Indians Maul the Rangers 16-3 in Dominating Hit Parade; Three Takeaways

By Michael Rodgers The Indians took on the Rangers Saturday night in Arlington for game two of three in the series. The Tribe looked to extend their winning

By Michael Rodgers

The Indians took on the Rangers Saturday night in Arlington for game two of three in the series.

The Tribe looked to extend their winning streak to three games and win the series with a victory, but they’d have to knock out former Indian pitcher, Bartolo Colon. What started as a pitching duel between Carlos Carrasco and Colon, took a turn after the fourth.

Many wondered how much juice the Indians offense would have in tonight’s game after playing eleven innings Friday night and racking up 17 hits and nine runs. Well, it became obvious that they had more than enough gas in the tank to put the Rangers away Saturday night.

The Indians dominated the Rangers from the fifth inning on to win 16-3. They were able to follow Friday’s 17 hit game with an addition 21 hits in the win. A staggering 38 hits and 25 runs in their first two games coming out of the all-star break.

Colon took the loss and dropped to 5-8 on the season. He gave up all his runs in a big fifth inning as the Tribe tagged him for five runs (all earned).

Things only got worse from there as Rangers reliever Austin Bibens-Dirkx was crushed in his four innings of relief. He gave up 13 hits, 11 runs (all earned) and walked a batter. Most of the damage came from Yonder Alonso and Tyler Naquin as they combined to bat 4-10 with three home runs and six RBI.

The win improved The Indians record to 54-43 and gave them a 9 ½ game lead in the central division. The loss dropped the Rangers to 41-58. Carrasco picked up the win to improve to 13-5 on the season. Here’s some quick takeaways from tonight’s win.

Here's three takeaways from the dominating win.

1. Cookie is Hot

Carlos Carrasco has been dealing his last four appearances for the Tribe. Including tonight’s victory, Cookie is 4-0 in his last four appearances pitching 18 innings, striking out 24 batters while only allowing six runs and walking two. He went 6.2 strong innings tonight, allowing only two runs, walking one and striking out eight. His 13 wins is now a team high, over taking Corey Kluber for the club lead by one.

2. The Offense Dominated

Most people have been focusing on the monster season Jose Ramirez has been having and it’s understandable. The Indians third baseman is having a historic season, but what gets lost is the Indians are getting monster contributions from their everyday 1-5 hitters and it showed Saturday night.

Lindor, Brantley, Ramirez, Encarnacion, and Alonso are destroying opponents pitching. In tonight’s game they all had at least one hit and a RBI, combining for eight total RBI. Everyone of those hitters has at least 12 home runs and 56 RBI for the season.

The offense is definitely a strength for this club and it will be interesting to see the final numbers for these five players.

The Indians lineup vs The Rangers pitching staff 😁😁 pic.twitter.com/ppaemtOgwL

— drotois (@73andNoRing) July 22, 2018

3. The Indians Have the Division Won

The Tribe has a 9 ½ game lead in the central division after tonight’s victory. That is the biggest divisional lead in the majors and expect it to get larger. The Tribe has dominated their divisional opponents this season and with 35 games left against those opponents the Tribe is set to have another big second half of the season.

The Indians will look to sweep the Rangers tomorrow afternoon as Mike Clevinger (7-5, 3.47) will look to counter Yovani Gallardo (3-1, 8.60). Game 3 will be at 3:05 pm.