. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 04.12.2017 'He's back': Cleveland Indians give Michael Brantley a long-awaited celebratory mobbing By Zack Meisel, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Francisco Lindor desperately wanted to score, not just to wrap a bow on one of the longest days of the season, but to provide a storybook finish for the most deserving man in a fully packed ballpark. By the time Lindor approached third base -- after a ring ceremony and introductions and a national anthem with a flyover and an unresolved first nine-and-a-half innings -- he didn't plan to adhere to any stop sign. Mike Sarbaugh waved his arm like a pinwheel, though, and Lindor dashed toward the plate, aiming to make Michael Brantley's double a game-winning contribution. "My energy level went from trying to run as fast as I can to the last 10 steps, I wanted to dive," Lindor said. When he finally made contact with home plate, his teammates spilled out of the dugout and swarmed Brantley a few paces from second base. Since his last walk-off hit (in August 2015), Brantley had undergone a shoulder operation, a biceps procedure and had spent months and months attempting to halt the constant medical setbacks that foiled his 2016 campaign. "I don't know if you can write it up any better," Brantley said, following Cleveland's 2-1 victory. "I guess if you hit a home run. But, we got a win. That's all that matters." It mattered a little more, since it was Brantley, once considered the heart and soul of the Indians' lineup. "For him to cap it off," said Tribe manager Terry Francona, "I'm sure it felt really good for him and it felt really good for us." It felt even better for Brantley since he escaped the typical celebratory mauling that accompanies a walk-off knock. His teammates took it easy on his surgically repaired right shoulder. Lindor joked that he "wanted to punch him," but thought better of it. "Usually they rip your jersey, tear you up," Brantley said. "It was nice. I just got a little bit wet. I'll take that one." Brantley sliced Tommy Kahnle's 98-mph fastball toward the left-field line to score Lindor from first. He said he couldn't feel his body as he pranced around second base, waiting for his teammates to swallow him whole. "As soon as I touched home plate, I looked around and everyone was clapping for him," Lindor said. "It was pretty cool, special. [I'm] happy for him. "He's back. Brantley's back." Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 04.12.2017 The Indians show their trademark persistence in return to Progressive Field -- Bud Shaw's Sports Spin By Bud Shaw, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio - The baseball gods have a sense of humor, if not a sense of urgency. If a pre-game ring ceremony wasn't quite enough of a reminder of a wonderful ride in 2016, albeit to a tortured conclusion in Game 7, there was this special touch Tuesday: * Extra innings again against a team from Chicago in the very next game played at Progressive Field. * Brian Shaw on the mound in the 10th again. * A reason to ask purely out of habit what could possibly go wrong. The short answer on this special occasion: not enough. Not this time anyway. With Edwin Encarnacion on deck after grounding into two bases-loaded double plays that were every bit as dampening as a 17-minute rain delay, Michael Brantley doubled with two outs to score Francisco Lindor and the Indians were 2-1 winners over the White Sox. Five months after the Game 7 loss to the Cubs, the thought that 2017 could be the Indians' turn is full of merit. This game validated that but only after the strong and persistent suggestion that it won't be any easier as a favorite than it was a year ago as an underdog. Brantley's hit delivered the fourth walk-off win for the Indians in an opener. The other three happened in the '90s when baseball in Cleveland became an unforgettable way to pass the time from April to October. That's the possibility again. At least once we say goodbye to the alternate universe where Encarnacion can't hit a lick even if it means accepting that Yandy Diaz really isn't Brooks Robinson incarnate. "I don't think you can write it up any better," said Brantley, whose 2016 season lasted 11 games. Fitting that Brantley was such a big part of this win after missing so many big moments a year ago. "We've turned the page on all the firsts," Terry Francona said. "Now we can see how good we can be." The ring ceremony that preceded the home opener hit the right notes. It was one last look back at a season of accomplishment that rekindled a relationship with an estranged fan base. The Indians signed Encarnacion in part on the bet that the $60 million expenditure will bring an even more lasting partnership at the turnstile. "He'll be OK," Francona said. "As cold as you get, good hitters get that hot." No one should need the reminder that attempts to make sense of baseball come in two annual varieties: Failed and not yet considered. So naturally it's a brand new season and the surest hitter in free agency makes his debut and can't get the ball out of the infield - twice with the bases loaded. It's a new season and Diaz, whose bat was his No. 1 reference, saves the day with his glove. Diaz dived to his left to grab a line drive with runners on second and third in a 1-1 game in the eighth. "That saved two runs," said Brantley, who had a perfect view. The formula for an AL Central title and a return to the World Series probably requires that Encarnacion not bat .185 or have twice as many strikeouts as hits. It will probably require not just what we've seen from Carlos Carrasco in two starts but consistency from Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer as well. Then again, who knows what it will take after the Indians ignored so many good reasons to lose graciously long before the 10th inning of Game 7 of the World Series. Asked if he felt the urgency building Tuesday after the failed chances against White Sox pitching, Brantley said, "Not when you're a good team like we are." No rush, he said. What, them worry?

