Adjustments paying off for Yandy after callup By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | August 31st, 2017 + 4 COMMENTS CLEVELAND -- The idea was not to have Yandy Diaz overhaul his swing. When the Indians sent the rookie back to Triple-A Columbus in May, they praised his approach despite the results. Diaz's instructions were to continue to refine his offensive style, because Cleveland believed it can be successful.

"That's what we told him," Indians assistant hitting coach Matt Quatraro said. "It was, 'Look, we like your approach. You're hitting balls hard the other way. You've got a great eye. You just happen to be catching them deep or you're not swinging at the pitches that you can drive. So don't change anything.'" In seven games since rejoining the Indians on Aug. 22, Diaz has flashed the swing that Cleveland envisioned when it named him to the Opening Day roster. While the sample of results is small, Diaz, whom MLBPipeline.com ranked as the Indians' No. 6 prospect, has continued to show off his keen eye, while sending pitches to the opposite field with authority. Unlike in April and May, through, the balls rocketing off Diaz's bat are line drives rather than grounders. One of the buzz phrases of this Statcast™ Era has been "launch angle," and the 26-year-old Diaz was a curious case study when he broke onto the scene in April. In the season's first two months, his minus-3.5-degree launch angle was the lowest among all Major League hitters with at least 40 balls in play, but his 92-mph average exit velocity led the Indians and was the 17th-best mark in baseball. Back in Triple-A, Diaz did not specifically set out to fix his launch angle with swing changes. That can be a slippery slope for a hitter in the middle of a season. What he did was work with Columbus hitting coach Rouglas Odor on finding some hitting drills to add to his daily routine to reinforce his swing mechanics, while also concentrating on identifying better pitches to shoot the opposite way. "When I was here before, I was hitting the ball well, but it was liners down," Diaz said through team translator Anna Bolton. "I'm really happy that I'm able to make good contact, but [I wanted to] send the ball higher and out. They just told me to focus on having less ground balls and just stay with my same approach to hit the ball to right field." One change to Diaz's routine has been introducing new tee drills before every game. He said one includes placing the tee in front of the plate and using a short bat to concentrate on staying through the ball, instead of swinging around it. Quatraro noted that another point of emphasis -- due to Diaz's tendency to let pitches travel deep into the zone -- has been to target offerings higher in the strike zone. Since returning to the big leagues, Diaz has gone 8-for-20 with three doubles, one triple and twice as many walks (eight) and strikeouts (four). His average launch angle in August has been 6.2 degrees with an average exit velocity of 97.7 mph. Yandy Diaz sure has enjoyed peppering the right-field wall since returning from Triple-A Columbus. Quatraro has liked the adjustments so far from Diaz, who had a standout showing on Aug. 24, when ace Chris Sale was on the mound for the Red Sox. In that game, Diaz finished 4-for-4 with three extra-base hits -- each putting a dent in the right-field wall in Cleveland. "It was great to see," Quatraro said. "He didn't say this, but it was that sense of like, 'I can do this.' You should be happy about that. Those are the things that don't happen every day. So when they do, it's something that may be a stepping stone for him."

McKenzie fans 10 again for Lynchburg By Mike Rosenbaum / MLB.com | 3:13 AM ET + 0 COMMENTS • No. 24 overall prospect Triston McKenzie (Indians' No. 2) pushed his Minor League-leading strikeout total to 186 with his sixth double-digit strikeout performance this season for Class A Lynchburg. The 21-year-old righty racked up 10 strikeouts without issuing a walk over seven innings, allowing one run on five hits. Named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Year earlier in the day, McKenzie sports a 3.46 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP across 143 innings (25 starts) this season, during which he's held opposing hitters to a .203 clip. "I'm feeling really good, just kind of glad I went out there and competed for my team and gave us an opportunity to win," McKenzie told MiLB.com. "It's just kind of being on the same page as my catcher [Martin Cervenka] and being on the same page as my coach [Rigo Beltran]. It's going out there with an intensity from pitch one. "I'd say it's a big part of my success right now," the right-hander said of working with Cervenka. "It aids in different things, especially with my game, speed of play and stuff like that. It kind of lets me focus less on what pitches to call and more on just executing the pitches he puts down."

Covering the Bases: Off-day leftovers by Jordan Bastian Leftover news and notes as September looms… FIRST: When reports began to spread in December that Aroldis Chapman was signing a mammoth contract to return to the Yankees as a free- agent, reliever Nick Goody was excited. He wasted little time in hopping on Twitter to post a quick note of congratulations.

Chap brings the heat to #NYC!

That was on Dec. 8. It took some time for New York to finalize its five-year, $86-million contract with Chapman, who officially donned the pinstripes on Dec. 15. Goody, meanwhile, was preparing to head to Saint Lucia with his new bride when his phone rang.

The honeymoon would be a welcomed distraction, because the Yankees designated Goody for assignment to clear a roster spot for Chapman.

“It was like, ‘All right, well that sucked,’” Goody said earlier this week, when he returned to Yankee Stadium for the first time as a visitor. “They told me the reasoning. They were signing Chapman. He’s pretty established. They needed a roster spot. [I was] expendable. It’s a business move. That’s business.

“The Yankees had been awesome. That’s all I knew until I came here. I have nothing bad to say about them. Great organization, great people. It’s business. It’s a family, but it’s business.”

Five days after swallowing that bitter pill, Goody’s agent texted him with some news. The pitcher had been traded to the Indians.

Goody had already been teammates with Andrew Miller in New York. He knew Cody Allen from their high school playing days. Goody played against in Junior College and knew Francisco Lindor was also from the Orlando area. He knew Tyler Olson, too.

If there was one team Goody could’ve hand-picked, this was it.

“I was like, ‘All right,’” Goody said. “I was super excited. I couldn’t be mad. These guys were just in the World Series last year. They all seemed like quality dudes from afar and then when you’re actually in here, it’s like, ‘All right. This is a family.’”

It didn’t take much for Cleveland to land Goody — just a player to be named later (Minor Leaguer Yoiber Marquina, who hasn’t played in 2017, was eventually the piece sent to the Yankees). Pitching coach Mickey Callaway said there was a reason Goody became so expendable.

