Photo courtesy of thescore.com | Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer and the rest of the pitching staff put on a clinic against opposing hitters during the win streak with a 1.77 ERA.
The Indians win streak was finally ended by the Kansas City Royals in Cleveland on Sept. 15. The longest streak in major league history halted at 22 wins.
This incredible feat of baseball has some crazy statistics with it. It is the second longest streak in MLB history, but only by a technicality. The 1916 Giants “won” 26 games in a row. However, there was a tie in the middle, resulting in two streaks of 14 and 12 games.
Cleveland’s run differential during the streak was off the charts. Opponents lost by an average of 4.77 runs and were outscored by an astounding 142-37. Thirteen games were won by four or more runs. Only one win was determined by a walk-off and the team was only behind in eight innings during the stretch.
In order to achieve such a long streak, both the hitting and pitching needed to be on their A game. The team’s slash line was .306/.385/.552. Jose Ramirez was the Indian’s best hitter during the streak. He hit an impressive slash line of .423/.426/.944 with 11 doubles, eight home runs, five walks and three strikeouts. The pitching staff was on fire during the streak, posting a great 1.77 ERA and a 5.35 K/BB ratio.
Indians owner Paul Dolan commented, “It’s great to have this streak, but I’d rather win two out of three all year long than have the longest winning streak by two games. If you win two out of three every time, you hoist the trophy at the end. Streaks are nice… but two out of three through October would be nice.”
While Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer was at UCLA, he started a game that resulted in snapping a 22-game win streak. History repeated itself when he took the mound on Friday and the Indians lost 4-3 to the Royals. The loss came in front of a sellout crowd of 34,025, who gave the team a standing ovation to celebrate its monumental accomplishment.
The Indians had huge support from their fans during the streak. “(The fans) have been so supportive,” said Indians manager Terry Francona. ”The atmosphere around here is incredible and I think our players wanted to show their appreciation. It’s by no means the last game of the year or anything like that, it’s just been pretty incredible how they’ve reacted and we just wanted to show our appreciation because we don’t take it for granted.”
The reigning American League Champions took a step closer to returning to the World Series with this record-breaking streak.
It was able to claim the AL Central title, securing a playoff spot and closing in on a top seed in the American League playoffs. The club is now on pace for its third 100-win season. The Indians look to return to the World Series for a second straight year.
By: Jack Dunn ~Staff Writer~
