Puig's bat boosts Tribe's Wild Card push
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CLEVELAND -- After a gut-punch of a weekend during which they dropped the final series against the Twins this season to fall back in the division standings, the Indians were more than ready to welcome the Tigers to town.
The Tribe’s win streak against Detroit extended to 15 following a 7-2 victory on Tuesday night at Progressive Field, as the club collected its Major League-best 65th win over a sub-.500 team. But not only did the victory allow the Indians to officially put the Twins series in the rearview mirror -- and move a half-game behind the Rays for the second AL Wild Card spot -- it was a reassuring response to the news that second baseman Jason Kipnis is out for the rest of the season.
“We can’t get down on ourselves and think about how tough some of the injuries have been,” center fielder Oscar Mercado said. “Luck hasn’t been on our side when it comes to that. Next man up, and we’ve got to keep battling.”
Cleveland jumped out to an early lead, beginning with a solo homer by the sizzling Mercado -- who has hit .400 with a 1.106 OPS in his past 12 games -- in the first inning. From there, the Indians' offense racked up six more runs on 11 hits, including two RBI knocks from Roberto Perez and a pinch-hit, two-run triple from Jordan Luplow. But the best sign for the Tribe was a solid 3-for-5 night from Yasiel Puig.
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The Indians traded starter Trevor Bauer at the Trade Deadline in order to acquire some right-handed pop in the middle of the lineup, including Puig and Franmil Reyes, to help the Tribe’s chances of securing a spot in the postseason. But in Puig’s final 11 games of August, he hit a mere .111 with a .371 OPS. In order to secure an American League Wild Card spot, the Indians will need Puig’s bat.
“Going into the back end of the season, whenever you’re able to get one of your best hitters to feel good at the plate, that’s a great thing,” Mercado said. “That’s something that can really elevate us to the next level.”
Puig’s night began with a double in the first inning, then he beat out an infield single to shortstop in the fourth. As the ball came off of his bat, Puig said he reflected on his decision not to run out a ground ball in Minnesota more than a week ago.
“I got a ground ball to the shortstop and I remembered the day I didn’t run, and I felt bad and made my team and my manager look bad,” Puig said. “I said, ‘All right, need to run,’ and I beat the shortstop and got the hit. If you’re not running, you never know what’s going to happen in that play.”
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The man they call “Wild Horse” capped off his evening with an RBI single to left in the eighth. As he moved to third on a Luplow double, Puig appeared to limp in his final few steps before reaching the bag, but the 28-year-old insists he’s healthy enough to play through his bumps and bruises.
“I did something to my hamstring, and taped my ankle and the knee that I hit [in the collision] with Mercado [in Minnesota] and later in Anaheim; that ball hit me in the knee and I’ve been taping," he said. "But I try to not think about all the situations that have happened with my body, come here, enjoy the game and do the best I can and play hard for my team.
“We have been doing the best we can every day and every night when we’re going out,” Puig said. “We try to win games and see what happens at the end of the season, because we want to go to the playoffs, and we’ve been fighting every day, and we’re gonna make it.”