CLEVELAND _ Their production might not be enough to catch the American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins, who stubbornly refuse to falter.
But the Indians' much-maligned offense might finally deserve some praise.
The Indians used a five-run second inning to cruise to an 8-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday at Progressive Field in the major league debut of 23-year-old Tribe prospect Bobby Bradley.
Bradley's call-up from Triple-A Columbus was long awaited and perhaps well timed, because the Indians have put together a large enough sample size to prove they've found some moxie at the plate. There is not a sense that Bradley, a left-handed slugger, will have to do it alone.
The Indians entered the day averaging 5.82 runs in their last 17 games dating back to June 4, third-best in the American League in that span. They also started Sunday ranked second in the majors in slugging percentage (.516) and third in home runs (35) since that date. They scored 17 runs against the Tigers in the series.
Struggling Jose Ramirez is heating up, going 5 for 11 in the three-game series, and Jason Kipnis looks like the Kipnis of old, hitting 5 for 10.
But all eyes were on Bradley, who went 1 for 3 with an RBI and one strikeout. Manager Terry Francona lifted Bradley for pinch-runner Jake Bauers after an eighth-inning walk and Bradley doffed his helmet as he trotted off with a skip in his step.
A third-round pick in 2014, Bradley wasted no time making an impact. When he came to the plate in the second inning, Bradley smashed left-hander Daniel Norris' second pitch to the warning track in the left field corner for a ground-rule RBI double.
The Indians (42-35) improved to a season-best seven games over .500. They have won eight of their last 10 and 13 of their last 18. Their next nine games are against the Kansas City Royals (six), last in the AL Central, and Baltimore Orioles, last in the AL East.
The Indians improved to 14-6 in June and 8-1 against the Tigers this season, beating Detroit for the seventh consecutive time. The Indians recorded their sixth sweep of the Tigers since Sept. 1, 2017, as Detroit lost for the eighth time in the last nine games.
Watching from the dugout was right-hander Carlos Carrasco, placed on the 10-day injured list June 5 after being diagnosed with a blood disorder. Carrasco also made appearances in the clubhouse before and after Saturday's victory.
In the Indians' second, Ramirez and Kipnis hit one-out singles and Bradley drove in Ramirez. Kevin Plawecki reached on an infield single to short and the Tigers' Niko Goodrum threw the ball into the dugout, allowing Kipnis and Bradley to score on the error. Francisco Lindor's double to the top of the wall in center brought in the fourth run and Oscar Mercado added an RBI single to left.
Carlos Santana hit his team-high 17th home run in the fifth, a 380-foot shot to right field for a 6-1 lead. In the eighth, a two-run single by Kipnis put the game out of reach.
Rookie right-hander Zach Plesac (3-2, 2.33) became the second member of the Indians draft class of 2016 to post a victory in the series, following Aaron Civale, who made his major league debut Saturday.
Plesac gave up a home run to JaCoby Jones, a double to Nicholas Castellanos and a single to Miguel Cabrera to start the game before settling down and holding the Tigers to one run. Niko Goodrum lined out to third, Brandon Dixon fouled out to first and Christin Stewart lined out to center as Plesac minimized the damage.
Plesac went seven innings, allowing one run on five hits with two strikeouts and a walk.
The Tigers (26-47) scored two in the eighth off right-hander Nick Goody, who gave up a two-out, two-run single to Goodrum.
