White Sox Wipe Out, Tribe Sweep Chicago

The Indians finished their recent home stand in style, with a three game sweep of the lowly White Sox, taking their current win streak to five games and stretching their lead in the division to 4.5 games over Detroit. All in all it's been a very successful conclusion to the month of May.

Here are a few talking points from this series:

Offensive Turnaround

In the month of April, the Indians struggled to get much momentum going on offense. The lineup had a combined batting average of .231 for the first month and scored just 95 runs. That placed them 25th in the league for runs scored, behind offensive juggernauts like Texas, San Diego, and Cincinnati. And yes, that is sarcasm (apologies to Rangers, Padres and Reds fans).

May has been much kinder though and the hits have come back to Cleveland with a vengeance. With one day remaining in May, the Indians lead the big leagues with 170 runs scored this month. Their .282 batting average is also top of the majors. The Tribe's overall record in May has been distinctly average (only 14-13), but the offensive revival has really helped pick up some of the slack caused by a malfunctioning bullpen.

In the sweep of the White Sox, our ball club outscored Chicago 25-10, and recorded 40 hits, many coming from our most important contributors, like Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Brantley and Francisco Lindor.

What a difference a month makes.

Greg Allen and the Outfield Logjam 

I have been an unabashed Greg Allen fan for a while now, and seeing him perform so well lately has been immensely rewarding. Since Allen rejoined the team at the start of this month, he's been a reliable figure in the outfield. So far in 2018 the rookie has slashed .270/.303/.381 but he's really grown in confidence as the month has progressed.

Since the 18th of May, Allen has started to show signs of figuring things out at this level. His slashline of .316/.366/.447 is impressive and this offensive output has been matched by his abilities on defense. For example, Allen made a great diving grab in the fourth inning of Wednesday's game, robbing a hit from the White Sox with his athleticism. His speed is also a huge weapon for him offensively, and even though we haven't seen many stolen bases from him yet in the majors, Allen's record in the minors suggests he should cause opposition pitchers havoc on the basepaths.

Allen's performances in the sweep of Chicago mark his best series to date; in 14 plate appearances Allen collected 5 hits and scored 4 runs, as well as picking up the first stolen base of his major league career (and hopefully the first of many to come).

Unfortunately, Allen may find his time in Cleveland coming to an end. Bradley Zimmer, Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer, the Tribe's trio of injured outfielders, are all currently rehabbing their bodies back to health in Columbus. Each of these veterans started Wednesday's Clippers game against Buffalo, so it's only a matter of time before they make their way back and sadly, a rookie like Allen will probably be the one to make way.

Perhaps Allen could stick with the club, and I think his performances and contribution to the team merit him staying up. For a more in-depth analysis of the overall situation in the outfield, Michael Bode over at Waiting For Next Year has done a wonderful job summarizing everything, and you can read that here.

At the very least, Allen has certainly made it a difficult decision for the front office to send him back to Triple-A.

Here's are some short notes about the series:

• Corey Kluber continues to be an absolute force at Progressive Field this season. His victory in Wednesday's 9-1 rout was his eighth of the campaign, and he has a 5-0 record with a 1.26 ERA in five starts at home. Kluber has also not walked a batter in his last 28.1 innings. 
• Michael Brantley is riding a 19-game hit streak, which is currently the longest in the majors. Brantley is hitting .366 (30-for-82) with 6 homers, 19 RBI and 20 runs over this span.
• News broke on Tuesday that Jose Ramirez was supposedly nearing a suspension for using a substance banned by MLB. This false report from the Dominican Republic has been categorically refuted by Ramirez himself and all of the upper management as well. Hopefully that is the last we hear of that. Don't try and take our MVP down!

Cleveland now carry their winning ways to Minnesota for a four-game series with the Twins. Indians pitching prospect Shane Bieber is expected to make his first start in the majors on Thursday night, and he celebrates turning 23 years-old as well. Bieber has a 5-1 record with a 1.10 ERA over 10 starts between Akron and Columbus, with 61 strikeouts and only 3 walks. He takes the hill tonight and fans are eager to see this exciting prospect in an Indians uniform for the first time. Happy Birthday Shane and best of luck in your debut.

