Clevinger, the Pen and the Long Ball, Indians Shutout Angels 6-0; Three Takeaways from the Win

After a tough 5-4 loss on Sunday to the Mariners, the Indians were right back at it out West on Monday evening, taking on an Angels team they went 6-0 against

After a tough 5-4 loss on Sunday to the Mariners, the Indians were right back at it out West on Monday evening, taking on an Angels team they went 6-0 against last season.

Monday they started right where they left off last season, dominating the Angels in Los Angeles' home opener, pounding Los Angeles for a 6-0 win.

The Indians bats were hot, and the start of Mike Clevinger and the pen did the rest, as the Tribe moved to 2-2 on the young season with the impressive win.

Here's three takeaways from the win, as Tuesday the Tribe will look to get over .500 as they will have another late night shot at the Angels in game two of the series.

1. Chicks Love the Long Ball

The Indians scored five runs on Monday night, all but two coming thanks to the long ball. The first run might have been the most exciting, a crazy inside the park homer by Edwin Encarnacion, who now has three homers in the last two games.

If you missed Edwin's wild inside the park shot, you can click HERE to see it.

Not to be outdone, new Indians slugger Yonder Alonso also got in on the action, as he clubbed his second homer of the season, making it a 3-0 affair.

The final blow for the Tribe came on a two-run blast in the 4th inning by Tyler Naquin, a shot that was his first since...you guessed it...the memorable inside the park HR he hit against the Blue Jays on August 19th of 2015.

Welcome to the home-run party, Tyler Naquin. pic.twitter.com/u7BFgm1vqV

— WaitingForNextYear (@WFNYCLE) April 3, 2018

While the team is still struggling to put many runners on base, at least they are hitting homers to generate runs.

2. Clevinger Delivers

In his first 2018 start, you couldn't ask much more out of Indians starter Mike Clevinger. The Tribe's third starter and one-time Angel went 5.1 innings, not allowing a run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

On the night Clevinger threw 97 pitches, and a very effective 67 strikes. He was in control from the start, and he was able to not have to force the the team to go the pen early.

Some have said this will be the season that Clevinger breaks out like Trevor Bauer did a season ago, and if the first start is any indication, it could be a huge season for the number four guy in the Tribe rotation.

How good was Clevinger? The Angels 1 through 5 hitters went just 1-for-12 on the night against him.

1. Pen Rebounds Nicely

After a tough Sunday in Seattle when the pen was responsible for allowing three key runs in the 5-4 loss to the Mariners, the Indians bullpen was back to form against the Angels on Monday night.

The unit kept Clevinger's shutout in tact, with Tyler Olson rebounding for a nice one inning outing, throwing 16 pitches, 13 of which were strikes, recording two K's.

Nick Goody went 1.1, allowing a hit but not allowing any further damage. Zach McAllister went 0.1, and then new Indians arm Matt Belisle pitched the ninth, allowing a hit with two outs and then a hit batter, but again no damage.

Overall we know this unit is going to have some ups and downs, but Monday night was for sure an 'up' for the Tribe pen.