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 04.12.2017 Cleveland Indians home opener -- ceremonial bunting, real promise: Bill Livingston By Bill Livingston, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio - Three men, the Cleveland Indians' Jim Thome, the Cavaliers' Austin Carr, and the Browns' Jim Brown, stood on a hill to begin a long day's journey into twilight Tuesday at Progressive Field. The first two threw ceremonial pitches before the Tribe's home opener, and the third leaned on a cane on the mound. Three hours and 37 minutes later, Michael Brantley, who missed most of the Indians' World Series season in 2016, doubled to left-field on a full-count with two out in the bottom of the 10th inning. The ball rattled around in the outfield corner as Francisco Lindor, who had walked and who is already the team's best shortstop since Omar Vizquel was young, raced around the bases from first. Icons of yesterday, today and tomorrow, legends made, players returned, new stories being told, all that happened amid the roar of joy. Lindor sped across the plate at 12 minutes to 8 o'clock. It gave the Indians a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. It was a home opener of pageantry in which decorative bunting was draped over the first and third base fences, and it was a day of memories, some recalled, some newly minted. In the old days at Municipal Stadium, the home opener, when the decrepit place was bedecked with bunting, was a collective thanksgiving that the city still had a team, despite all the bad seasons and empty seats. After the opener, you could eavesdrop on dugout conversations from the press box, the place was such a ghost town. Rites of spring, really? In the old days, it was a stretch to say the opener was the symbolic start of spring. The Indians' "home" opener was held in Milwaukee 10 years ago after being snowed out here. Lake Erie, visible from the press box at the old stadium, often would be sheathed in ice. A 19-degree plummet in temperature from 67 degrees on the first pitch to 48 at game's end was nothing compared to that out-take from the movie "Frozen." This home opener recalled the drama of walk-off victories past, but it was more importantly evidence of a third reincarnation of excellence by the Indians' front office. Maligned in the past because of low payrolls and deals made in handcuffs, the franchise has been vindicated. From the uneasy partnership of John Hart and Mike Hargrove, to the Mark Shapiro and Eric Wedge symbiosis, all the way up to Terry Francona's desire to manage here because of his respect for Shapiro and his lieutenants, the Indians have rebuilt from the ashes three times inside of a quarter-century. They reached the World Series in 1995, 1997 and in 2016. They missed it by one game in 2007. Much is made in the NFL of the Bill Belichick coaching tree. None of its shoots, however, has been that successful. Former Shapiro colleagues and disciples include the Tribe's current team president Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff, plus GMs Ross Atkins in Toronto, Neal Huntington in Pittsburgh and Derek Falvey in Minnesota. Others with Indians ties are Milwaukee's David Stearns and Boston's Mike Hazen. That's not a legacy, that's a legion. The Cleveland Browns are a shambles not worth discussing in terms of championship aspirations. The Cleveland Cavaliers, bolstered by almost unfathomable luck in the NBA lottery with four overall No 1 picks and the biggest payroll in the sport are, as of this moment anyway, the defending NBA champions. The Cleveland Indians raised the 2016 pennant before the game begun. At its end, Brantley swung and Lindor ran and the bunting probably rustled as thunder broke from the stands. Bunting only lives twice, at the return of the American League champions and again in October. Count on it this season. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 04.12.2017 Cleveland Indians Opening Day Scribbles: The magic is back! -- Terry Pluto By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Scribbles in my Cleveland Indians opening day notebook after their 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox in 10 innings Tuesday at Progressive Field. 1. Baseball is back in Cleveland. Indians baseball. The kind of baseball that made 2016 so much fun. The Indians had 11 walk-off victories at Progressive Field last season. That was part of the magic leading to the Tribe going 53-28 in Cleveland, the best home field record in the American League. 2. So this was one home game, one walk-off win, one huge smile from Michael Brantley. The man has battled through a shoulder operation and surgery on his biceps. He doubled down the left-field line off Tommy Kahnle, who hit 100 mph on several pitches. It was a 98 mph sizzler that Brantley belted, driving home Francisco Lindor from first base. 3. This is only the second home opener victory in nine seasons. It also snapped a three-game losing streak. The Indians never lost more than three in a row at any point last season. 4. Lindor supplied the Indians' other run, a homer in the first. Lindor probably received the biggest cheer of any Tribe player when they were introduced before the game. It was fun to see the American League championship rings handed out. 5. Lindor is so gifted. He crushed a 397-foot homer in the first. He lined out to center in the fifth inning, it was a screamer. He had a perfect sacrifice bunt down the third-base line. He drew two walks. He's becoming such a mature hitter at age 23. 6. Other than seeing Brantley healthy and delivering in the clutch, perhaps the best news of the day was Carlos Carrasco. On Carrasco's 95th (and last pitch) of his game, he struck out Cody Asche on a 95-mph fastball. The right-hander was superb, allowing one run on four hits in seven innings. In two April starts, Carrasco has struck out 14 in 12 2/3 innings with zero walks! His ERA is 2.13. 7. We all knew Carrasco would be the Tribe starter destined to pitch the best in early April, right? Obviously not. Carrasco battled some elbow problems in spring training and had a 10.80 ERA. His performance is one of the most exciting parts of the early spring. 8. Making the start even better, Carrasco has had problems with the White Sox during his career. He came in 3-9 record with 5.63 ERA vs. Chicago. 9. In case you were wondering, Mike Napoli is 2-of-22 with Texas, with 11 strikeouts. For the Indians, Edwin Encarnacion is 5-of-27 with 10 strikeouts. Encarnacion had a miserable opener, making six outs in four at-bats. He fanned twice and hit into two double plays. It seems both power hitters are pressing. Encarnacion is batting only .185 with a homer and one RBI. 10. Encarnacion is trying to pull everything. He obviously wants to make a good impression after signing a three-year, $60 million deal. One of the reasons the Indians wanted Encarnacion is his ability to drive in runners from third base with fewer than two outs. He has 18 sacrifice flies in the previous two seasons. 11. Yandy Diaz was 1-for-4. He did hit one ball hard to left field that was caught. He ripped a base hit to right later in the game. He's hitting .222. Diaz has impressed with his defense. He saved a run (or two) in the eighth inning with a diving catch of a line drive. He has played well above-average at third base. In Arizona, he had some difficult games with the glove. But now, he looks relaxed and natural at third base. 12. Cody Allen struck out the side in the ninth. The Tribe bullpen allowed only two hits and fanned five in three scoreless innings. 13. The Indians announced a crowd of 35,002, said to be a sellout. The place was packed. I hear they are expecting crowds between 13,000- 20,000 for most games this week. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 04.12.2017 Cleveland Indians beat Chicago White Sox, 2-1, in 10 innings on Michael Brantley's walk-off double By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio - Carlos Carrasco has rarely pitched well against the White Sox in his career, but he did Tuesday afternoon. The problem was Edwin Encarnacion couldn't get the ball out of the infield in two critical situations, one while Carrasco was the game and one after he left. Somehow that mixture of good and bad mojo ended in a 2-1 home-opening victory by the Indians over the White Sox in 10 innings. Michael Brantley won it with a double down the left field line off Tommy Kahnle (0-1) with two out in the 10th to score Francisco Lindor from first. The win ended a three-game losing streak by the Indians and was just their second home-opening win in the last nine years. In an April start in 2015 against Chicago, Carrasco stopped a Melky Cabrera liner with his jaw in the first inning and had to be taken off the field. It fit perfectly with his 3-9 lifetime record against the White Sox. Carrasco's past history had nothing to do with his effort Tuesday. He allowed one run on four hits in seven innings, but it wasn't enough to secure a victory. Lindor put a jolt into the crowd as he homered with one out in the first for a 1-0 lead. It was his fourth homer in seven games and could have easily been his fifth. On Saturday night at Chase Field, he hit a long double off the top of the center field fence that just missed clearing the fence. "I'm never trying to hit home runs," said Lindor before the game. "I'm just putting good swings on the baseball. If they go, they go." Lindor sent a 2-1 pitch into the right-field seats. He came into the game 2-for-2 against Chicago starter James Shields with an RBI. Carrasco, through four innings, limited the White Sox to Todd Frazier's double with one out in the second. Combined with the nine straight Texas batters he retired to end his first start of the season, Carrasco put down 21 of 22 batters. Frazier put a dent in that streak when he started the fifth with a homer to make it a 1-1 game. It was Frazier's first homer of the year and gave him four career RBI against Carrasco. Encarnacion's first chance to break the game open came in the sixth. Zach Putnam escaped the bases-loaded jam when Encarnacion hit a one-out ground ball to third which was easily turned into a double play. The same situation unfolded in the eighth against Nate Jones. After Abraham Almonte and Carlos Santana walked to start the inning, Lindor advanced them with a sacrifice bunt. Jones, with first base open, intentionally walked Brantley and went to work on Encarnacion. He sent a 1-2 bouncer to third to start another double play. "Tito called for the bunt and it was the right play," said Lindor. "Look at the hitters behind me -- Michael Brantley, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Ramirez. All good hitters." Encarnacion was not alone when it came to wasting scoring chances. Ramirez started the seventh with a double, but Zach Putnam retired the next three batters. In the ninth, Tyler Naquin reached second on an error with two out, but Yan Gomes struck out against David Robertson. Lindor drew a two-out walk in the 10th. Brantley worked the count full before lining a 98 mph fastball down the left-field line, and outfielder Melky Cabrera couldn't get a clean grip on the ball to throw home. It was the fourth walk-off win in a home opener in the history of Progressive Field. The win went to Bryan Shaw (1-0), the fourth Indians' reliever. He pitched the final two-thirds of an inning. Carrasco threw 95 pitches, 61 (64 percent) for strikes. Shields threw 92 pitches, 51 (55 percent) for strikes. A diving stop by Diaz at third in the eighth helped the Indians escape a dangerous inning. Chicago had runners on second and third with one out when Diaz, diving to his left, robbed Tyler Saladino. Andrew Miller ended the inning by striking out Tim Anderson. The White Sox and Indians drew a sellout crowd of 35,002 to Progressive Field on Tuesday. First pitch was 4:11 p.m. with a temperature of 67 degrees. By the seventh inning, the temperature had dropped to 53 degrees. Right-hander Danny Salazar (0-0, 6.35) will face Chicago left-hander Derek Holland (0-1, 3.00) on Wednesday night at 6:10 p.m. SportsTime Ohio and WMMS/FM 100.7 will carry the game. Salazar allowed four earned runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings against Texas in his first start. He struck out nine on 102 pitches. He is 5-2 with a 3.74 ERA against the White Sox. Holland, in his first year with the White Sox, is 5-1 with a 2.60 ERA in nine starts against the Indians. The Ohio native is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in four starts at Progressive Field. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 04.12.2017