“Luckily, we were able to get him,” Callaway said, “probably because he didn’t use his pitches right.”

Goody boasts a 2.98 ERA through 44 appearances for Cleveland this year and, on the surface, it’s hard to see what Callaway meant. The righty used his fastball 52.2% of the time last year and uses it 51.2% of the time this year. Goody featured his slider 47.9% of the time in 2016, compared to 48.8% this season. That’s not much different at all.

The difference can be found by peeling back one more layer.

Against right-handed batters, which is Goody’s specialty, he has thrown his slider 54.9% of the time this year, compared to 47.4% in ’16. The fastball use against righties has dropped to 45.1%, compared to 52.6% a year ago.

Goody has held righties to a .200 average and .299 wOBA this season, compared to a .206 average and .324 wOBA last year.

Against lefties, Goody uses an opposite approach. His fastball percentage against left-handed batters has spiked to 62.8% this year, compared to 51.3% in ’16. On the other side, the righty has dropped his slider use to lefties to 37.2%, down from 48.7% last season.

Lefties hit .357 with a .447 wOBA off Goody in 2016, but he’s improved those marks to .200 and .258 this year with the Indians. Overall, Goody has seen his strikeout percentage jump (34.1% in ’17 from 26.6% in ‘16), his strikeout-minus-walk ratio improve (23.3% from 17.2%) and his FIP cut down drastically (3.39 from 5.28). Goody is giving up fewer home runs (1.2 HR/9, compared to 2.2 in ’16) and didn’t allow an earned run in his first 17 outings of the season.

“He’s been outstanding,” Callaway said. “Obviously, what I think he’s really done to put himself in a position to have success is he’s using his pitches like they should be used. … He’s doing a really good job using his slider when he should use his slider and using it the majority of the time, and relying on that fastball location that he goes to when he’s going good.”

After the Indians acquired Goody, Callaway said he had long conversations in the offseason with the reliever about altering that approach. Goody was on board.

“I could tell that they had full confidence in me and in the pitches that I had,” Goody said. “That’s huge, especially for me coming to a new organization. Right off the bat, I’m talking to the pitching coach and building a relationship. You can’t ask for much more than that.”

“As far as using the pitches,” he continued later, “they weren’t crisp. I threw a lot of fastballs. Being able to break it up and have my slider working a little bit better has been huge for me. With them showing the confidence in me, that’s huge.”

It’s also fun to put Goody’s numbers next to Chapman’s right now.

Chapman: 38.1 IP, 4.23 ERA, 52 K, 18 BB, 34 H Goody: 45.1 IP, 2.98 ERA, 63 K, 18 BB, 33 H

“When the trade happened, I was like, ‘This is it,’” Goody said. “I was praying to God, ‘Just put me where I need to be to be the most successful.’ I think I ended up exactly where I needed to be. I truly believe in that. Cleveland has been awesome.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better place to have ended up. I love it here and if it were up to me, I would keep this whole group of guys for the rest of my career.”

SECOND: Launch angle is all the rage these days. And when Yandy Diaz was leading baseball in negative degrees in April, the easy thing for fans to shout was that he needed to go to the Minors and fix it. Well, it looks like Diaz may have done just that, but he didn’t go about it with any dramatic mechanical changes to his swing. You can go frame- by-frame on his at-bats from April and then compare it to August, and you’d be hard-pressed to find something drastically different.

“We haven’t told him, ‘Hey, we want you to try to lift it,’” Indians assistant hitting coach Matt Quatraro said.

And yet, Diaz is… lifting it.

Diaz had a -3.5-degree launch angle across April and May, and he’s posted a 6.2-degree L.A. in his limited sample of August balls in play. His exit velo in April-May led the Indians (92 mph on average) and it’s remained strong in August (97.7 mph), but now the ball is going up and slamming into the right-field wall. So, what were Diaz’s instructions when he went to Triple-A for the past three months? One goal was to identify better pitches to shoot the other way. Another was to focus on maintaining better mechanics, staying “through the ball” rather than swinging “around” the ball.

The Indians did not want to mess with Diaz’s tendency to let balls travel deep into the zone, or give his swing a makeover.

“He’s done this his whole life, and he’s not 21,” Quatraro said. “He’s young in experience. But, he still has years of doing it this way. So, if we were to say to him, ‘OK, now you’re in the big leagues, do something different,’ that’s not going to be successful.” Diaz worked with Columbus hitting coach Rouglas Odor on adding some daily drills to his hitting routine. He’s continued those back with the Indians. Quatraro also said that pitch selection is critical to get the most out of Diaz’s style.

“He’s naturally a guy that makes contact very deep,” Quatraro explained. “And when guys make contact very deep, that lends itself to more ground balls. So, if you do that, then you’ve got to know what pitches are more likely to not lead to ground balls. [During his 4-for-4 game on Aug. 24], he got some good pitches more up in the zone, middle to the top part of the zone. He still caught them deep, but he got on plane with those balls and got them elevated.”

Let’s show you what Quatraro is talking about. Here are all of Diaz’s swings in April-May: And here are his August swings: Again, it’s important to note that the sample of results in August is exceptionally small, but that gives you a glimpse of the idea here. You can see that Diaz has targeted pitches more elevated and away in order to send some heat-seekers to right field.

The other question the Indians need to solve is where exactly Diaz can fit in the field. In Game 2 of Wednesday’s doubleheader, Edwin Encarnacion played first and Carlos Santana manned right field. That allowed Cleveland to keep Diaz’s bat in the order as the DH. For one game, Diaz got the nod at third, because the opposing team had a lot of lefties in the lineup. Manager Terry Francona didn’t expect a wave of grounders to go to the hot corner, and he could always pull Diaz late to improve the infield defense.

Defense is a priority right now for the Indians, and manager Terry Francona loves the sure-handed options (Gio Urshela and Erik Gonzalez, most notably) he has on the bench. Diaz can offer more offense, but is it worth the potential sacrifice in the field? Diaz has outfield experience, but the Indians have plenty of options out there, and potentially more coming in September (via the DL and the Minors).

“I don’t think it’s wrong to ever say that a guy’s a work in progress,” Francona said, “whether it’s defensively or offensively. That’s not a jab at anybody. As long as they hold up their end of the bargain and they get after it and keep working.

