Indians Rout Tigers 15-0; Clinch Third Straight Divisional Title

CLEVELAND - When a team is popping champagne in the clubhouse, means something good happened. Yes, Indians clinched their third straight divisional title by defeating the Tigers 15-0 Saturday afternoon.

Being managed by Terry Francona, this is the fourth time the Tribe will be in the postseason.

Before coming in Saturday's game, the Tribe magic number was down to one. The Tribe did lose the opening game of the three game-series, but did receive some help from the Kansas City Royals in a walk-off fashion against the Minnesota Twins Friday night.

Today, the hot start came in the first inning scoring two against starter Michael Fulmer then left the game due to an injury. The team scored six runs in first then five in the second. However, there was also great pitching by Mike Clevinger as he records his 12th win of the season.

Here are some couple of takeaways from today's win.

1. October, Here They Come

Indians locked up their 14th postseason appearance in franchise history. With 14 games to play, Tribe is now up 15 1/2 games ahead in the Central.

"All things are considered, we clinched at home and did it in a convincing way." Manager Terry Francona said. "Everything went well today, pitched well, hit well, and that's a nice day."

Indians will know who they'll face by the end of the month. Will either be the Houston Astros or the Oakland A's.

"Enjoy the moment" was today's memo for the Indians but of course today, nothing was granted.

"Obviously, certain years, you can say the same thing and vice versa."Cody Allen said. "For three straight years, the American League and the World Series were represented by this division. It’s just earning your right any way you can and then you get into October and it’s a different game. Playoff baseball is a different beast. I feel like this team is set up well to play into October."

2. Starting Off On A Good Note

It all started in the first inning when Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley connected on back-to-back home runs to start the game off Tigers starter Michael Fulmer who left the inning with an injury later.

The party didn't stop there for the Tribe. The team scored five in the second inning starting with Jose Ramirez RBI double to score Brantley who started the inning with a walk.

In the third inning, Yonder Alonso connected on a two-run home run.

Cleveland six-run first inning marked the club's 12th time this season scoring six or more runs, the most in MLB.

Edwin Encarnacion exited the game with a mild right ankle sprain in the fourth inning. Francona said he'll be fine.

3. Clevinger Finally Records His 12th Win.

Tribe starting pitcher Mike Clevinger pitched in a total of six innings, giving up a hit, three walks and striking out five. This is the kind of pitcher that the Indians want to see heading to the playoffs.

With some help from the offense, we can say it was an easy day for Clevinger. Despite coming into today's game, he faced the Tigers twice and had a record of 0-1.

"We had that get it over with now thoughts. Mike Clevinger said. "You don't want to get close to it and celebrate before the real battle starts but it was good to get it over with, celebrate now and get back to work tomorrow."

Clevinger now holds a 7-1 record with a 2.00 ERA in 13 AL Central starts this season.