Coming home: Indians back for first time since epic Game 7 TOM WITHERS (AP Sports Writer) CLEVELAND (AP) -- Months have passed since the Indians' last home game, an epic, once-in-a-generation Game 7 that will be forever remembered as the night the Chicago Cubs finally ended a championship drought spanning 108 years. The World Series memories aren't as wonderful here. ''It still hurts,'' Indians star shortstop Francisco Lindor said last week. ''It's tough. But we've got to turn the page.'' Following a winter and early spring spent at training camp in Arizona and a season-opening, six-game road trip, the Indians return home to begin their schedule at Progressive Field on Tuesday against Chicago's other team, the White Sox. Carlos Carrasco, who missed out on Cleveland's 2016 postseason run because of a broken right hand, starts against James Shields. The Indians are 3-3 to start a season they hope ends with a champagne-spraying and not a gut-wrenching loss. They began with an impressive sweep at Texas before losing three straight at Arizona. The AL champions still aren't at full strength as second baseman Jason Kipnis and right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall are on the disabled list. Chisenhall, though, could be activated before the opener after he went 4 for 4 in a rehab appearance for Triple-A Columbus over the weekend. On Tuesday, there will be a few minutes for the Indians and their fans to reflect and celebrate last year's division championship, AL pennant and an unforgettable Series before saying goodbye to what might have been. ''It'll be the last time that we talk about last year, but I want our guys to enjoy it,'' manager Terry Francona said. ''I think the fans will and I know we will. It'll be a special day.'' There hasn't been a World Series championship banner raised in Cleveland since 1948 as the Indians have replaced the Cubs for baseball's longest streak of futility. They've had close calls along the way, losing Game 7 in 1997 to Florida in 11 innings before last year's 10-inning heartbreaker, which completed a 3-1 collapse by the Indians. But there's reason to believe that the defending AL Central champs - blessed with pitching depth, a loaded lineup and Francona, arguably the majors' best manager - will be knocking on the title door again. ''We've got the right personnel,'' said Lindor, who hit a ninth-inning grand slam to beat Texas last week. ''We've got a great group of guys. They all work hard. The chemistry is awesome. I would love to be part of a team that makes it to the playoffs every year. Is it possible? Not sure. Would I love to be there? Yes. That's what we're all working for. We all want to be in the playoffs, year after year, and give it to the fans. They deserve it.'' Cleveland feels like a baseball town again. The Indians' magnificent journey in 2016, which was followed by the club's shocking signing of slugger Edwin Encarnacion in January, triggered a major uptick in ticket sales. Last week, the Indians announced they have already sold more than 1.2 million tickets, a number they didn't reach until July 4 last year. They've also had a 123 percent jump in season-ticket holder accounts. Poor attendance - the Indians ranked 28th last season - has been a major issue for several years with some fans feeling owner Paul Dolan wasn't doing enough to re-invest in the team. That's no longer an argument as the acquisition of elite reliever Andrew Miller in a blockbuster trade last July was followed by Encarnacion's signing, and the club locked up several young players to long-term contracts. Those wait-'til-next-year days are in the past. For the Indians, the time is now. ''There's definitely excitement,'' said closer Cody Allen. ''We have a really good team. And I feel like the team we had last year, we got better. A lot of guys that were on that team last year, we grew. Guys have gotten better. Some really young players, guys like Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez and Tyler Naquin, guys like that are all going to get better. It's exciting.''

