Lindor's Big Night Saves the Day as Indians Top Twins 9-8; Three Takeaways From the Win

The Indians string of success nearly crashed on Thursday night in Target Field in Minnesota, as the team took an 8-0 lead and rallied late thanks a homer by Francisco Lindor, eventually topping the Twins 9-8 for their 6th straight win.

Shane Bieber got his first start in the Majors, and for the most part was impressive until he gave up a couple of runs, and once again the Tribe pen gave the rest away, up until Lindor saved them from an epic collapse to secure the win.

The victory puts the team at 30-25 on the season, 12-14 away from Progressive Field. The lead in the AL Central remains at 4.5 games after the Tigers topped the Angels this afternoon in Comerica Park.

Here's three takeaways from the Thursday night win as the team will look for their 7th straight on Friday night as they play game two of four against the Twins.

1. Beiber Starts Strong

Indians number three prospect Shane Beiber looked solid in his MLB debut for the most part, as he was on cruise control until he ran into trouble allowing four runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings.

Beiber started his Major League career with a strikeout, and looked poised in striking out six, but allowed two homers which allowed Minnesota to get back into the game at 8-4 before he was pulled.

In what will be a spot start as he will now head back to AAA Columbus, Beiber threw 88 pitches, 64 strikes, which is a good ratio for a young pitcher making his first MLB start.

In 24 batters, he threw 16 first pitch strikes, again a sign of success for a young pitcher. Much like Adam Plutko, let's see what Beiber will do next time he gets the call to take the mound for the big league club.

2. Poor Pen Rears Its Head Again

Up 8-4 when Shane Beiber left the game, the Indians very up and down pen allowed the Twins to get back into the game with four runs, allowing the game to become tied at eight after seven innings.

The suspects on the mound on this night included Dan Otero (0.2 innings, two runs, one hit), Jeff Beliveau (0.0 innings, 1 run, 1 hit), and Zach McAllister (0.0 innings, 1 run, 1 hit, 1 HR).

Thankfully Tyler Olson, Evan Marshall and Cody Allen were able to pick up the slack and didn't allow the Twins to score in the final 2.2 innings of work.

It's got to be frustrating for the coaching staff to on a nightly basis to never know what relief pitchers are going to step up, and which ones are going to self destruct.

1. Lindor Saves the Day

Shortstop Francisco Lindor came through when needed after getting the day off on Wednesday, going 4-for-5 with a pair of homers as well as a pair of doubles in the 9-8 win.

His blast in the 8th inning when the Twins had all the momentum gave the Indians the lead for good, and his three-run homer in the 4th put the Tribe up 6-0 at the time.

The huge night at the plate lifts Lindor's average to .311 on the season, and his slugging percentage is up to .579, and he also scored three runs on the night.

The payoff was worth it for allowing Lindor to have a day off in the series finale against the White Sox at home on Wednesday.