Winning In The Windy City

Whoa, where did that month go? I've been absent from the blog these past four weeks, and sadly I don't always get the time to write on here as much as I would like. Y'know, life and all that.

In my time away from England Tribe, our Cleveland ball club have had mixed experiences. Win one, lose one, win one, lose one, repeat. The bullpen have taken the brunt of the blame, and that big Bryan Shaw sized hole has been harder to fill than perhaps anticipated.

Nevertheless, the Indians have just completed an eight game road trip, going 4-4, and topped it off with a nice series win against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Let's take a quick look at some of the talking points from their trip to north side of Chicago.

Michael Brantley Is The Hero You Don't Deserve

Have I mentioned how much I love Michael Brantley? It's ridiculous that a man closer to 30 years-old than 20 still has such a thing as a "favorite player" but I do, I really do. Brantley has been my favorite guy on the Indians for most of this decade and I was overjoyed when the team picked up his option for 2018. It was frustrating to see fellow fans deride and dismiss him on Twitter, criticizing the Indians for apparently making the mistake of resigning him (but what else should I expect on that hellish platform).

Despite all his issues with injuries in the past, I have always been a firm believer in his ability. I still think he's the best all-around hitter on the team, and that's quite a statement when the Indians are carrying All Stars like Lindor, Ramirez and Encarnacion. He's undoubtedly the best outfielder at the very least.

Recently, Brantley has been proving me right, performing like the Brantley of old. Currently he leads the team in batting average at .338, he's second in RBI with 30, third in OPS at .937, third in runs scored with 23, third in total hits with 51, and he has the least strikeouts among guys with over fifty at-bats, with just 12 in 163 plate appearances. That's an incredible statistic, and he's actually fifth-best in the entire league, and second-best in the AL, only behind the Angels' Andrelton Simmons.

As the Tribe roll out of Chicago and head home, Brantley carries a 12-game hitting streak and he was absolutely key to the Indians' success in the Windy City.

During Tuesday night's demolition of the Cubs, a 10-1 rout for our boys, Brantley had 2 hits and scored 2 runs but it was on Wednesday night he really proved his worth.

With the sun setting on the lush green of Wrigley Field, Brantley stepped to the plate in the third inning with Rajai Davis stationed at second base, with two outs already recorded. Cubs starter Jon Lester fell behind 2-0 to Brantley, and on the next pitch the veteran outfielder laced a single into right-center field, dropping just over the outstretched arm of Javier Baez. It was enough to get the speedy Davis around third and heading home, and put the Tribe on top 1-0. It was all the Indians needed in the end, as they held on to record the win and the series sweep.

I'm realistic and appreciate we haven't even started June yet. The dog days of summer are yet to come, so perhaps it is too early to start believing in Brantley's health. But all the signs so far have been positive, and with a healthy Brantley in the lineup these Indians are a much more potent and dangerous team.

Here a few other scraps of note:

• Jose Ramirez has really made up for his slow start to the season, and has been on an absolute tear of late. He had 2 hits in the series, one of which was a 3-run homer in Tuesday's win, and he recorded 3 walks that day as well. Ramirez currently leads the club in home runs with 14, and leads the team in RBI (34), walks (27), OPS (1.000), SLG (.609), and OBP (.391) as well. He's a force of nature at the moment.
• Trevor Bauer and Adam Plutko were the Tribe's starters for the series and both had seriously impressive outings. Bauer pitched on Tuesday night and lasted 6 innings, scattering 7 hits and 2 walks over the course of the night with 6 strikeouts, to collect his fourth win of the year. Plutko, in just his second spot-start of 2018, was outstanding and carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He ended up with a very respectable pitching line of 6 innings, 2 hits, 4 walks and 4 strikeouts. Plutko's performance was good enough to earn him permanent residence in the rotation (for the foreseeable future), as he replaces Josh Tomlin as the fifth starter, with Tomlin joining the bullpen.

The Tribe now begin a lengthy homestand, welcoming the reigning champs to town. The Indians are currently 24-23 and will play the 32-18 Astros over a four game series, with both teams set to start their aces in Thursday's opener. Corey Kluber will face off against Dallas Keuchel in a hotly anticipated matchup.