CLEVELAND -- Before the start of the series against the Mariners on Friday, Indians manager Terry Francona called a brief team meeting, addressing the adversity the club will have to overcome due to some recent injuries.

The message was clear: “This is our time to shine or we can feel sorry for ourselves and lose.”

“If I don’t believe in them, how the heck are they supposed to?” Francona said on Friday. “Our job is to believe we can win tonight’s game by one run. … Keep it in smaller segments and it sort of makes it a little easier.”

And that’s exactly what the Indians have done. After winning in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth on Friday, the Tribe pulled out another one-run victory against Seattle on Saturday when Carlos Santana delivered the go-ahead two-run blast to center field, giving his team the 5-4 lead that it would not relinquish.

• Box score: Indians 5, Mariners 4

“It’s been fun the last two nights,” said Francisco Lindor, who hit a solo homer in the third. “We battled with a lot of different injuries throughout the season. It seems like nobody is hitting right now except Santana and [Tyler] Naquin and we’re still finding ways to win. And that’s what it’s all about: find ways to win, find ways to help each other out, count on each other and try to get the W.”

Mr. Reliable delivers again
The team has been able to count on Santana’s bat all season, as the 33-year-old leads the team in RBIs (19), average (.321) and .OPS (.938). Through his first 30 games of the year (106 at-bats), Santana’s average exit velocity is 95.1 mph, which is 6.2 mph harder than his average last season and he ranks in the top two percent of the league with a 56.1 hard-hit percentage.

“It’s 100 at-bats but I do know his ground-ball rate has increased, his popup rate has decreased,” Francona said. “His hard contact is probably the same as it’s always been. He’s just using more of the field, so now he’s hitting more pitches.”

With two outs, a runner on second and the Indians trailing by one in the bottom of the eighth, Santana launched his fifth homer of the year, and fourth in the last five games. In 12 at-bats with two outs and runners in scoring position, Santana is now hitting .500 (6-for-12) with one homer and nine RBIs.

“He’s been very patient, which he always has, but he’s driving the baseball, taking hits the other way,” Lindor said. "I’m learning, learning from him. … He’s teaching all of us how to play the game.”

Carrasco’s strange afternoon
With the Indians calling on Cody Anderson -- who isn’t fully stretched out just yet -- to make his first Major League start since Sept. 24, 2016, on Sunday after missing the last two seasons due to Tommy John surgery, Carlos Carrasco gave the Indians exactly what they needed Saturday, tossing 7 2/3 innings on 94 pitches.

“I think it was something that was really important just to get deep into the game and keep it close,” Carrasco said. “Then I got out of the game, I talked to the guys, my teammates, 'We're going to win this game, let's play hard.' That's what happened. Santana came with the homer and two runs.”

Despite the length of his outing and his nine strikeouts, Carrasco gave up seven hits, including four solo homers -- a career high.

“His pitch [count] was almost absurdly low,” Francona said. “The hits he gave up were solo homers, kind of a weird outing. … I thought he actually early was dominant. About the fifth, sixth inning the velocity crept down a little bit, but I thought he was still effective. He just, every mistake he made he paid for.”

Fun with Edwin
In the sixth, Lindor made a diving play up the middle to rob Edwin Encarnacion of a single. The original ruling on the field was that the former Indian was safe (later overturned), but as the umpires took a second look, Lindor, Santana and Encarnacion enjoyed a little reunion at first.

“I was like, ‘Bro, you knew I was gonna one-hop the ball. Everybody knows I’m one-hopping the baseball,’” Lindor said. “And [Encarnacion] was like, ‘Man…’ I can’t tell you what he said. But it’s all fun. I wish I could give him hits, but I won’t give him hits. I’m helping my team.”