Five Memorable Moments of the First Half for the Indians

It's been an up and down first half for the Indians as the team enjoys a few days off before the start of the second half of the season. At 47-40, the Indians

It's been an up and down first half for the Indians as the team enjoys a few days off before the start of the second half of the season.

At 47-40, the Indians will start the second half with a slight lead over the Twins and Royals in the AL Central, but by no means is it a lead that can't quickly disappear in a short period of time.

Today we take a look back at the first half, as despite some of the frustrations there's been some memorable moments and games to look back on.

Here's five memorable moments of the first half, feel free to comment or send in your most memorable moment of the first half.

Clevinger Shuts Down the Astros

The Houston Astros have become the darlings of baseball, winning 60 games, best in the American League and one behind the Dodgers for second-best in baseball.

They blew through just about every team in the American League, minus one – the Indians.

The Tribe for six games in the first half of the season beat the Astros five of those six times they played, with maybe the most memorable win being on May 20th at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

The Indians already had a Friday night win over the Astros, and on Saturday sent Mike Clevinger to the mound.

The team got a sensational outing from their starter, going seven innings, allowing no runs on two hits with two walks and 8 K’s in a 3-0 Indians win.

It was a great outing, the best thus far for Clevinger, who has been a solid fill-in for the team, going 5-3 with a 3.00 ERA this season.

He will be counted on for more quality starts in the second half this season.

4. Progressive Field Opening Day Walk-Off

There’s always something special about opening day, and on Tuesday, April 11th the team was able to pull off what to date has been their only home walk-off win of the season, a 2-1 win over the White Sox.

The game was a pitcher’s duel between Carlos Carrasco and James Shields, with Carrasco going 7 innings allowing a run on four hits with 7 Ks, and Shields went 5.1, allowing a run on two hits with six strikeouts.

The bullpens took over, and finally in the bottom of the 10th, the Indians were able to scratch across the game-winning run.

After back-to-back strikeouts to Abraham Almonte and Carlos Santana, Francisco Lindor drew a walk, and then Michael Brantley scorched a double to left field, and Lindor raced around third, scoring the winning run.

It’s odd to think at the halfway point it’s the only home walk-off win for the Indians, but it was one that sent the fans home happy to start the teams’ home schedule.

3. Kluber’s Complete Domination of the O’s

The Indians hit their high point of the first half during their stretch in which they won seven of eight on the road against the Twins and Orioles.

They started the series against the O’s with a dominating win, thanks in part to Corey Kluber, who barely broke a sweat in appeared in the 12-0 win.

Kluber struck out 12, got 14 ground ball outs, and allowed just three hits, and was as good as any game in the first half.

There’s no doubt Kluber was one of the main reasons the team won 47 games in the first half, he’s won 7 games and has a 2.80 ERA.

His five straight games with 10 or more strikeouts set a team record, and the way he’s thrown he will be a force every time on the mound in the second half for the Indians as he again looks like a legit Cy Young candidate.

2. Lindor's Slam Seals an Opening Series Sweep

The Indians and Rangers played three entertaining games to start the 2017 season, and Francisco Lindor put his stamp on the series with a memorable moment in the third game.

The Tribe had a comeback win in game one and went on for a win in game, and then another win in the second game.

The third game looked as if the Rangers would get a measure of revenge, as they led the Indians 6-4 in the ninth inning.

That’s when the Tribe rallied, with a run-scoring walk off Sam Dyson by Carlos Santana, and then Lindor on a 1-1 pitch crushed a Dyson offering to the seats in right, sending the team in a frenzy and giving them a 9-6 lead.

Bryan Shaw got three outs in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Indians a sweep and a 3-0 mark to start the season.

1. Win One for Tito

Indians manager Terry Francona had a tough first half, having health issues to the point he had a heart procedure last week at the Cleveland Clinic, but is set to be back with the team on Friday in Oakland.

The night that people will remember is June 26th, a game that again saw Francona not on the bench after leaving for the hospital early in the game.

It came out that Francona left when Brad Mills went out to the mound to grab Carlos Carrasco, who allowed 8 runs in 3.1 innings.

The Tribe trailed in the game 9-3 after four innings, and twitter was abuzz about the tailspin the team was in after losing three in a row over the weekend against the Twins.

Then, out of nowhere, the bats came alive against the Rangers, and three innings and 12 runs later the team had a 15-9 win.

Some said that there was motivation to do it for their manager, who hasn’t been on the bench since that game, or it could have been just the bat magic by the team, who abused the Rangers and won three of four in the series at Progressive Field.