“Because, I think we think with Yandy that he’s going to be a really good hitter, but we want him to be reliable defensively, and he just has some work to do.”

THIRD: Remember when the Astros were going to run away with the top seed in the American League? Do you recall when it was basically a lock that Cleveland would open the playoffs on the road in Boston?

Not so fast. Let’s check out how things have changed… AL division leaders (Through July 20): 1. Astros 63–32 (—) 2. Red Sox 54–43 (10 GB) 3. Indians 48–45 (13 GB)

AL division leaders (Through Aug. 30): 1. Astros 79–53 ( — ) 2. Indians 76–56 (3 GB) 3. Red Sox 76–57 (3.5 GB)

Back on July 20, the Indians were coming off a 1–6 stretch that included a miserable 1–5 trek through Oakland and San Francisco. After the fifth loss on that West coast swing, here’s what setup man Bryan Shaw had to say:

“We’re not really worried about what anyone else is doing, because if we win and they win, it doesn’t matter. If they lose and we lose, it doesn’t matter. We just have to do what we do and play like we play. Hopefully, in the end it will take care of itself.”

It’s been taking care of itself for the past six weeks. But, what about the next four? Here’s how the September schedule shapes up for the three division leaders, who are all very much in contention for the AL’s top seed and home-field:

Indians Home: 16 games Road: 14 games vs. 500+ teams: 9 games Astros Home: 13 games Road: 17 games vs. .500+ teams: 10 games Red Sox Home: 16 games Road: 12 games vs. .500+ teams: 10 On paper, it looks like the Indians have the best road of the three, but six of those road games will be another West coast swing (at Angels and at Mariners). That said, Cleveland ends with a series against the White Sox at home, while the Astros will be in Boston for four critical games to end the season. Buckle up.

HOME: Reinforcements are coming. When the Indians head to Comerica Park on Friday for their second doubleheader in a three-day span, there will be a few extra players joining the active roster. Reliever Shawn Armstrong will likely be there, ending his season-long shuttling between Triple-A and the Majors.

In terms of notable prospects, expect catcher Francisco Mejia to get the call. It was reported on Tuesday that Mejia will be trying his hand at third base in the to potentially add versatility. Even so, carrying a third catcher is pretty standard for September, and Mejia is the only extra backstop on the 40-man roster. ESPN has also reported that outfield prospect Greg Allen will be getting the call to the Majors straight from Double-A Akron. That would give Cleveland an intriguing speedster and plus outfield defender for the season’s home stretch.

The Indians are also planning on activating pitcher Josh Tomlin from the DL, along with outfielders Abraham Almonte and Lonnie Chisenhall. There is a chance Chisenhall won’t be in Detroit for the whole series, as he’s dealing with some family matters right now. But, he’ll be back in the fold.

Also on the injury front: Lefty Andrew Miller has resumed playing catch, Danny Salazar has a sim game scheduled for Friday and Jason Kipnis is back to light running. There hasn’t been much to report lately on Michael Brantley, who has resumed some baseball activities, but hasn’t been cleared yet to run, per the latest update from Francona. QUOTABLE: “I did that a little bit in 2013 and wasn’t nearly as successful as he’s been this year. Hat’s off to him on that. It’s a tough thing to do. The travel, breaking up your routines. You go up, you go down. You pitch on seven days, you pitch on five days, you pitch on who knows what. You come up here, you don’t have any information on the hitters, because you get here the day of or whatever. It’s a big testament to him. He comes out, he executes his game plan. He goes out there, he throws strikes, he forces the other team to beat him, he executes quality pitches. It’s been really fun to watch.” — Trevor Bauer, on Merritt’s showing as a spot starter this year NOTE: I will not be in Detroit or Chicago for the next two series. Friday is MLBastian Jr.’s birthday and we have a big week here on the family front. I will return to the press box when the Tribe returns to Progressive Field on Sept. 8 to take on the Orioles.

