The Boys Are Back: Indians Start 2018 Campaign With West Coast Visit To Seattle; Three Keys To A Victory

It's been far too long since Cleveland Indians baseball has graced our television screens. Luckily, the wait ends on Thursday night. That's correct, the Tribe

It's been far too long since Cleveland Indians baseball has graced our television screens. Luckily, the wait ends on Thursday night.

That's correct, the Tribe takes the field for the first time in the 2018 season, as they prepare to face the Seattle Mariners to begin the campaign.

The Tribe knows that last season did not end the way they wanted it to and they have their full focus on completing their mission of bringing Cleveland a World Series Championship after falling short in the last two seasons. This year, the motto is quite simple: Finish.

Corey Kluber will head to the mound for Opening Night, his fourth-straight time doing so for the Indians. The defending AL Cy Young Award winner will take on Felix Hernandez, a previous winner of the top pitching award as well. Hernandez will look to rebound off an injury-plagued 2017 season that saw him appear in just sixteen games, finishing with a record of 6-5 and 4.36 ERA.

While the Indians are looking to make it three-straight trips to the postseason, Seattle has not clinched a spot in the October Classic since the 2001 season. Robinson Cano and company will be looking to change that after finishing 78-84 in 2017.

You can listen to the game on WTAM 1100 or WMMS 100.7 and watch the game on SportsTime Ohio or ESPN.

With all of that being said, let's take a look at the three keys for an Opening Night victory:

1. Kluber Looking For First Opening Day Victory- For as good as Corey Kluber has been for Cleveland, it would catch most off-guard when told that he is 0-2 when starting off the season. In fact, Kluber has actually had some of his more interesting struggles in his first start of the year. After only allowing two runs to Houston in 2015's loss, the Tribe's ace allowed four and five runs in his last two openers. He holds a 3.66 ERA on Opening Day, something he'll be looking to change.

The obvious key here for Kluber is just to do what he does best and that is letting the game come to him. Once he gets in a groove, it's hard to stop him. The first few innings will be a telling sign of how the outing will go for him, as he'll be trying to get into the seventh inning for the first time since three seasons ago.

2. Kipnis Returning To Top Form- Jason Kipnis had a very disappointing 2017 season due to injuries costing him a lot of the campaign. When he did finally regain his health, Jose Ramirez had already claimed second base and was in too much of a rhythm to try and tinker with the infield's alignment. As a result, Kipnis played center field in the ALDS. It didn't work out and the second basemen just couldn't get anything going.

This season looks to be heading in a different direction for the soon-to-be 31-year old.

After mashing eight home runs in Spring Training, Kipnis appears to have found power that even he didn't know he had. Kipnis has only eclipsed the twenty home run mark once in his career, that being in 2016 when he hit 23 dingers. But his swing looked to carry more weight than it has in the past, something Tribe fans should be happy about.

Add the fact that he'll return to his stomping grounds in the middle of the infield and all signs are pointing up for him.

3. The New Additions- The Indians weren't necessarily big spenders in the off-season but they did bring in a power source in the form of first basemen Yonder Alonso. Alonso was fresh off of a year that saw him hit twenty-eight home runs and bring in sixty-seven runs in split time with Oakland and Seattle. The thirty-year-old also posted a .266 batting average, getting on base not only by way of the long ball. Alonso is an interesting addition that will look to help cushion the blow that was the departure of Carlos Santana.

The other addition (well, kinda) is outfielder Rajai Davis. Davis spent the 2016 seasons with the Indians and had one of the most memorable moments in the franchise's history, hitting the game-tying home run in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series off of Aroldis Chapman. Though Cleveland would ultimately fall, the embrace that Davis received would never be forgotten.

After a production drop-off with Oakland and Boston last season, Davis returned to Cleveland looking to finish the job he was a part of two seasons ago. He'll most likely see a starting role in left field to kick off the campaign, as Michael Brantley will start the year on the 10-day disabled list.

It'll be fun to see what Alonso and Davis will provide this season for the Indians, as they'll look to start off the campaign with a bang.