Indians Win Big in Detroit Despite Turbulent Times

The Indians entered Friday night trying to finally find themselves at the plate and get back on track after five days of distractions. A huge night from the outfield helped, and the team put up a 10-spot on the Tigers in a 10-5 win that showed again that when focused, the Indians are a dangerous team.

The Cleveland Indians are certainly going through a difficult time period as a ball club. Starting pitchers Zach Plesac (1-1, 1.29 ERA) and Mike Clevinger (1-1, 3.24 ERA) broke Major League Baseball Corona Virus protocol by leaving the team hotel in Chicago to attend a gathering with some buddies that they were acquainted with in the area.

Now, while these actions appear to be relatively harmless on the surface, they did break the rules set by the MLB. The two players knew they were breaking those rules, yet continued on anyway. They also could have caught the virus by going out and spread it among teammates.

Certainly, every facet of the organization had to be frustrated with these two pitchers. Both were sent to an alternate training site and are under a two-week quarantine because of said actions.

However, the show must go on.

The Tribe had a team meeting to discuss what happened before the series with the Tigers began in Detroit. 

What was said between teammates and coaches appeared to help because of the way the offense clicked in a big way to begin the series with a blowout win. 

It was good for everyone to let out grievances, move on, and play baseball to win. A 10-5 victory to begin the weekend.

Franmil Reyes, Tyler Naquin and Domingo Santana each had three runs batted in. It was a six-run fourth inning that capped the night altogether.

Another amazing nuance is that the win is the 18th in a row against the Detroit Tigers. The Indians have dominated this divisional opponent in recent history spanning back to past seasons. Despite the turbulence in the locker room that certainly continued with the big victory.

What is great to see is that manager Terry Francona has the players still with a winning mentality even though it has not been easy for the franchise. It would be nice to see that continue as the season progresses with the rest of this Tigers series and beyond.

Hopefully, Plesac and Clevinger learned from their poor choices and will eventually come back and are accepted to be a part of this team like before. They will be needed for a playoff run in a division that is as close as it can be.