CLEVELAND -- There was a roaring cheer at Progressive Field in the top of the eighth inning Monday night when the big screen in left field showed the final out of the Mets’ narrow victory over the first-place Twins.

Plenty of fans were ready to count the Indians out after back-to-back losses to Minnesota to open the second half of the season on Friday and Saturday, but the Tribe continues to prove they’re not ready to disappear any time soon. Cleveland secured its third consecutive win Tuesday night in an 8-0 victory over Detroit at Progressive Field, moving up to five games out of first in the American League Central.

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The Tribe avoided getting swept by the Twins with a win on Sunday and gained a half game with a victory against the Tigers on Monday. But after gaining the game and a half, outfielder Oscar Mercado was left fielding questions about the importance of bouncing back from the two losses.

“What did we lose, like one game [in the standings]?” Mercado said after Monday night’s win. “It's one game, but we have, how many, 60-something games left? … You don't ever want to say it's a must-win, but I think us winning that game [Sunday] was absolutely huge, and now going into this series, we take the first game and we're definitely getting back on track.”

Despite the slow start out of the gate after the All-Star break, the Indians are now a season-best 13 games over .500 (53-40) and have won nine of their last 11 contests, scoring 66 runs with 20 homers in that span. The team is still tied with the Nationals for the best record in baseball since June 4, going 24-10.

"We're just doing our job and are playing our game,” reliever Nick Goody said. “We know what we have to do to surpass Minnesota, but we're not looking at the scores every day."

The Indians were carried largely by first baseman Carlos Santana through the early weeks of the season, then shortstop Francisco Lindor and Mercado pitched in through May and June. But the biggest difference once the calendar flipped to July is the production that the team has gotten from the bottom third of its lineup.

The seven, eight and nine hitters in Tuesday’s batting order were Roberto Pérez, Jake Bauers and Tyler Naquin. Even with an 0-for-4 night in the win, Perez has hit .370 since the beginning of the month with a 1.158 OPS. Bauers’ RBI single in the second gave him his eighth RBI in nine July games, hitting .343 in that span. But the biggest contributions have come from the No. 9 hitter, Naquin.

“I used to say he has survival instincts [when he was younger],” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “And I meant that as a compliment. [Monday] night was a good example. He took a couple swings off that left-hander, one was over his head. One was over there. Then he fouled off a couple and he got a breaking ball and hit a double. Next time up, guy throws him a breaking ball that’s probably this far off the plate, but he stays on it enough to hit it down the third-base line. He may not always look pretty. He may look off balance, but he’s not going to give in.”

In his last eight contests, Naquin has hit .448 with five doubles, two homers, eight RBIs and a 1.343 OPS. The Indians have won 15 of the 20 contests in which he’s recorded at least one RBI, including Tuesday, when the right fielder hit a solo homer in the sixth. He also recorded a single in the second to earn his fourth consecutive multi-hit game, the longest streak of his career.

“Every player that steps in the box would like to claim that they’re a survivalist, especially with two strikes,” Naquin said. “But there’s a lot of good pitchers in the league. