Indians beat 'stros 4-3 behind Lindor bomb, take series

Quick recap

The Indians found a way tonight, thanks to the long ball and some gritty pitching performances.

Houston struck first in the top of the second inning when Marwin Gonzalez hit a solo home run to right center. Edwin Encarnacion (yay!) answered with a bomb to center in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game up at one. In the third inning, the Astros extended their lead to 3-1 behind an RBI single from Evan Gattis and an RBI double by Alex Bregman. The long ball was kind to the Tribe after that, as Abraham Almonte smashed a solo shot to right center in the bottom of the fifth. In the bottom of the seventh, Francisco Lindor scored Yan Gomes on a bomb to center field to give the Indians a 4-3 lead. The ninth inning took a few years off my life, but Cody Allen found a way, striking out Brian McCann with runners on the corners on a nice curve ball.

Yan Gomes

Player of the Game: It would be easy to choose Jose Ramirez, who had a three-hit game, but I'm going with Yan Gomes tonight. Gomes was 1-for-1 with two walks and he scored a run when Lindor hit the go-ahead homer in the seventh. Maybe most importantly, though, Gomes made a pivotal play in the top of the ninth after Jose Altuve led the inning off with a single. Altuve, who was 7-for-7 on steal attempts before the play, was thrown out by Gomes at second. Which leads me to...

The Last Word

Don't run on Yan! If Altuve steals that bag in the ninth, we might not be having this conversation right now. This was such an exciting series to watch between the Indians and the Astros! I thought people were overstating it, but this really could be a potential playoff series this postseason. Corey Kluber didn't have his best stuff, but he found a way to keep his team in the game tonight. Kluber went seven innings, giving up three runs on eight hits. Kluber struck out 10 and walked four on the night and got the victory, his third of the year. Allen also recorded his fifth save of the season in five save opportunities. The Tribe are back in action tomorrow at Progressive Field, as they take on the struggling Seattle Mariners.

Fun Stat of the Game

If you are a major league pitcher, you don't want to see Jose Ramirez when he's at Progressive field. The infielder was 3-for-4 tonight and is hitting a scorching .531 at home this season! Keep it up Jose!