Lindor and Brantley's stellar offensive night leads Tribe to 6-2 win over Royals; three takeaways

CLEVELAND-- After a 75-minute rain delay, the Cleveland Indians put on a show for Tribe fans who braved the bad weather. The Indians topped the Kansas City

CLEVELAND-- After a 75-minute rain delay, the Cleveland Indians put on a show for Tribe fans who braved the bad weather.

The Indians topped the Kansas City Royals 6-2 thanks to strong offensive games from Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley, and the work Mike Clevinger put in on the mound.

The game was a big one for Lindor in particular, who currently has five errors in the month of May (including a costly one in Friday's 10-9 loss to Kansas City). He went 4-for-4 with two doubles and two home runs, leading the Tribe at the plate.

"Came back with a vengeance," manager Terry Francona said after the game. "I mean he’s had a couple of tough games, there’s no getting around that and that’s baseball. Players do that. But boy, he sure is talented."

And with that, let's get into our three takeaways, starting with the man of the hour.

Lindor on using the entire field: “That's what I want to do. That's all I want to do. I'm not a power hitter. I want to hit the ball hard. If it goes out, it goes out. But, my job is to hit the ball all over the place.” pic.twitter.com/CxcDSiPYy1

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) May 13, 2018

1. Plenty to smile about The Indians couldn't have picked a better day to give away a Francisco Lindor "Mr. Smile" t-shirt. Along with going 4-for-4 with two doubles and two home runs, he also scored four runs and recorded two RBI. The last Cleveland Indian leadoff man to record four extra-base hits? Tito Francona on July 3, 1964 against the Chicago White Sox. In the first inning, Lindor recorded a leadoff double. In the third, he followed that up with a one-out solo shot. Lindor recorded his second double of the evening in the sixth inning, putting himself in position to score the go-ahead run. Just when you thought he couldn't get any hotter, in the seventh inning he smacked a two-seam fastball into the left field bleachers. But perhaps the most impressive aspect of Lindor's day was the way he used the entire field to his advantage: It's something he knows he has to do to be successful. "That's what I want to do, that's all I want to do," Lindor said. "I'm not a power hitter. I want to hit the ball hard. If it goes out, it goes out. But, my job is to hit the ball all over the place. It's sad when you see a guy 5'10", 5'11", 185 (lbs.), and they shift to him. I want to hit the ball all over the place. I don't want a shift on me." His double in the first inning extended his hitting streak to 13 games. It's the second-longest active hit streak in Major League Baseball, and ties a career-high for Lindor. Across the streak, he's batting .458 (27-for-59), and according to manager Terry Francona, there isn't just one thing that Lindor has done well. "I don’t think it’s one element, I think it’s a lot of elements," he said. "I think he’s a really good hitter, and like I said, when you spray the ball around from foul pole to foul pole, you’re going to get hits that other guys don’t."

Tito on Lindor’s 13-game hit streak: “I don’t think it’s one element I think it’s a lot of different elements” pic.twitter.com/8OEbfxKFz4

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) May 13, 2018

So what does all of this mean, other than a Tribe win? Lindor is the first player this season to record four extra-base hits in one game. It was the third four-hit game of his career, and the first four-run game of his career. The two homers give him 12 for the season, and as

Date of Lindor's 12th HR

2015: Sept 30 (Game 95)
2016: July 19 (Game 92)
2017: May 31 (Game 50)
2018: May 12 (Game 38)

— T.J. Zuppe (@TJZuppe) May 12, 2018

">T.J. Zuppe of The Athletic pointed out, this is by far the quickest he's reached that mile-marker. In 2015, it took him 95 games and in 2016 it took him 92. Last year it took him 50, which pales in comparison to the 38 games he needed this season.

Lindor on Dr. Smooth: “Brant's been doing a great job behind me. Brant is the best hitter on the team and one of the best hitters in the league. Whenever he's behind you, he's going to protect you.” pic.twitter.com/jhJLDxMr0E

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) May 13, 2018

2. The doctor is in

For as hot as Lindor was on Saturday, Michael Brantley matched him nearly swing for swing.

Brantley went 3-for-4 at the plate, and batted in two runs.

He brought Lindor home in the first inning, smacking a 1-1 changeup to right field for an RBI single. In the sixth inning, Brantley doubled to right on a slider, plating Lindor and giving the Indians their first lead of the game at 3-2. In the seventh inning he followed up Lindor's homer with another single.

The duo of Brantley and Lindor accounted for seven of Cleveland's hits on Saturday and all five of their extra-base hits.

"Brant's been doing a great job behind me," Lindor said after the game. "Brant is the best hitter on the team and one of the best hitters in the league. Whenever he's behind you, he's going to protect you."

Clevinger on minimizing the damage through some early inning traffic: “to not have my best stuff and compete until the eighth inning. That was a big step forward.” pic.twitter.com/uQRCUS9eXU

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) May 13, 2018

3. Clevinger "minimizes" early damage

The only sunshine in Cleveland on Saturday was on the mound. Mike Clevinger earned his third win of the year after going seven and two-third innings. He gave up eight hits, two runs and no walks, while striking out five. Of his 115 pitches, 81 were strikes (70.4 percent).

The only runs Clevinger allowed in the game came in the first and third innings on an RBI groundout and an RBI double. But when it came down to it, Clevinger minimized the damage early and got himself out of those early innings, finding a nice groove later in the game.

"I didn't want to have one of those one bad innings to ruin our momentum and our start to the game, so I was trying to minimize," he said. "That was the big thing, having a couple rough innings early and still being able to not have my best stuff and compete until the eighth inning. That was a big step forward."

Francona said that one of the fun parts of watching Clevinger pitch is to see him get better and learn from past mistakes.

"Even from five days ago, to hear him say he knew he had walked a guy— not to say you’re not going to walk a guy— but the way he did, and then come out and attack late in the game, that was good to see," he said. "You love seeing guys not just physically getting better, but understanding the game and getting better."