Indians Take 3 of 4 in Baltimore Following 2-1 Win Over O's; Three Takeaways From the Win

The Indians are heading back home for a whopper of a homestand, 11 games in 10 days (a double header against the Jays on May 2nd wraps up the marathon slate),

The Indians are heading back home for a whopper of a homestand, 11 games in 10 days (a double header against the Jays on May 2nd wraps up the marathon slate), and come back home following a road swing which saw them win four of six against the Twins and Orioles.

Monday night in the finale against the Orioles in Camden Yards, it was once against the pitching leading the way, as Carlos Carrasco threw an excellent game with 7.1 innings allowing a run in an eventual 2-1 win.

Yonder Alonso provided the only offense needed for the Tribe, hitting a two-run blast in the second inning to put the Indians ahead 2-0. The win puts the Indians at 12-8 on the year, and they are .500 on the road at 6-6.

Here's three takeaways from the win as the team comes home winning three of four against the O's after dropping the first game on Friday evening.

1. Cookie Lights Out Again

The Indians number two starter is off to an excellent start in 2018, as he's now 4-0 after going 7.1 innings of one-run ball in the 2-1 win.

He allowed a run on six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. He's sitting with a 2.13 ERA after the win. Carrasco threw 81 pitches, 58 for strikes in the win.

He also pulled in one of the big defensive plays of the night, stabbing a lineout for an eventual double play in the second inning that may have saved the tying run scoring, which turned out to be a big play in the game.

Oh ... You thought ...?

🙊#RallyTogether https://t.co/nRHPufJWlB

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) April 24, 2018

2. Yonder Heating Up The biggest offseason Indians pickup is starting to come into form, as Monday evening Yonder Alonso gave the Indians all the offense they would need, slamming a two-run homer in the second to give the team a 2-0 lead. Alonso in the last three games against the O's was 5-for-11 with a pair of homers and four RBI. He's now hitting .225 on the season, raising his average from .167 back on April 10th. This offense needs a few players to heat up, and in this season it seems like Alonso as well as Jose Ramirez were the two players that led the way.

OVER YONDER!

Yonder Alonso just blasted a 2-run home run and the @Indians have a 2-0 lead. #RallyTogether

STREAM: https://t.co/kWNCys0h9w pic.twitter.com/Nb6pRNdvny

— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) April 23, 2018

3. No Place Like Home

The Indians have already had one long homestand, and due to the two rainouts last weekend will come home for a homestand that will see them play the Cubs, Mariners, Rangers and Blue Jays.

The Cubs series will of course draw back to a lot of memories of the 2016 World Series, and despite it being just two games hopefully the Tribe can get a little revenge.

The four-game series against the Mariners is a rematch of the first series of the year in which the Indians dropped two of three against the M's in Seattle.

They then get a look at the Rangers for three games, and will play two against the Jays, the two games that were rained out on Saturday and Sunday last weekend.

It's 11 games in 10 games, and already the team sits at 12-8, and hopefully with a good homestand they end April continuing to lead the AL Central.