Brantley lifts Indians to 2-1 win in opener over White Sox TOM WITHERS (AP Sports Writer) CLEVELAND (AP) -- Michael Brantley doubled home Francisco Lindor with two outs in the 10th inning as the Cleveland Indians celebrated their 2016 AL championship and then beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Tuesday in their home opener. Brantley could only watch and cheer for his teammates last October during their postseason run after undergoing two surgeries on his right shoulder. But he's healthy now, and after playing in just 11 games last season, Brantley made the most of his first home game since May 10 with his game-winning hit. Lindor walked with two outs off Tommy Kahnle (0-1) before Brantley sliced a 3-2 pitch down the left-field line. Lindor was running on the pitch and scored easily while Brantley danced around second base before being mobbed by his teammates. It was the dramatic ending the Indians didn't get in their last home game, a 10-inning loss to the Chicago Cubs in Game 7 of the World Series. Cleveland led the majors with 11 walk-off wins last season. Bryan Shaw (1-0), who took the loss when the Cubs won their first title in 108 years, got the win. Lindor homered in the first and the Indians missed a couple late scoring chances as newly signed slugger Edwin Encarnacion twice grounded into inning-ending double plays with the bases loaded. Todd Frazier homered for the White Sox. On a day of reflection and inspiration, injured Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis thought it was important to remember what happened last season. ''As soon as the first pitch is thrown, the page is turned,'' he said. ''But one peek into the yearbook isn't going to hurt.'' Carlos Carrasco, who also missed the Indians' postseason run with a broken right hand, allowed just one run and four hits in seven innings. It was his first start at home since Sept. 17, when he was struck by a line drive hit by Detroit's Ian Kinsler. Frazier came in batting just .059 (1 for 17) and without an extra-base hit before doubling in the second inning and then tying it in the fifth with his homer off Carrasco. Lindor received the loudest ovation of any Cleveland player during pregame ceremonies, when an AL title flag was hoisted and the club's first pennant since 1997 was unveiled. Indians fans roared again when the 23-year-old All-Star shortstop homered in his first home at-bat of 2017, connecting on a 2-1 pitch from James Shields. TRAINER'S ROOM White Sox: LHP Carlos Rodon (bursitis in left biceps) is playing catch in Arizona but has yet to throw off the mound and there's no definitive timetable on when he'll join the club. He went 9-10 in 28 starts last season. Indians: Kipnis is making progress as he deals with inflammation in his right shoulder. The Indians intend to have him play in three straight minor league games - possibly one as a DH - this week before he is re-evaluated. Kipnis took grounders and threw to first before the game. ... RF Lonnie Chisenhall is poised to come off the 10-day disabled list. Chisenhall injured his right shoulder crashing into the outfield wall on March 24. He'll likely be activated for Thursday's series finale. UP NEXT White Sox: LHP Derek Holland is 0-3 with a 5.74 ERA in his past three road starts. Indians: RHP Danny Salazar will be pitching on six days' rest after getting a no-decision in his first start. Salazar has a 5-2 career record against the White Sox.

Jason Kipnis continues rehab assignment; Lonnie Chisenhall nears activation by T.J. Zuppe, Yesterday Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall will take part in the Indians’ home opener festivities today, but once the pregame party at Progressive Field is over, their work to return to health will resume. Kipnis and Chisenhall, each on the 10-day disabled list with differing shoulder injuries, are progressing through minor-league rehab assignments. Chisenhall is inching closer to an activation than Kipnis, but neither will be ready in time for the first two games of the three-game set against the White Sox. Chisenhall, who has gone 5-for-12 in three rehab games with Triple-A Columbus, was originally expected to be activated today. However, with Chisenhall set to land in Cleveland at some point Tuesday afternoon, the Indians decided not to rush into a roster move and will likely give him one more rehab game at Double-A Akron before a potential activation Thursday. “Just from talking to him and talking to the medical people,” manager Terry Francona said, “I think he was good with going (back to the minors) tomorrow and then let’s revisit. I talked to him before I got on the plane the other day coming from Arizona. It was just going to be really rushed today. I think before we activate him, we want to sit down with him and let the trainers examine him.” Kipnis, on the other hand, still needs some more time before feeling prepared to return. He missed most of spring training due to some issues with his right rotator cuff. He is scheduled to resume his rehab this week with the Double-A RubberDucks. The team is hoping Kipnis will be able to play three consecutive games this week, but the situation will be based on how he feels each day. “We might mix a DH (day) in to get him to that third day in a row, Francona said, “but he’s going to try to get to four at-bats tomorrow playing second. Then, we’ll go from there.” I want it all Before the home opener, the Indians will receive their American League championship rings in a ceremony honoring last year’s club. Don’t expect shortstop Francisco Lindor to spend too much time reflecting on last season’s World Series run as the banner is raised. And don’t expect him to be satisfied with last year’s accomplishments. “Nobody remembers second place,” Lindor said. “It’s going to be something special for the fans. It’s a little sense of hope for the fans. They’re going to see the banner, and they’re going to see the rings, and they’re going to see that it is possible. Even for us, the guys that weren’t here last year, they’re going to see the rings and they’re going to be like, ‘Wow, I want to get one.’ And I’m going to see it and I’m going to say, ‘I want a bigger one. I don’t want this one.’ It’s going to cool, especially for us, for our families and for the city.” No worries Was Edwin Encarnacion pressing a little in his first week with the Indians? Perhaps. But Francona doesn’t expect those struggles to last much longer. He is already seeing signs of the hitter they expect to see much more of this season. “It’s amazing, because his track record is so good,” Francona said. “I think he might have been trying to do a little much. The last two at-bats were really good. I was almost wishing we didn’t have an off day because he hit the ball off the wall (in Arizona), but he hit it so hard it was a single. And then he hit the line drive kind of to the left of center. I thought those were his best swings.” There’s little reason to believe Encarnacion won’t get on track soon, but thus far, his .699 OPS and 30.8 percent strikeout rate through six games has been very uncharacteristic. “If we’re talking about Edwin struggling in about a month, I’ll be surprised,” Francona said. “I don’t think that will be one of the conversations we’re having. And he’ll be that guy when he gets hot, he has a chance to kind of carry a team for a while.” Out of left field The home opener doesn’t just bring more fans through the gates — it also brings out more media than a typical day at the park. That also means some unusual or unexpected questions get asked during news conferences. One of those inquiries came Tuesday, when Francona was asked if the early morning rain showers was a positive omen for the season. “I’m not sure I ever really thought about rain being good luck,” he said. “I haven’t figure out a way to corral the weather, yet. I’ll tell you what, though, if it’s good luck, good, I’m OK with that.”