Indians notebook: Indians, Jay Bruce continue to raise donations in response to Hurricane Harvey; roster call-ups coming By Ryan Lewis Texas native Jay Bruce and the Indians have now raised more than $90,000 to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey. Bruce is from Beaumont, Texas, and along with his wife, Hannah, pledged to match any donations sent to Charities up to $100,000 through Sept. 10. Bruce tweeted on Thursday that as of 4 p.m. fans had raised $91,488.89. On top of Bruce’s family matching $100,000, the Indians announced this week that all donations sent to Cleveland Indians Charities through Sept. 10 will impact nonprofits in Texas affected by the devastating hurricane. Fans can donate at indians.com/Bruce. Roster call-ups Major-league rosters expand to 40 players on Friday, affording teams the ability to either call up prospects without losing a roster spot or the chance to add some depth for the stretch run to the postseason. According to ESPN’s Keith Law, outfielder Greg Allen will be among those being promoted by the Indians. Allen this season is hitting .264 with a .344 on-base percentage, 16 doubles and 21 stolen bases in 303 plate appearances for the RubberDucks. Allen, the No. 8 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, was nearly on his way to Milwaukee last season when the Indians and Brewers agreed to a trade involving catcher just prior to the nonwaiver deadline. Once Lucroy vetoed that trade, the Indians kept Allen, along with current No. 1-ranked prospect Francisco Mejia — another call-up candidate — and two others. On Friday, Allen will reportedly get his first chance at the major-league level with the Indians, in part thanks to Lucroy’s veto. Minor trade The Indians on Thursday completed a deal with the , sending away minor-league catcher Erik Kratz for cash considerations. Kratz, 37, this season hit .270 with 16 home runs, 16 doubles and 37 RBI in 86 games for Triple-A Columbus. Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: 09.01.2017 Francisco Mejia, Greg Allen expected to join Cleveland Indians on Friday when roster expands By Paul Hoynes, CLEVELAND, Ohio - Reinforcements will join the Indians on Friday in Detroit for a day-night doubleheader and Class AA Akron teammates Francisco Mejia and outfielder Greg Allen are expected to be two of them. Mejia and Allen were not on Akron's Eastern League roster as of Thursday. Big league clubs can expand their rosters to 40 players starting Friday. ESPN reported on Thursday that Allen, a switch-hitter, will join the Indians. Allen and Mejia were in big league camp with the Indians in spring training. Allen, a sixth round pick out of San Diego State in 2014, hit .264 (68-for-258) with 16 doubles and 24 RBI in 71 games at Akron. He scored 37 runs and stole 21 bases in 23 attempts. He missed time this season with a broken hamate bone in his right hand. He could help the Indians in the outfield and be a threat as a pinch-runner. Mejia is headed for the Arizona Fall League in October where he will learn to play third base. The Indians say the switch-hitting Mejia will still catch, but they want to see if he can play third as well to increase his versatility. This year Mejia is hitting .297 (103-for-347) with 21 doubles, 14 homers and 52 RBI. He has an .855 OPS. The Indians signed Mejia as a free agent on July 2, 2012 in the Dominican Republic. Earlier in the week manager Terry Francona said the Indians promote some players on Friday for the doubleheader at Comerica Park. He said other would be promoted on Tuesday when the minor-league seasons end. Trade: The Indians have traded catcher Erik Katz to the Yankees for cash. Katz, who was in big league camp with the Indians this spring, hit .270 (76-for-282) with 13 homers and 37 RBI at Class AAA Columbus. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 09.01.2017 Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers series preview, pitching matchups By Paul Hoynes, CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Here's a look at the four-game series between the Indians and Tigers that starts Friday night. Where: Comerica Park, Friday through Sunday. TV/radio: SportsTime Ohio, WTAM/1100 and WMMS/FM 100.7. Pitching matchups: RHP Carlos Carrasco (13-6, 3.78) vs. LHP Matt Boyd (5-8, 6.32) on Friday at 1:10 p.m.; RHP Mike Clevinger (7-5, 3.72) vs. RHP Buck Farmer (3-1, 6.17) on Friday at 7:10 p.m.; RHP Corey Kluber (13-4, 2.63) vs. RHP Jordan Zimmerman (8-11, 6.08) Saturday at 6:10 p.m. and RHP Josh Tomlin (7-9, 5.38) vs. RHP Michael Fulmer (10-12, 3.82) on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. Series: The Indians and Tigers have split 12 games this year. Tigers lead, 1,118-1,077, overall. Team updates: The Indians take a seven-game winning streak into Comerica Park for Friday's day-night doubleheader. They just completed a 19-9 August and lead. Jose Ramirez is hitting .439 (18-for-41) with six homers and 18 RBI against the Tigers this year. The Tigers traded Justin Upton to the Angels on Thursday. Upton was their team leader in average, homers, RBI, hits and OPS. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Injuries: Indians - LHP Andrew Miller (right knee), RHP Danny Salazar (right elbow), OF Abraham Almonte (left hamstring), LF Michael Brantley (right ankle), RHP Tomlin (left hamstring), LHP Boone Logan (left lat), RF Lonnie Chisenhall (right calf) and RHP Cody Anderson (right elbow) are on the disabled list. OF Brandon Guyer (neck) is day to day. Tigers - DH Victor Martinez (irregular heartbeat), LHP Daniel Norris (left groin) and RHP Anibal Sanchez (left hamstring) are on the disabled list. Next: The Indians open a four-game series against the White Sox on Monday night at Guaranteed Rate Field. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 09.01.2017 Cleveland Indians 'stay in the moment' to go 17-6 in a stretch of 23 games in 23 days By Paul Hoynes, CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Don't think, just do. That's how a baseball teams plays 23 games in 23 days. Play one game, cross it off the list and play the next. The Indians just finished that exercise with a doubleheader sweep of the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. If last year's team was defined by their 14-game winning streak, perhaps this year's team with be galvanized by the past 23 games. It started on Aug. 8 against the Rockies at Progressive Field and ended Wednesday in the Bronx. The Indians went 17-6, stretching their lead in the AL Central from four to seven games. They went from nine games over .500 at 59-50 to season-high 20 games over .500 at 76-56. If this isn't a runaway train, it soon could be. In those 23 games, they put Michael Brantley, Andrew Miller, Danny Salazar, Jason Kipnis and Abraham Almonte on the disabled list. The injury situation was so grave that they acquired Jay Bruce from the Mets on Aug. 9 and he promptly put together an 11-game hitting streak. They also received help from the minors with the promotions of Yandy Diaz, Erik Gonzalez, Ryan Merritt and Craig Breslow. On Aug. 17, the Indians split a day-night doubleheader against the Twins. They lost the second game, 4-2, and manager Terry Francona was concerned. He thought his players looked tired. They next day they opened a three-game series against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Francona, who had already shortened batting practice coming out of the All-Star break to keep the players fresh, told the team to report to the ballpark later than normal. When they walked into the visitor's locker room at The K, there was a disc jockey spinning tunes and a pop-a-shot basketball machine for a tournament. "We're just trying to have a little bit of fun," said Francona. The Indians took two out of three from the Royals before returning home to split a four-game series with Boston and throw three straight shutouts in a return match with the Royals. They finished the trek in style, winning seven straight games. "We just try to stay in the moment," said Francona, when asked how a team copes when it stares down the barrel of that many consecutive games. "You don't look that far ahead, because it doesn't help. Terry Francona, Indians shows appreciation for the players "Like today (Wednesday), we tried to show up and play a good game the first game, quickly regroup and play a good game the second game. Now, we'll