Cleveland Indians’ roster shines despite the number of injuries
It is no news that the Cleveland Indians have lost quite a few of their starting players to the DL. The surprising part of all this is how much the rest of the roster has stepped up.
The Cleveland Indians capped off another victory Friday night beating the Kansas City Royals 4-0. The win happened one night after they defeated Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox 13-6. The victories are a good sign, but what truly sticks out is the box score.
The Indians have been plagued with injuries and were forced to bring up players from AAA to fill the holes. Players like Lonnie Chisenhall, Jason Kipnis, Danny Salazar, and Andrew Miller were the unlucky few to be placed on that DL list.
The roster holes were filled with Erik Gonzalez, Giovanny Urshela, and Yandy Diaz.
The trio have not only stepped up to the plate but have stolen the show in the recent victories.
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The roster takeover all started on Thursday night against with Urshela at 3B. Urshela started off the night by grounding into a fielders choice but drove in a run.
He then came up to bat in the third inning and hit a single in the gap to drive in Diaz and Brandon Guyer. Urshela finished strong with another single to drive in Diaz in the fifth inning.
The work of Urshela was just the start of that night though. The real stand out star was Diaz who ended the night 4-4 with 2 RBI.
Diaz wasted no time getting started with a double off the wall in the third to score Edwin Encarnacion. He reappeared in the fifth inning with a scorching triple off of the wall, where he would eventually be drove in by a Roberto Perez double.
Diaz would finish off the night strong with a double in the seventh inning that drove in Jose Ramirez. Diaz used this night as an opportunity to silence all the hate from those saying he didn’t belong on the roster.
First career triple ✔️
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) August 25, 2017
First career three-hit game ✔️
Career-high four runs ✔️
It's Yandy's 🌎, we're just living in it. pic.twitter.com/7xGsFJYGRb
Everything was brought together by Trevor Bauer who was able to go 5.1 innings with 8 strikeouts. Bauer did give up 7 hits and 4 runs, but on a night where the offense was so explosive he earned the victory anyways.
Four members of the bullpen were brought out to finish off the game giving up only a combined 2 runs. The Indians bats destroyed Chris Sale who is neck and neck with Corey Kluber for the CY Young Award. Sale only lasted 3 innings and gave up 7 runs in the process with six of those being earned.
The Indians grabbed yet another victory Friday night with the same supporting cast helping out. Urshela came up big again with a double in the third inning driving in Yan Gomes, and then coming home later that inning off of an Austin Jackson single.
Next: How close was Darvish to becoming an Indian?
In a time where many of the starting cast hit the DL, the rest of the roster kept the flow going and proved that they belong. The Indians’ farm system has always been strong, but late in the season they are proving to everyone the the team can stay afloat with them at the wheel.