CLEVELAND _ Back-to-back home runs.
Another strong outing from a starter.
The bullpen closing the door.
And win No. 18 before a national audience.
The Indians just keep rolling. Behind a quality start by Trevor Bauer and a power display in the sixth, the Indians took down the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2, on Sunday night at Progressive Field to secure their 18th consecutive win. The game was broadcast on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.
Three hitters into the game, a team that has only trailed four innings in 17 games entering Sunday grabbed the lead. Francisco Lindor led off the first with a double off Orioles starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson (2-4) and advanced to third on Lonnie Chisenhall's bloop single. Jose Ramirez then grounded a ball to second base, which was enough to allow Lindor to score.
The Orioles tied it in sixth against Bauer. Manny Machado doubled and was driven in by Jonathan Schoop on a single to left.
The deadlocked score didn't last long. Roberto Perez, the first batter of the sixth inning, drove a solo home run _ his fifth of the season _ above the 19-foot wall in left field to give the Indians (87-56) a 2-1 lead.
Lindor followed suit, with a little help from Abraham Almonte, according to ESPN's Buster Olney, who was reporting from the field. During Lindor's at-bat, he broke his bat and needed a new one. According to Olney, Almonte tossed him one of his. On Lindor's next swing, he launched a solo home run to right field and immediately turned toward the Indians dugout and smiled.
With a 3-1 lead, Bauer (16-8) allowed a solo home run to Chris Davis in the seventh to bring the Orioles (71-72) to within 3-2 and end his night on the mound. He finished with two earned runs allowed on seven hits and seven strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings, continuing his string of solid starts.
Joe Smith, Tyler Olson, Nick Goody and Cody Allen (26 saves) combined to lock down the final 2 1/3 innings to keep the streak alive.
It wasn't all good news Sunday night. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Bradley Zimmer grounded a ball to the right side and sprinted to first. As a tag was attempted by Orioles first baseman Chris Davis, Zimmer slid into first base. It appeared that Zimmer hit his head on the ground and had his left hand stepped on by Davis. He remained down on the ground for a few moments as trainers tended to him near first. He then walked off with the trainers and was taken out of the game. Greg Allen replaced him in center field.
It was later announced that Zimmer had suffered an injury to his left hand. Zimmer had recently returned from Major League Baseball's concussion protocol after having to exit the Indians' game in Detroit on Sept. 2 after coming down hard while trying to make a catch in center field, which certainly made the apparent hit to the head a bit more concerning.
