Indians top Royals, 3-2, and celebrate clinching division; three takeaways

CLEVELAND-- A sold-out crowd at Progressive Field got to witness the Indians raise their AL Champions banner on Sunday afternoon, as the Tribe wrapped up an

CLEVELAND-- A sold-out crowd at Progressive Field got to witness the Indians raise their AL Champions banner on Sunday afternoon, as the Tribe wrapped up an 10-game homestand.

Cleveland topped Kansas City, 3-2, and got to kick off their celebration for clinching the division in style.

The Indians will have a day off tomorrow before taking on the L.A. Angels on the road in the first series of a six-game road trip.

Here are our three takeaways from Sunday's celebratory contest.

1. Klubot Activated

It was just another average day at the office for Indians ace Corey Kluber.

Kluber ended the afternoon giving up just three hits in seven shut-out innings. He walked no one, but hit one batter, and struck out nine. With the win, Kluber's record improves to 17-4, tying him for most wins in the Majors this year.

The ace now has 252 strikeouts for the season; this is the second time in his career where he's had at least 250 strikeouts, and it is just the 11th time in club history that single-season number has been reached.

Kluber has not given up a run since Sept. 7 against the Chicago White Sox. The two runs he gave up in that game both came in the first inning, so Kluber has pitched 22 consecutive scoreless innings since that frame.

Over his last 12 starts, Kluber has gone 10-1 with a 1.78 ERA. It's probably safe to say that he is peaking at the right time.

2. Walking the parrot

In the fourth inning, the Indians took their lead for good on an Edwin Encarnacion homer to left field.

Austin Jackson got on base in the lead-off spot because of a throwing error. Two at-bats later, Encarnacion stepped to the plate.

On the 2-1 pitch, Encarnacion drove the 83.5 mph changeup pitch an estimated distance of 415 feet into the left field bleachers. It was his 36th homer of the season.

The play was especially huge, considering that in the first inning Francisco Lindor had a homerun overturned after a crew-chief review revealed it was a foul ball.

Encarnacion ended the game going one-of-three from the plate with two RBIs.

3. Champagne for days

After the game, the Indians got to partake in a well-deserved locker room celebration.

Yes, the team clinched the division, but there was also plenty to celebrate beyond that. There's no doubt that Sunday also served as a celebration recognizing the end of their 22-game win streak.

This is also the first time since the 1998-99 seasons that the team has clinched the division in back-to-back years, and after last year when the team had to celebrate on the road, the players recognize how special it was to be able to celebrate in front of their home fans today.

"Last year we didn't have a chance to share with the fans at all," Kluber said. "They've been so supportive of us all year, so it's nice to kind of share it with them and give them a chance to celebrate with us."

"I think for the fans with how supportive they've been, obviously this weekend with the winning streak and the special moment when that ended," Trevor Bauer said. "And how supportive they were even in the loss, and, recognizing what that accomplishment meant. And then there was no lull after that, they came out the next two days and supported us."

There's no doubt that the feeling is mutual. The club sold out their third straight game today. Sunday also marked their 12th sellout of the season at Progressive Field, making 2017 the season with the most sellouts since 2001 when there were 34.

"We've clinched the division, but I think we all realize there's still things to be done," Kluber said. "We want to try to get home field... I don't think we're gonna coast or anything like that for the rest of the regular season."