Home opener carries more significance for Indians thanks to Michael Brantley’s walk-off heroics by T.J. Zuppe, 9 hours ago CLEVELAND — Notes, quotes and observations from the 2-1 walk-off win over the White Sox in 10 innings Tuesday at Progressive Field. 1. Michael Brantley probably would have taken 100 walk-off poundings from his teammates to avoid the frustration of the past year. But now that the two shoulder procedures and seemingly lost season are in the past, he didn’t mind a little more mild mob scene after his heroics Tuesday night. “I think they knew (to take it easy),” Brantley said of the postgame celebration. “Usually they rip your jersey, tear you up. It was nice. I just got a little bit wet. I’ll take that one. It was good.” None of his teammates wanted to offer the beatdown you’d typically see after a walk-off base hit, but then again, what Brantley has been through is far from typical. By now, you know the details: he played in just 11 games last year and was forced to watch from the sidelines as his club came within one victory of a World Series title. Shoulder issues plagued him throughout the season, and the permanent road block led to a second surgery and another offseason full of rehabilitation. As he pulled into second base, he pumped his fist and showed more emotion than you’d usually see from the quietly steady outfielder. But the situation represented more than just one victory over the White Sox in the home opener. It was the culmination of a lot of hard work to earn his way back. The journey isn’t over, but this was worth celebrating. “I don’t know if you can write it up any better,” he said. “I guess if you hit a home run, but, we got a win. That’s all that matters. A lot of hard work went into this offseason. A lot of time away from my kids and my family, but they’re my support. They kept me going and motivated. I just thank my family so much for always being there for me.” 2. Francisco Lindor had already established in his mind that he was going to score on a ball hit into the gap. The Indians’ star shortstop, who had already clubbed a solo homer in the ballgame, reached on a walk with two outs in the 10th. He took his lead away from first with determination. In his mind, if Brantley found some open grass, he had to find a way to cross the plate. On the 3-2 pitch, he got a head start. “If you saw me,” Lindor said, “my energy level went from trying to run as fast as I can to the last ten steps, I wanted to dive.” He didn’t have to dive, but his speed rounding the bases was instantly recognizable when Brantley dumped an offering from Tommy Kahnle down the left-field line. The ball hit the side railing in foul territory and rebounded in front of left fielder Melky Cabrera. After grabbing the ball, Cabrera appeared to bobble it in his glove — or just didn’t show any urgency getting it back to the infield — and Lindor was able to fly around third and score without a challenge at the dish. The Indians came pouring out of the dugout and charged toward Brantley, who jumped in the air after reaching second base for his walk-off RBI double, giving his club the 2-1 victory in extra innings. Getting the win was special. Having Brantley deliver the final blow was poetic. “I looked around and everyone was clapping for him,” Lindor said. “It was pretty cool, special. (I’m) happy for him. He’s back. Brantley’s back.” \ Francisco Lindor was more than happy to ensure the walk-off winner for Michael Brantley by scoring from first base in the 10th inning. (Ken Blaze/USA Today Sports) 3. Brantley being “back” hasn’t been a given in the early going. And that was certainly to be expected, considering he hasn’t played full time since the end of the 2015 campaign. Through six games, Brantley carries a 26.1 percent strikeout rate, more than 15 percent higher than his career mark. Before the opener Tuesday, his 86.8 MPH exit velocity was third-lowest on the team. Everyone knew his early-season progress wouldn’t just happen overnight. Getting back to being Brantley would probably take a little time. His walk-off, despite Lindor’s comment, doesn’t in itself mean he’s back to his old, consistent self yet. But when offseason preparation and hours spent playing soft toss and taking batting practice in the cages of Goodyear, Arizona, are rewarded, everyone is pleased. “Today was a special day,” manager Terry Francona said. “For him to cap it off, I’m sure felt really good for him and it felt really good for us.” 4. To see Brantley doing familiar things, however, is a great sight. In this particular instance, it was his ability to take what Kahnle gave him — and in this case, it wasn’t much — serving the offering off the plate to left field for the run-scoring double. During the 10th-inning sequence, as indicated below, the right-handed reliever pitched the lefty swinger away, away, away. Baseball Savant The sixth pitch of the at-bat was, yet again, on the outside corner, but this time Brantley stuck his bat out and slapped it the other way, utilizing the entire field as we’ve watched him do for years.

The fact that Brantley has always been a solid two-strike hitter has made him a dangerous opponent in these situations throughout his career. Furthermore, being unafraid to use every part of the diamond appears to increase his odds of connecting on timely hits. “A lot of times,” Francona said, “guys try to do more, and you get yourself into trouble. He’s a good hitter. And he’s the same hitter when there’s nobody on. But he just rarely, with a runner in scoring position especially, rarely do you see him pull off or roll over. He’ll make a pitcher beat him, and he’ll hit the ball the other way like he did today.” 5. The Indians might not have received a chance to win it in the 10th if not for Yandy Diaz’s terrific diving grab in the eighth. In the top half of the inning, Geovany Soto, facing Andrew Miller, contributed a one-out single, and Jacob May followed with a double off the right-field wall, putting runners at second and third. To hold the 1-1 tie, the Tribe brought their infielders in to attempt to cut off the run at home plate. After taking Tyler Saladino to a 1-2 count, Indians third base coach and infielder instructor Mike Sarbaugh asked Francona if he could move Diaz back a few steps. Francona approved, and the signal was relayed to Diaz. Seemingly moments later, an 84 MPH slider from Miller left Saladino’s bat at 79 MPH in Diaz’s direction. With just a little more time to react to the line drive, the 25-year-old rookie dove to his left and snared the ball in the air, recording the out and keeping the base-runners at their respective stations. The terrific grab, which earned the third baseman some immediate praise from Miller and Lindor, preserved the tie. “I can’t tell you what happened, because the ball just went into my glove,” Diaz said through team translator Anna Bolton. “I saw that the ball was in my glove when I got up off the ground.” Diaz, who has managed to play a solid third in his first taste of the majors (not bad for someone said to be “rough around the edge” this spring), felt like he wouldn’t have caught the ball if not for Sarbaugh’s timely suggestion, but the coaches are only capable of putting them in position to make the play. It’s then up to the fielder to execute. Without Diaz’s quick reflexes, Brantley wouldn’t have been able to come through in extras. “It was huge,” Lindor said. “And I was happy for him. I was happy for Miller. You know, a guy like that rarely gets hit and (Saladino) hit a good fastball. Yandy came and saved the day for Miller and saved the game for us as well.” Miller, appreciative of Diaz’s efforts, finished things off with a strikeout of Tim Anderson, ending the scoring threat with a pair of devastating sliders. 6. Brantley’s walk-off also helped erase what became a forgettable game for Edwin Encarnacion. On two separate occasions, Encarnacion came to the plate with the bases loaded, and each time, his swing resulted in ground balls to third baseman Todd Frazier, who quickly managed to start inning-ending double plays. No one is questioning if Encarnacion will ever get it going, but it certainly wasn’t the type of first impression he hoped to make with his new home fans. Through his first seven games, he is hitting just .185 with two extra-base hits and an uncharacteristically high 33 percent strikeout rate. “I always feel as frustrated as you get or as cold as you get, good hitters get that hot,” Francona said. “There will be days, hopefully soon, when I’m sitting here saying he carried us or he did this and this. He’s too good. Just right now, he’s a little stuck in-between. He’ll be fine.” 7. The Indians and White Sox will continue their three-game series Wednesday. Danny Salazar (0-0, 6.35) faces lefty Derek Holland (0-1, 3.00). First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m.

Michael Brantley delivers win with 10th-inning walk-off double as Indians down White Sox in home opener ByChris Assenheimer | The Chronicle-Telegram

CLEVELAND — Fans welcomed back the Indians to celebrate last year’s American League championship during a ceremony prior to the home opener at Progressive Field on Tuesday afternoon.

More than four hours later, they got reacquainted with Michael Brantley.

Brantley, who endured an injury-filled and unproductive season last year, delivered in his first opportunity in front of the hometown fans with a walk-off double that lifted the Indians to a 2-1 victory in 10 innings over Central Division rival Chicago.

It was just Cleveland’s second win in the last eight home openers and prevented the Indians from losing their fourth straight game after beginning the season with a three-game sweep of Texas.

