Keys to the game (5/16)

Keys to the game- 1.) Get it together Salazar! Danny Boy has been a hot mess pretty much all season long. He has been struggling to settle in, has had trouble maintaining his command, and has not been able to to go deep into ballgames. The fact that he has struck out 53 batters in 36 1/3 innings gets over shadowed by his other stats- 2-3 record, 5.20 ERA, 1.57 WHIP. It has been reported that he has been working on adjusting his warm up routine with the hopes of avoiding any more first inning implosions. As we saw last night, Tampa Bay will try and get on the board early- they will swing for the fences. Salazar needs to make sure he comes out with confidence, and keeps the ball down. We know what he is capable when he is at his best... we need to see that tonight. 2.) Score early, score often. The Indians offense came out and scored early again last night, which proved to be huge as the Tampa Bay Rays made it a close game at the end. Tonight we face another pitcher that has been pitching solid baseball as of late. Jake Odorizzi currently has a 2-2 record with a 2.61 ERA in 31 innings pitched. It is important that we capitalize when we have runners in scoring position, so be patient. Put the pressure on the pitcher, don't expand the zone for him- make him make good pitches. Don't help him tip toe around disaster, take advantage of mistakes. And if they intentional walk the batter in front of you (which they did twice last night), take it personally! Make them pay for it. 3.) Don't take a lead for granted. If we happen to find ourselves with a lead tonight, be it 1 run or 10, don't take it for granted. Tampa Bay showed alot of grit, alot of fight last night. After falling behind 5 to 1, they did not roll over or write the game off. They kept chipping a way at the lead, kept responding... and they made it close. So don't let up! Don't go on cruise control. In the same way, if we find ourselves behind at any point tonight, don't give up. Keep playing, keep scoring, keep pressing until the last out is recorded.