Cleveland Indians: Jake Bauers sighting, takes Shohei Ohtani deep

Cleveland Indians first baseman Jake Bauers hasn’t been able to hit Lake Erie standing on The Mather, for the left-hander somehow found a way to take Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani, aka The Japanese Babe Ruth, deep Wednesday night for his second homer of the season.

Bauers’ blast came with the Tribe trailing 2-1 in the top of the fifth–if you’ve watched the Tribe this season, you know how a one-run deficit can feel like a thousand when the lineup suffers a power outage.

It must’ve felt great for Bauers, who is from the LA area and had family in attendance. He noticeably pointed the crowd after crossing home plate, and announcers Rick Manning and Matt Underwood noted how his mom was in attendance.

Ohtani leads the AL with 14 homers, and the bomb he surrendered to Bauers was just the second home run he’s given up this season in 25.1 innings.

Hopefully this is the moment where Bauers finds his groove, because he’s continued to struggle. In April, he hit .189 (.493 OPS) with just two extra-base hits (both doubles) in 41 plate appearances.

Cleveland Indians Jake Bauers continues to struggle

Both of his homers were hit this month, and he’s “improved” to .206 (.631 OPS). He also has a double, giving him five extra-base hits on the season.

Remember when Albert Belle smoked 102 extra-base hits in the 144-game season of 1995? Yep.

Again, I really hope something is triggered in Bauers because I don’t know how much longer the Tribe can keep going with him and Yu Chang at first base. Tito’s lineup is already playing with an automatic out at the catcher’s position. First base can’t be the same way.

And no, it doesn’t sound like the answer is Bobby Bradley, who I was championing coming out of spring training. He has four homers in 48 at-bats, but his .718 OPS is just a tick above average. He’s also struck out 17 times.

I’d like to see Josh Naylor move to first, with the Tribe giving more opportunities to Daniel Johnson in the outfield.

Owen Miller, the hot-hitting infield prospect could also be an option at first. He’s thought of as a shortstop/second baseman, but he has appeared in a game at first. The Indians stuck Chang at first this season, so there’s evidence showing the club has no reservations of trying out players at positions where they have no experience.

Perhaps optioning Chang and splitting duties between Bauers and Miller could be an option.

Hopefully Miller gets here soon, because the Indians are trailing the White Sox by 2.5 games. Chicago remains very good, despite missing Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez. The offense is still in need of a spark and perhaps Miller is the man for the mission.