go into Detroit and try to do the same thing. We don't get that far ahead. It doesn't help. It can appear daunting, so we don't need to do that." The starting rotation went 16-3 with a 2.36 ERA (38 earned runs in 145 innings) over the 23 games. They struck out 163 and walked 39. Trevor Bauer went 4-0, Corey Kluber 4-1 and Salazar 1-1 before returning to the disabled list with a sore right elbow. Carlos Carrasco went 3-1, Mike Clevinger 2-1 and super sub Ryan Merritt 2-0 in three starts. Ryan Merritt completes doubleheader sweep for Indians over Yankees The Tribe's pitching staff enters this weekend's four-game series against Detroit leading the AL with a 3.57 ERA. The rotation is ranked No.1 at 3.87 as is the bullpen at 3.01. The rotation has come a long way from posting consecutive ERAs of 4.78 and 4.81 ERAs in April and May. "I knew we weren't going to continue to have ups and downs and not be elite," said pitching coach Mickey Callaway. "I think these guys are really, really good and I knew it would even itself out and it has. "For Merritt to come up and do what he's done, Clevinger to fill in the way he has -- that's a testament to our minor-league development guys. They're doing a great job of getting guys to throw the ball over the plate and come up here without any anxiety and pitch in the major leagues." Offensively, the Indians outscored the opposition, 118-62. They did it by hitting .292 (54-for-185) with runners in scoring position. That statistic has bedeviled the Indians for much of the season, but not during this stretch. The Indians received production from all parts of the lineup. Edwin Encarnacion hit only .208, but nine of his 15 hits were home runs. He added 14 RBI. Francisco Lindor hit .270 (27-for-100) with seven homers and 11 RBI. Yan Gomes hit .375 (12-for-35) with four homers and 16 RBI. Carlos Santana hit .340 (22-for-71) with five homers and 11 RBI. Roberto Perez, who shares the catching duties with Gomes, hit .357 (10-for-28) with two homers and 10 RBI. Austin Jackson hit .309 (21-for- 68) with three homers and 11 RBI. Bruce proved to be a valuable addition, hitting .279 (19-for-68) with four homers and 13 RBI. "This is a team," said Encarnacion. "This is a great team. Everybody contributes. Ninth hitter, seventh hitter, fourth hitter, whoever is out there is going to try to do their best to help win games. And with the pitching that we have, it's not surprising what we've done. We have a great staff." But there is still work to do. After Thursday's off day, the Indians start a stretch of 18 games in 17 days. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 09.01.2017 How Jay Bruce reinvented himself and others can, too By Travis Sawchik Baseball is always changing, evolving, but it has never changed this fast. It has never been so extreme. Jay Bruce has lived through it. His rookie season, in 2008, was the first year the revolutionary pitch-tracking system, PITCHf/x, was installed in every major-league stadium. Among its many advances, it allowed for batters’ strengths and weaknesses to be easily identifiable. In his rookie year, shifts were curiosities; they are, of course, now commonplace. In his rookie year, 95 mph off the mound still seemed rare. Now it is an expectation, particularly out of bullpens. Pitching velocity has increased every year since Bruce has been in the majors. The game was changing quickly, and Bruce was not changing with it. Bruce estimates nearly a year ago to the day in late August, in the depths of the indoor batting cage at Citi Field in New York — something of a concrete bunker furnished with AstroTurf carpeting and draped with netting — Mets hitting coach Kevin Long approached Bruce to talk. Bruce had struggled mightily since joining the Mets. After being acquired before the trade deadline, Bruce had hit .183 in August for the Mets. A year earlier he had batted just .226 for the season, and he was even worse in 2014, posting a career-low .217 average and 79 wRC+. “I was terrible and anyone who ever watched a Mets baseball game, for about a month, hated me,” Bruce told The Athletic. Long is regarded as one of the top hitting coaches in the game. It was under his watch that Robinson Cano became a star with the Yankees and hitters like former Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy used some of his instruction to transform from a so-so regular into a star. In the private and confidential setting of the indoor batting cage, Long did not intend to dramatically change Bruce, but he did think Bruce could adapt and improve. The Mets’ coaching staff did not want to overwhelm Bruce with data, but they did present some key findings. In 2010, Bruce’s second full season in the majors, the lefty hit .288 on ground balls. He hit .289 on grounders the following season. But his average had plummeted to .177 on grounders in 2015 and .208 last season. What changed? Defenses. In 2010, Bruce put the ball in play against 13 shifts and only 27 shifts in 2011. Last season? That number jumped to 385, and Bruce will pass it easily this season as he’s already faced 295 shifts, according to FanGraphs. Most ground balls are pulled by all batters. Bruce has only hit 8.9 percent of grounders to the opposite field for his career. Defenses were changing, and so were pitchers who were throwing harder and trying to find batters' ground-ball hot spots. “You evolve or you die,” Bruce said. “The game always shifts and changes and evolves and gets better.” And the game has never changed so fast thanks to 21st century-developed talent and technology. This is a story about why Bruce is important to the Indians. With Lonnie Chisenhall and Michael Brantley injured, the Indians needed a left- handed bat. With the club ranking eighth in the AL in home runs, they needed Bruce’s power (he is one shy of matching his career high of 34 home runs), particularly in the postseason where the pitching is better — the mistake pitches are fewer and further between — and the team that can best damage poor pitches is often at an advantage. But this is also a story about the power of change in baseball, how players are perhaps more malleable than we believe, and how other players and teams can follow Bruce. *** When Long met with Bruce, he brought enough information to underscore and illustrate his points without overwhelming him. While Bruce was made aware of how balls on the ground were killing him, he was also made aware of his strengths: few batters were more effective when pulling fly balls. Since 2007, only five major leaguers have converted a greater percentage of fly balls hit to their pull side into home runs than Bruce’s 40.9 percent mark: Miguel Cabrera, Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano, Prince Fielder and Adam Dunn. Long was asking Bruce to do more of what he did best: launch balls in the air to right-center field, his pull side. Long was asking Bruce to go against traditional teaching. “All I heard my whole life was ‘Stay up the middle, hit [toward] the pitcher,’” Bruce said. “Now if I hit a [ground ball] up the middle I am out every single time. … My whole career I've heard ‘You have to use the whole field, you have to hit it the other way.' The [Mets] said listen ‘Why don’t you do what you do best more often? Everything else is going to fall into place.' It has been nothing but true.” This season, Bruce has a career-best slugging mark (.521) and the second-best wRC+ (122) of his career. “You have to recognize the age-old-approach sayings don't apply anymore,” Bruce said. “No one is wrong for saying those things because that’s how it happened, but if you think you can keep doing the same things over and over again and have success, while everyone else is changing, you are misinformed.” Bruce had never tried to hit ground balls, he has always been more of a fly-ball hitter. But the idea being put forth to him was to become even more of a fly-ball hitter. And Bruce has done just that this season with the Mets and Indians, posting a career best fly-ball rate of 47 percent. Twenty percent of his fly balls have gone for home runs. Part of the changes were to understand the pitches he could drive and more often swing at those pitches. And Bruce began to try to hunt and connect with those pitches as is detailed in the following heat maps of Bruce's swing frequency for Baseball Savant: Here are all Bruce’s swings from 2016:

And all Bruce’s swings from 2017:

While subtle, Bruce has raised his sights. “It’s been putting the pitches in the air that I can put in the air,” said Bruce, who is crushing fastballs and curveballs this season. Bruce began to select better pitches to hit, but Long also wanted Bruce to employ a more efficient swing, a more compact swing, and to arrive there, they employed a specific drill. In the batting cage, Long placed a net, an obstruction, on the outside corner of the plate. He then flipped balls to Bruce who was tasked to drive them in the air to right-center field without hitting the barrier with his swing, something like trying to take a swing in a phone booth. While unusual, it was a drill that helped turn Cano from a nice player into a star. To demonstrate before his locker, Bruce takes an imaginary bat in his left-handed stance and begins by moving his hands closer to his left shoulder in his setup positions. “You can’t get outside so it makes you be super compact,” Bruce said of the drill. “You have to use your legs or else you are going to come up around the ball. It was the drill for me. … We kept working at it and kept chipping away. It became a more consistent swing, but the swing I’ve aways had.” It’s a more compact swing, and a swing offering at more pitches he can lift and damage. The swing is proof players — and teams — can change. *** What’s interesting about the Bruce story is not just from the individual perspective, the micro level, but also in examining changing batted-ball profiles at the team level, the macro view. The Mets have become an outlier in posting some the game’s lowest ground ball rates under Long — they rank second in the majors this year. Players like Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker (since traded to the Brewers) have joined the Mets and increased their ability to drive and damage pitches. The Mets are evidence that teams can change their collective batted-ball profile just as the Pirates collectively changed their pitchers’ ground ball rates to produce MLB-record ground ball rates from 2013-15 en route to three consecutive postseason appearances. The Dodgers are the best team in the game for many reasons this year, but one reason is they have decreased their ground-ball rate by the third-largest mark in the sport (3.9 percent). And one reason is because Justin Turner, the former Met, a Johnny Appleseed of the air-ball revolution, has been spreading the word in Los Angeles. The Indians have the seventh-lowest ground-ball rate this season (42.9 percent) and posted the seventh-lowest rate (42.6 percent) last season. While Terry Francona said last week that the club doesn’t use words like “launch angle” when instructing players, hitting coach Matt Quatraro told The Athletic the process they teach is designed to get hitters in position to drive the ball in the air. “We don't start with ‘Here’s the ideal launch angle, and let’s work back from here,’ ” Quatraro said. “What we try to do is talk about getting into a strong position consistently, being on your legs consistently, so when you fire your legs properly and that [kinetic] chain takes over, you are more likely to be connected and stay through the ball as opposed to a hands-first mentality.” They are trying to teach processes that ultimately arrive at the results of line drives and home runs. “As far I’m concerned, you want to hit as many line drives as possible,” Quatraro said. “No one has ever said ‘We are going to win by hitting a bunch of grounders.' ” Quatraro believes it can be dangerous to implement dramatic changes with a young player like Yandy Diaz, who has elite exit velocity, but is pounding balls into the ground. He theorizes it might make more sense to implement team-wide changes to batted-ball profile with a more veteran group, like the Mets. But Bruce is evidence an individual can change their profile. The Mets and Dodgers are team-level examples of how batted-ball profiles can change. And because Bruce’s career year is supported by underlying skill changes, he is an impending free agent the Indians might want to consider keeping around. The game has evolved. So, too, has Bruce.

Clippers 14, Mud Hens 3 | Ex-Buckeye Tully, offense key win Ohio State product Tanner Tully overcame a rough start to pitch seven strong innings, and seven batters had two hits each as the Clippers cruised to a 14-3 victory over the Toledo Mud Hens on Thursday before 7,438 at Huntington Park.

Tully, who pitched for the Buckeyes from 2014 to ’16 before becoming a 26th-round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians, allowed all three runs on four doubles in the top of the first inning. But he settled down to pitch six shutout innings after that, allowing only four more hits. He struck out three and walked one in his Clippers debut, after stints with two teams in Class A and double-A Akron.

The early 3-0 deficit didn’t last long. A bases-loaded walk and wild pitch by Mud Hens starter Daniel Norris cut the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the first, and run-scoring hits by Tyler Naquin, Ronny Rodriguez and Mike Papi in the second gave the Clippers the lead for good at 5-3.

Norris (0-4) lasted just two innings, yielding five runs on five hits, with four walks and two strikeouts.

Columbus blew open the game with two three-run homers in the late innings. Nellie Rodriguez went deep off Kyle Ryan in the seventh to make it 9-3, and Eric Stamets’ shot off Matt den Dekker was part of a five-run eighth that capped the scoring.

The Clippers totaled 16 hits off five Toledo pitchers.

Captains’ Conner Capel keeping close tabs on flood-stricken Texas hometown

By David Glasier , The News-Herald Baseball is an important part of Conner Capel’s life.

As a minor-league outfielder for the Indians, assigned this season to the full-season Single-A , the game is his full-time job.

But there are times when baseball must take a back seat to real life.

Capel, 20, was born and raised in Katy, Texas. He still makes his offseason home in the thriving suburb of Houston.

If you’ve been paying attention to the news in recent days, you know Houston, Katy, Beaumont, Port Arthur and many other cities and towns in southeast Texas and neighboring Louisiana have been ravaged by flooding in the wake of Hurricane Harvey’s landfall on Aug. 26.

As focused as he is on baseball in the waning days of the 2017 season, Capel has been keeping close tabs on family and friends in Katy and neighboring communities.

Capel’s parents, Mike and Liz Capel, live in Katy with their other two sons, Ryan and Kyle. Primarily though a steady stream of text message exchanges with his mother, Capel knows the family home was spared flood damage.

“Everybody is safe. The house is good. We got lucky. It was close,” Capel said on Aug. 31 before the Captains hosted the Lansing (Mich.) Lugnuts at Classic Park.

“A lot of friends and people I know, their houses are still underwater like four of five feet,” Capel added. “I was definitely concerned for my family and friends, worrying about them and wishing I was there to help in some way.”

