Indians Get Francona Back, Top Texas 5-3 Behind Bauer; Three Takeaways From the Win

CLEVELAND - A night after losing a tough 2-1 decision, the Indians won their second game in three days with a 5-3 quality win over a quality pitcher in Yu

CLEVELAND - A night after losing a tough 2-1 decision, the Indians won their second game in three days with a 5-3 quality win over a quality pitcher in Yu Darvish and the Rangers.

Trevor Bauer was good again at Progressive Field, moving to 4-2 at home this season and moving overall to 7-6 on the 2017 season.

The offense was paced by a run in the first and two in the third and two more in the seventh, but it was enough to get the job done and move the team to 41-36 on the season.

The club now sits at 2-4 on the homestand, but have a great shot to get to 3-4 as they wrap up the seven-game set with a final home game Thursday at noon.

Corey Kluber will go for the Indians in that game, looking to wrap up the homestand on an up note as they head to Detroit for a three-game weekend set with the Tigers.

Here's three takeaways from the Tribe victory as they continue their latest hold on first place in the AL Central.

3. Solid Start for Trev

Indians starter Trevor Bauer went 6.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts. His night ended with 103 pitches thrown.

Bauer's only mistake was to red-hot Robinson Chirinos, who hit his 12th homer of the season, fourth in four games. Other than that, he didn't give the Rangers much, which was a welcome sign considering he allowed four runs on eight hits in 6.2 against the Twins on Friday.

The pitcher is now 4-2 at Progressive Field, and lowers his ERA at the home park to under five. He's also been great against the AL West - winning nine of his last 10 against them.

It would be nice if Bauer could finally step up and be the number three guy in the rotation behind Carlos Carrasco and Corey Kluber.

Wednesday could give fans hope of that, but he's got a long way still to go and has to be a lot more consistent every five days.

2. Making Em Count

The offense had a lot of chances, and while they once again had some frustrating moments, they were able to make it count with five runs.

They scored a run in the first after a gift error to start the game from Nomar Mazara which led to Jason Kipnis crossing home, and then two more in the third.

The two in the third were paced by hits each for Michael Brantley and Jose Ramirez. The top four in the Indians order accounted for eight hits, four RBI and scored three times.

They put up two more in the seventh to put the game away, as Brantley again came through with a big base hit, and then Edwin Encarnación hit a single to score the final run of the night.

It was good to see the offense finally break out of the same old leaving guys on base syndrome. While it could have been better, five runs was enough to get past the Rangers on this night.

1. Good to Have Tito Back

Not only did the Indians get a win, but it was also nice to see them get their leader back in manager Terry Francona, who returned to the bench after missing a game.

The manager returned wearing a heart monitor to try and determine just what's going on and why twice in the last two weeks he's had to leave the bench, but for now it was just good to have him back managing the team.

"It's nice to have your uniform on and be back," he said earlier in the day Wednesday. "What I love is the day-to-day stuff. This is the most comfortable place in my life, where I am. I miss that when I'm gone."

There's no doubt the team responds to their leader in Francona, and Wednesday night it was a doubly good outcome with both the win as well as having him back on the bench.