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To say the Detroit Tigers have owned the Cleveland Indians for the past few years is an understatement. Things have been lopsided between these two teams for a while, and at least in the past few seasons, the series have been bloody. The Tigers had been turning the Tribe into their own personal punching bag, almost always coming out on top and very rarely in close victories.
The two teams just finished their second series of the year, and it was just as devastating. This time, however, it was the Indians who were doing the walloping.
Cleveland has won all six games against the Tigers this year, almost every one coming in convincing fashion. It’s no doubt an emotional boost within the clubhouse, especially for those players who’ve been around for the past two years of Detroit beatdowns.
However, these victories won’t mean much if the Indians continue to follow them up with uninspiring losses. As great as it is for this team to turn the tables on a longtime rival, it means nothing if no momentum is generated from it. Cleveland needs to take the emotional lift from these victories and build off of it in order to get going in the right direction.
Outside of the games against the Tigers, the Indians have been just okay this year. They’ll win a few games, lose a few games and call it a week.
As soon as they take the field against Detroit, though, it’s a completely different team.
In two series, the Indians have outscored the Tigers 38-9. Mind you, this is a Cleveland team everyone thought couldn’t generate much offense this season. On top of this, the Indians’ inconsistent pitching never looks steadier than when it’s going up against Detroit.
I’m not going to complain about any of that. After watching the Tigers truck over Cleveland for the past few years, it’s quite a pleasure to see things reversed.
At the same time, everyone assumed the Indians’ first Detroit sweep of the year was the start of some consistently strong baseball. Instead, the Tribe lost five of its next six games. The same problems plaguing the team before the Tigers series — lack of offense, shaky pitching — returned with a vengeance.
So, as fun as it was to see Cleveland bounce back by yet again convincingly beating Detroit, it’ll mean nothing if it’s followed by a dud of a series against the slumping Kansas City Royals.
After this weekend, the Indians have plenty of winnable games on the schedule. Once again, the thinking would be the impressive performance against the Tigers should fuel them enough to go on a tear. If we’re to base predictions on what happened last time, though, things might actually get ugly instead.
Cleveland has to carry on the momentum from these victories. The team is right in the thick of things within its division, and a strong few weeks of baseball could help in separating from the pack.
However, if the Indians once again follow a sweep of their rivals with another slump, it’ll definitely be a concern. Especially since Cleveland doesn’t play Detroit again until late June.
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