Residents of southeast Texas live with the knowledge their part of the country has been hit with damaging hurricanes many times in the past.

“I remember us going through two hurricanes when I was growing up,” Capel said. “We evacuated to Austin for one of them and stayed at home for the other one. There was lots of rain and wind, but nothing like this. I don’t think anyone knew this hurricane would be as big as it is and cause this much damage.”

Capel said he’ll begin the drive home to Katy on Sept. 5, the day after the Captains finish the regular season in Michigan against the Great Lakes Loons.

LUGNUTS PLAY LONG BALL

Lansing got solo home runs from David Jacob, Yeltsin Gudino and Javier Harnandez en route to a 7-4 victory in the showdown between Midwest League Eastern Division bottom-dwellers.

Lake County starter and eventual loser Luis Jimenez (2-8, 6.60 ERA) surrendered all the round trippers and two other runs in five innings.

Lansing starter Yennsy Diaz (5-2, 4.79 ERA) earned the win. He gave up three runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. All of those runs came on Captains designated hitter Li-Jen Chu’s in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Lugnuts improved to 26-40. Lake County slipped to 25-41.

Mitch Longo promoted from Captains to advanced Single-A Lynchburg By David Glasier, The News-Herald The Indians moved outfielder Mitch Longo from the Captains to the advanced Single-A Lynchburg (Va.) Hillcats on Aug. 31. In 55 games with Lake County, the former Mayfield High School and Ohio University standout batted .361 with four home runs and 25 RBI.

Longo got his first start for the Hillcats against the Potomac (Md.) Nationals on Aug. 31. He had three singles in four at-bats for the Carolina League playoffs-bound Hillcats.