They didn’t lose more than three games in a row at any point in 2016.

“It was nice for us to win. It’s added when it’s Michael,” manager Terry Francona said. “Today was a special day and for him to cap it off, I’m sure it felt really good for him. I know it felt good really good for us.”

It was pretty much the perfect return trip home for Brantley, who was limited to 11 games last year, missing all of Cleveland’s magical postseason run. “I don’t know if you can write it up any better. I guess if you hit a home run,” said Brantley, who sliced a 3-2 pitch from right-hander Tommy

Kahnle to the opposite field in left to score Francisco Lindor with the game-winning run. “We got a win. That’s all that matters. It was great to be back and part of this team.

“I was just excited. You don’t really feel your body. You’re just jumping around. It was just exciting that we won the home opener in front of our own fans. They came out and it was getting cold. Our fans hung in there for us and we were able to get a win in front of them.”

Up until that point, the offensive funk that plagued the Indians and produced just seven runs in a three-game sweep at the hands of Arizona followed them back to Cleveland. They went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position Tuesday, squandering three straight chances to bring in the go-ahead run in the sixth through eighth innings after putting the leadoff batter on base each time.

Edwin Encarnacion was the culprit twice, bouncing into inning-ending double plays with the bases loaded in the sixth and the eighth. The high- priced slugger is batting .185 with a homer and an RBI over his first seven games as an Indian.

“He’ll be OK,” Francona said. “It was a tough day and he’s had them before. I always feel that as frustrated as you get or as cold as you get, good hitters get that hot. There will be days, hopefully soon, where I’m sitting here saying that he carried us. He’s too good. Right now, he’s a little stuck in between but he’ll be fine.”

As their offensive futility mounted, Brantley said there was no sense of frustration building in the dugout.

“Not when you’re a good team like we are,” he said. “We can beat you one through nine. We just did that with two outs. It can happen anytime, so there’s no sense of urgency. There’s no rush. You’ve got to play the game and take what the game gives you and try not to do too much.

The guy behind you is just as good as the guy in front of you. It’s a special lineup.”

Pitching was far from a problem for the Indians, who got a quality outing from starter Carlos Carrasco in his second time out.

Carrasco, who struggled this spring and dealt with elbow soreness for a spell, has begun the regular season well, posting a 2.13 ERA with 14 strikeouts over 12 2»3 innings.

“I know I had a tough spring training, but when you come here and start playing real games, it’s way different,” said Carrasco, who like Brantley missed Cleveland’s postseason run after a late-season injury. “My first game I went 75 pitches. This game I went a little bit more. Today I felt the way I felt last year before I got hurt.”

“You can tell he’s starting to get confident now,” Francona said of Carrasco. “As his pitch limit grows and his endurance grows, he’ll be better, too.”

Cleveland also got a quality effort from its bullpen, with Andrew Miller, Cody Allen, Boone Logan and Bryan Shaw combining to shut out the

White Sox on two hits over the final three innings.

The Indians were flawless in the field, too, with third baseman Yandy Diaz making a diving stab on a liner from Tyler Saladino off Miller that would have scored two in the eighth — possibly preventing Brantley from playing hero. Now that they’ve recognized their 2016 accomplishments and played the home opener, the Indians can focus on the task at hand — returning to the World Series.

“We can now turn the page on all the firsts,” Francona said. “Now we can see how good we can be.”

Indians notes: Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall get their rings, but are still working to get back on the field

ByChris Assenheimer | The Chronicle-Telegram

CLEVELAND -- Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall took part in the pregame celebration of the Indians’ American League championship last year prior to Tuesday’s home opener, but neither is set to leave the disabled list.

Cleveland considered activating Chisenhall (right shoulder sprain) before the game, but the right fielder wasn’t scheduled to arrive until after noon and the team didn’t want to rush things.

“It doesn’t make much sense to make a player move right out of (pregame) introductions,” manager Terry Francona said of Chisenhall, who is expected to play in a rehab game at Double-A Akron tonight. “My guess is he’s going to play again (tonight) and then we’ll revisit whether to activate him or let him play another game.

“Just from talking to him and talking to the medical people, I think he was good with going (tonight), and then let’s revisit. I talked to him before I got on the plane the other day coming from Arizona. It was just going to be really rushed (Tuesday). I think before we activate him we want to sit down with him and let the trainers examine him. (Activating him) was just going to be really probably not the best idea.”

Chisenhall, who sustained the injury toward the end of spring training when he collided with a wall, has appeared in three rehab games for

Triple-A Columbus, going 5-for-12 with a double.

Kipnis, who was projected to miss the first two weeks of the season with right shoulder inflammation, is scheduled to play two or three times at

Akron over the next three days -- starting at second base for the RubberDucks (four at-bats) today.

He has appeared in three rehab games for Akron, going 1-for-6 with four strikeouts.

“Kip will go back (today) and play two or three in a row -- it depends. We might mix a DH in to get him to that third day in a row,” Francona said.

“It will be two (games) at the least and then we’ll go from there. He’s doing well.”

Slacking slugger

The season has begun slowly for Edwin Encarnacion, who entered Tuesday batting .217 (5-for-23) with a home run, one RBI and eight strikeouts in six games.

Francona thinks the three-time All-Star may have been pressing to make an early impression after signing the largest free-agent contract in franchise history this offseason -- three years, $60 million.

“It’s amazing because his track record is so good. I think he might have been trying to do a little much,” Francona said. “The last two at-bats

(Sunday) were really good. I was almost wishing we didn’t have an off-day (Monday) because he really ... he hit the ball off the wall, but he hit it so hard it was a single, and then he hit the line drive kind of to the left of center and I thought those were his best swings, and he took a walk the one (at-bat) before.

“He gets pitched differently than a lot of guys, but I think he was trying to maybe ... you know, we were losing those games and he was trying to do something and he chased a little bit and got a little overanxious. I don’t think ... if we’re talking about Edwin struggling in about a month, I’ll be surprised. I don’t think that will be one of the conversations we’re having. And he’ll be that guy when he gets hot, he has a chance to kind of carry a team for a while.”

Encarnacion, 34, matched a career high with 42 homers while driving in a career-high and AL-leading 127 runs last year in Toronto. Pack of leaders

At the young age of 23, All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor has emerged as a team leader, even being mentioned as a team captain -- a role that has become a thing of the past in the majors.

“I think we have a lot of guys with leadership qualities,” Francona said. There’s probably a way to grow into that. I think he is definitely doing that, but I think guys like (Michael) Brantley and the guys that have been here, I think Frankie probably takes his cue from them. But I agree that he’s got a lot of leadership qualities for sure.”

Lindor admits some of his leadership qualities have been copied from Brantley.