Tigers trade 'class act' Justin Upton to Angels Chris McCosky, The Detroit News Published 2:56 p.m. ET Aug. 31, 2017 Detroit — The simple truth is Justin Upton was entering his final month as a Tiger, regardless. As the Tigers shifted from contending to retooling to what now appears to be flat-out rebuilding, the chances of Upton waiving the opt-out clause in his contract after this season became more remote. Upton hinted as much two weeks ago when he said, “I think all the veterans in here want to know what direction we’re going and what the future of the organization is. Al (Avila, general manager) has an open door and I’m sure guys will try to figure out what’s going on.” Upton got the answer he was looking for. And once Avila surmised Upton would be opting out of his contract after the season, he had little choice but to act quickly and try to get something for him now before losing him for nothing in the offseason. Thus, on Thursday, Upton was traded to the Los Angeles Angels for right-handed pitching prospect Grayson Long and a player to be named later. The Tigers confirmed the trade at 4 p.m. “He has been a consummate professional in his time here,” said Avila in a statement. “The Tigers and his family wish him the best moving forward.” The Tigers are expected to pay a portion the remainder of Upton’s $22.1 million salary for this season ($1 million, as reported by Jon Heyman). The opt-out clause becomes the Angels concern now, as does the remaining four years and $88.5 million on his contract. In long letter to fans, Tigers plead for patience “I am going to miss Up, both on the field and in the clubhouse,” manager Brad Ausmus said. “He was a class act who carried himself with grace when he struggled and carried the offense when he swung the bat well, which he has done consistently all year. “He’s a great player and teammate. I wish him nothing but the best.” Upton is having arguably the most consistently productive season of his career. He’s hitting .279 with 28 home runs, 94 RBIs and a .904 OPS. Since the 2016 All-Star break, he has produced 51 home runs and 143 RBIs. Here’s his production the last three months: ■ June: .305 batting average, .934 OPS, six home runs, 27 RBIs ■ July: .322 batting average, .956 OPS, two home runs, 15 RBIs ■ August: .275 batting average, .997 OPS, 11 home runs, 27 RBIs. And that was after finishing last season with 13 home runs, 28 RBIs and a 1.132 OPS in the month of September. Those numbers define the type of player he is, but his true character was defined during his immense struggles the first four months of last season. On Aug. 16, 2016, he was hitting .226 with just 13 home runs, 46 RBIs and a league-high 139 strikeouts. He was being booed at Comerica Park and ripped on local and national radio and television shows. But he never lashed out. He never made excuses. He stood up, night after night, and answered questions and just continued to work. Finally, in a 3-for-42 skid, Ausmus sat him down for three games. He told him to step away from the game and clear his head. When he came back he started hitting and producing, and he hasn’t stopped. “As much as he struggled, with coming to a new club, a new city where winning is expected and with a new contract — he is one of the classiest guys I’ve been around in this game,” Ausmus said after last season. “He handled that with about as much class as you could.” Asked about what those four months taught him, Upton just shrugged. “Anything that knocks you down and you can get back up makes you better at what you do,” he said. “I think going through that process last year made me stronger.” And now he joins an Angels team still very much in the fight for a wild card spot. He will more than likely bat behind Mike Trout. Upton’s 28 home runs this season is one more than all the Angels left fielders have produced combined since the start of 2015. As for the Tigers, the move signals the club is fully embracing a rebuilding process. They were also still trying to work out a trade for Justin Verlander before midnight Thursday. Already, the Tigers have traded away J.D. Martinez, , Alex Avila and now Upton. If Verlander is moved, either now or in the offseason, they would have just three large guaranteed contracts left on the books for 2018 — Miguel Cabrera ($30 million), Jordan Zimmermann ($22.1 million) and Victor Martinez ($18 million). They would also get under the luxury tax threshold for the first time in two years. In return for Upton, the Tigers got a right-handed pitcher who projects as a back end of the rotation starter. Long, 23, was ranked as the eighth- best prospect in the Angels’ system by Baseball America. He is 6-foot-5, 230 pounds and between High-A and Double-A this season posted an 8-8 record with a 2.69 ERA. He had 125 strikeouts, a 1.17 WHIP and a .232 batting average against. “Grayson has been a standout player this season in the Southern League, which features some of the best prospects in baseball,” Avila said. “He is a workhorse-type starter who throws strikes and has a great makeup. Our scouts project him to be a starter at the Major-League level.” Henning: Verlander deal makes sense for all parties Lynn Henning, The Detroit News Published 3:09 a.m. ET Sept. 1, 2017 | Updated 5:28 a.m. ET Sept. 1, 2017 As much as you can score a trade in the early hours of Friday, it looks as if three parties won Thursday night. The Tigers, Astros, and Justin Verlander all agreed, one minute before midnight’s deadline, to a trade that sends a man of royal Detroit sports blood to Houston and, more important for Verlander, to October’s playoffs where he so often has been radiant. The Tigers are trying to reconstruct a baseball roster in Detroit and needed young bodies. They got three potential stars from the Astros in pitcher Franklin Perez, center fielder Daz Cameron, and catcher Jake Rogers. They are, respectively, 19, 20, and 22 years old, and all were top 11 prospects in a rich Astros farm system. The Astros, of course, have a fabulous big-league team that needs but one element, a rotation pillar, which Verlander figures to be as he continues at age 34 to look more like the snarling, fire-wielding, get-out-of-here ace he was during the Tigers past playoff heyday. But he needed to sign off on Thursday’s deal. Initially, he balked, for reasons known to Verlander. With the midnight candle almost snuffed, Verlander finally said yes to a trade that should offer flood-ravaged Houston a measure of glee as it duels with one of the most destructive natural disasters in American history. All along this trade seemed almost to make too much sense. For everyone. Verlander needs October. He is a Hall of Fame-bound pitcher. Rather than become inhibited or intimidated or diminished by a Hollywood moment, he thrives on it, brushing aside noise and tumult and historical realities to throw a baseball with fury and grace. This is what the Astros got Thursday night. They found a tribal chief for their pitching staff. They brought to Houston a right-handed craftsman who can yet throw a fastball at 97 mph, with an equally devastating curve, as well as a change-up, not to mention two — two — different sliders that make him a five-pitch maestro. The Astros will love him, all because the man possesses two exceedingly rare traits. He has championship pitches and a competitive demeanor to match. Those of us who have watched him pitch this season have been awed, even by past Verlander standards. Not even four and five years ago, when he could hit 100-mph with his fastball and leave hitters to ponder a job-training course at their local community college, was Verlander more imposing than he has been in 2017. It has to do with his skill set and with the savvy an athletically intellectual man has marshaled in this, his 13th big-league season. There was a sense Wednesday at Colorado, as he spun more gold against the Rockies, that this was it for Verlander and the Tigers. That this had to be his finale. It made no sense — not even in professional sports, where rational thought often can be at a premium — that Verlander was not being chased by a team aware of what he would deliver now and in October. Obvious to everyone in baseball was that the Astros most needed him and were most in position to make a deal. Just as transparent was the Tigers’ situation. They have been open for the past year to trading Verlander, not because they wanted a Motown baseball icon out of the way. Not because they saw his remaining contract — $56 million, minimum — as anything unmanageable. Rather, they are tackling a reconstruction cycle the Astros, and Cubs, and Dodgers, and others were confronting a decade ago. It’s important to remember that those teams’ tough years were being endured as the Tigers were enjoying a giddy interlude loaded with season-long drama, blood-freezing playoff games, and two World Series trips — everything baseball could offer but a championship parade. Now it’s the Tigers’ turn to repeal and replace. And they’re into the act full-speed. Al Avila, the Tigers general manager, has assumed a nifty mission, not easily carried out. Avila has been obliged to pare down his old, aging team, with its bad contracts tied to a previous go-for-broke mission overseen by late owner Mike Ilitch. Other teams aware of Detroit’s goals have been light on Tigers compassion. They saw, at least until the past few weeks, no appeal in heavy contracts or in celebrity players after baseball’s commercial habits began to change radically in 2016. Avila was stranded. He wanted to deal nearly anyone on the roster. But shoppers were either uninterested or they offered grocery store coupons in exchange for talent that demanded something closer to retail. The terrain began to change in July. The Tigers found a customer for J.D. Martinez and whisked him to Arizona for three infield prospects. Days later, Avila got two more upside-heavy infielders from the Cubs in a swap that sent Justin Wilson and Alex Avila to Chicago. Thursday was the day Comerica Park rocked. Never, in 12 hours, have the Tigers traded more high-profile flesh and blood than they dealt beginning with an afternoon move of Justin Upton to the Angels. The situations with Upton and Verlander were dissimilar entirely. Upton could step free from his six-year contract with the Tigers after his second season. Apparently believing he can do better than the $88.5 million the Tigers owe him, he had made it clear, as far as the Tigers believed, that he was saying adios to Detroit and would crash the free-agent auction house this autumn. The Tigers wanted something other than memories of the 59 home runs Upton has hit since he brought his bat to Detroit in 2016. Accordingly, Avila dealt him Thursday to the Angels for a minor-league starting pitcher, Grayson Long, who could be at Comerica Park within a season or two. That left 12 hours for browsers to get serious about Verlander. If, that is, they were keen on making him part of their postseason roster. Add a player after midnight, Aug. 31, and big-league rules stipulate that player can’t be part of a team’s playoff corps. And so we waited. To the very final seconds. All of us who could not believe one Justin Verlander, with his prowess and past, would not be courted by a team that knows the immense boost such a pitcher can offer a team in a playoff series. The Astros finally bit. Verlander, who had the right to refuse a trade because of his status as a big-league elder, ultimately agreed. The deal was done at 11:59 p.m. And now a town must adjust to the void Verlander’s departure will visit on Detroit. He has been a Tigers lighthouse since he signed with the Tigers in November 2004, the second amateur player drafted that year. He was a rotation regular two seasons later, which, not coincidentally helped gift-wrap Detroit’s first World Series trip in 22 years. He has been an amazing presence these years. Star athlete. Bigger-than-life celebrity. A baseball artiste who has long shown, in proper proportion, that he also understands show biz. But now he belongs to another city and to its baseball team. And to its hopes. The Tigers will be hewing a new baseball life and identity in these coming seasons. They will be different years, for sure. They could also be pleasing, in a relative way, as the reconstruction arc takes shape. The talent lured from the Astros a few seconds before midnight Thursday should help. It’s a new baseball era in Detroit, signaled loudly and with ample melancholy, as Verlander moves to Houston.

Detroit News LOADED: 09.01.2017