“I like watching him,” he said. “Every time I watch him, it makes me better. There are times when I sit in the dugout and just watch his at-bats, just because I want to see how he’s going to approach (the pitcher). Watching his experience, it’s fun.”

Packing them in?

The Indians are expected to see a significant spike in attendance this year after ranking toward the bottom of the majors the past few seasons.

“It would be exciting if that’s the case. I think we all would be appreciative,” Francona said. “I try to, when asked, I try to be honest but also respectful. I think anybody who’s ever played, it’s way more fun to play when the place is loud and full and our fans have certainly showed that.

“Also, this town hasn’t always been thriving. I don’t think it’s my place to ever tell somebody that’s working really hard for their money how to spend their money. I get it. So I try to be respectful of that also, because it’s not just cut and dry that, ‘hey, come out and watch us play. Spend your money here.’ Sometimes people only have enough to do a certain thing and this might not be it. I understand that. All said and done, it’s a lot more fun when the place is loud and rocking.” Indians’ Jason Kipnis to play with Akron and Columbus

By Jeff Schudel, The News-Herald & The Morning Journal Jason Kipnis sat in the third base dugout at Progressive Field on April 11, more than two hours before the start of the Indians home opener, squeezing and releasing, squeezing and releasing, the handles of a pair of bats with the barrel ends resting on the dugout floor.

It was like reaching in vain for an itch the Indians’ second baseman cannot scratch.

Kipnis was only a spectator for the game with the Chicago White Sox because he is on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder. He is progressing from the injury that sidelined him early in spring training, but when he will be ready to rejoin the Tribe is uncertain.

“My shoulder feels really strong,” Kipnis said. “Right now, it’s just building up the volume and trying to get the timing back. We got over the hump a couple weeks ago with the shoulder. We’ve done the right process with it. Now it’s just getting back up to game speed.”

Kipnis will make rehab starts with AA Akron and AAA Columbus over the next three days. Tribe manager Terry Francona said Kipnis might DH one of those games. Kipnis can be activated from the DL as soon as he is cleared to play.

Kipnis has already missed more games (seven) than he missed all of 2016 when he played in 156 games. He swung the bat well in batting practice April 11, driving the ball to the wall in right, center and left. He threw the ball crisply warming up in the infield.

“The amount of games (missed) isn’t frustrating,” Kipnis said. “What’s frustrating is not being out there with the guys as the season starts. You just want to be there competing alongside them.

“You’re missing out on chances to help the team win games, but at the same time, it’s part of the game. Injuries happen. It’s just getting through with it.”

Kipnis is most concerned about getting his swing back; the 30-year-old left-handed batter hit .275 with a team-high 610 at-bats last season. He drove in 82 runs and homered 23 times. He had 60 at-bats in spring training last year. He had a total of six in Arizona this spring and six more with the RubberDucks. He said he might need 25 or 50 at-bats to get his groove back, which means he might still be 10 games away from rejoining the Tribe.

“Who knows?” he said. “You don’t want to worry about results when you’re injured. You’re just worried about being healthy. But at the same time, the better the results, it’s like, ‘OK, he’s ready. We’ll bring him up.’ Obviously I’d like to do better, but time will tell. It’s not easy to get right back into it and expect to be full go.”

While Kipnis recovers, Jose Ramirez has been playing second base and Yandy Diaz third.

Right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall is also on the disabled list with a sore shoulder. He is closer than Kipnis to being activated and could rejoin the Indians by the end of the week. Cleveland Indians’ Terry Francona isn’t just a player’s manager; he’s a fan’s manager

By Jeff Schudel, The News-Herald & The Morning Journal Of all the decisions Mark Shapiro made in his five years as president of the Indians, it would be difficult to name one that was better than hiring Terry Francona five years ago to manage the team.

The Indians have finished better than .500 all four years Francona has managed the team and last year, as we all know, he took the Tribe within a run of winning the World Series for the first time since 1948.

But it is more than going to relief pitcher Andrew Miller in the fifth inning of a playoff game that sets Francona apart from his peers. Often when he meets with the media, he reveals something new in his personality. He did it again April 11 in his news conference before the home opener with the White Sox.

Francona was asked about the increase in ticket sales this year. The Indians report 1.2 million tickets have been sold, a total that wasn’t reached last year until July 4.

Fans gave Francona cause to be indignant last year. There would be nights in August and September when fewer than 10,000 witnessed the Indians’ march to the Central Division title. But he doesn’t look at it that way. He likes it when Progressive Field is packed, as it was for the opener, but he doesn’t believe the fans owe the Indians anything.

“It would be exciting (higher attendance) if that’s the case,” Francona said. “I think we’d all be appreciative.

“When asked, I try to be honest but also respectful. For anybody that’s ever played, it’s way more fun to play when the place is loud and full, and our fans have certainly showed that.

“Also, this town hasn’t always been thriving. I don’t think it’s my place to ever tell somebody that’s working really hard for their money how to spend it. It’s not just cut and dried, ‘Hey — come out and watch us play; spend your money here.’ Sometimes people only have enough to do certain things, and this might not be it. I understand that, but when all is said and done, it’s a lot more fun when the place is rocking.”

The respect Francona shows fans reflects the respect he has for his players and the respect they have for him.

“We know he has our back,” relief pitcher Bryan Shaw said. “He’s not going to give up on you if you have a bad game. That makes you want to work hard for him because you don’t want to let him down.”

Sometimes being a manager is really about massaging egos. Francona guided the Red Sox to World Series championships in 2004 and 2007 while keeping Manny Ramirez and that bunch in check.

Ceremonies before the Indians and White Sox played included raising the American League championship flag and issuing championship rings to players, coaches and others in the organization. The event gave Francona an opportunity to open the door for a peek into what made last season a success.

“They valued winning more than other teams, and picked each other up as opposed to tearing each other apart,” Francona said. “They’re all the things we talk about. It was fun to watch guys do it. It gives your team a chance to be special. That’s kind of what I felt about that team.”

Francona has a mini-challenge on his hands already. The season is only seven games old, but Edwin Encarnacion is in a funk. He grounded into a double play twice with the bases loaded in the home opener after striking out in each of his first two at-bats. He started the game batting .217. He will start the next game batting .185. Encarnacion was on deck when Michael Brantley doubled in the bottom of the 10th to drive in Francisco Lindor with the winning run.

“It was a tough day, and he’s had them before,” Francona said. “I always feel as cold as they get, good hitters get that hot. There will be days — hopefully soon — when I walk in here and say he carried us. He’s too good. Right now, he’s stuck in between. He’ll be fine.”

Encarnacion is trying to impress his teammates and fans after signing a four-year, $60 million contract over the winter. Francona is doing all he can to ease that pressure.

Cleveland Indians: Terry Francona will never complain about payroll

By John Kampf, The News-Herald There is no doubt the Indians added significant payroll in the offseason, with first baseman Edwin Encarnacion and lefty reliever Boone Logan carrying the highest price tags.

Heading into the season, the Indians’ payroll was $124,861,165 — 16th in the league and just shy of the league average of $132 million.

The addition of players — and payroll — was as out of the ordinary as was trading four minor-leaguers (including Clint Frazier) to the Yankees for high-priced reliever Andrew Miller.

“I think winning helps everything,” Manager Terry Francona said regarding adding players and payroll. “I don’t think Edwin would have wanted to come here if we were going to be in last place. Winning certainly helps.”

But Francona also pointed out adding players and payroll isn’t going to happen every year.

“I KNEW WHEN I CAME HERE WHAT THE PARAMETERS WERE, AND I STILL CAME,” HE SAID. “I DON’T THINK YOU’LL EVER HEAR ME COMPLAIN ABOUT WHAT OUR PAYROLL OR ISN’T.” FIRST PITCHES Some of the greats from Cleveland sports history threw out first pitches prior to the game. Jim Thome and Austin Carr both threw out first pitches, while legendary Cleveland Brown Jim Brown observed from the pitcher’s mound.

Cleveland Indians: Michael Brantley delivered when his team needed it

By John Kampf, The News-Herald It’s safe to say Michael Brantley has never been thankful for having a right shoulder susceptible to injury.

Until April 11.

Coming off a 2016 season in which shoulder surgery limited him to 11 games might have helped the Indians’ starting left fielder in the team’s home opener against the White Sox.

It saved him from a celebratory beatdown at the hands of his teammates.

Brantley rifled a double to the left-field corner in the bottom of the 10th inning, allowing teammate Francisco Lindor to score from first, giving the Indians a 2-1 win over the White Sox.

Usually that means a pileup of players, with the guy who delivered the game-winning hit on the bottom of the stack.

Understandably, Brantley was handled with kid gloves by his teammates after delivering his first game-winning hit in more than a year. His teammates dumped water bottles on him instead.

“I think they knew (to be careful of the shoulder),” Brantley said with a smile. “It was nice. Usually they rip your jersey and tear you up. It was nice.

“I just got a little wet. I’ll take that one. It was good.”

Brantley had taken back-to-back pitches to get to a 3-1 count against losing pitcher Tommy Kahnle. Both were a smidgen from catching the outside corner.

After a pow-wow on the mound that included all of the White Sox infielders and manager Rick Renteria — Brantley hypothesized the meeting was to give Renteria an opportunity to yell at the home-plate umpire — Brantley fouled off a pitch down the left-field line.

Facing a full count, Brantley smoked a liner down the line. He was pumping his fists going around second base as left fielder Melky Cabrera failed to get to the ball in time, thus giving Lindor more than enough time to score.

The Indians sprinted out of the dugout and chased down Brantley to celebrate.

“I was just excited. You don’t really feel your body,” Brantley said of the euphoria before being doused with water bottles by his teammates. “You’re just jumping around and I guess waiting to get wet, because you know it’s coming.”

The game-winning RBI was one of the rare clutch hits the Indians had in the game. The Indians were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position in the game. The only other run came on Lindor’s solo home run in the first inning.

“I’m happy for us,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “But to see (Brantley) do it makes it that much better.”

Francona suggested Brantley is an ideal player to have at the plate in clutch situations because of his ability to hit to all areas of the field.

“He doesn’t have to reach back for more,” Francona said. “A lot of times, guys reach back for more and get themselves in trouble. He’s a good hitter. With runners in scoring position, you rarely see him pull off or roll over.

“It’s hard to defend him because he hits the ball from line to line.”

Brantley was limited to 11 games in the 2016 season, going 9-for-39 with no home runs and seven RBI.

He was relegated to spectator duty during the Indians’ playoff run.

Brantley will never get back the at-bats or experience he missed out on last year, but he admitted this hit was special.

“I think so,” he said. “I don’t know if you can write it up any better I guess, unless you hit a home run. We got a win. That’s all that matters.”

DON’T MISS

Thunder 6, RubberDucks 4: 4-run ninth inning lifts Thunder over Ducks The RubberDucks did everything right in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Trenton Thunder on Tuesday, but nearly everything wrong in the top of the ninth in a 6-4 loss at Canal Park.

The defeat snapped a seven-game winning streak dating back to 2016 against the Thunder (2-3), who lost three in a row to the Ducks in last season’s Eastern League Championship Series.

Francisco Mejia represented the tying run in the ninth, but struck out to end the game. “We had some plays there in the ninth that should have been made that would have kept us either tied or within one run, and we kind of fell apart there,” RubberDucks manager Mark Budzinski said.

The Ducks dug themselves out of a two-run hole against former Ducks reliever J.P. Feyereisen with a gutty eighth inning to take a one-run lead on a one-out, two-run double by Mejia and a two-out infield RBI single by Mike Papi.

That’s when things went the wrong way for the Ducks (2-4), who gave up two runs earlier on a wild pitch strikeout and throwing error on the same play.

With Cameron Hill on the hill to close things out, Jorge Saez doubled to left and Thairo Estrada followed with a base hit. Devyn Bolasky rifled a shot back up the middle off Hill to load the bases, and Yu Chang booted a potential 6-4-3 double play.

Miguel Andujar and Dante Bichette Jr. sandwiched run-scoring singles around a sacrifice fly by Billy McKinney to put the game out of reach.

Hill took the loss, going 1Ҁ innings of three-hit ball. He gave up four runs — three earned — and struck out one.

“We’ll have some discussion tomorrow around not put[ting] pressure on yourself,” Budzinski said. “Don’t rush it. Turn two and we have a tie game, hopefully get out of that inning and win it in the ninth. I think guys put pressure on themselves to do too much.”

On the bright side, Julian Merryweather, who allowed five earned runs in two innings in the season opener, looked more like the 2016 version of himself.

The right-hander allowed five hits in five innings, struck out eight with no walks and didn’t give up a run to lower his ERA to 6.43.

“It’s good to go out and see the problem, fix it and make the adjustment for the next start,” Merryweather said. “The biggest thing I took out of this outing was being able to adjust and make that 180.

“I was kind of flying off my lower half. Fastballs were up in the zone, not on purpose. This start, I was able to locate down and also elevate when I want to, which is a big difference.”

Rehab warriors

If it seems like 22 percent of the Ducks’ lineup looks familiar Wednesday, it is. All-Star Jason Kipnis (right shoulder inflammation) will start at second with Lonnie Chisenhall (right shoulder inflammation) expected to start as well.

Up next

The three-game series and seven-game homestand concludes Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. Left-hander Rob Kaminsky (11-7, 3.28 ERA last season) makes his season debut for the RubberDucks. He’ll face former left-handed Indians prospect Justus Sheffield (10-6, 3.09). Sheffield was the pitcher of record for Trenton in Game 3 of the Eastern League final that gave the Ducks the 2016 championship.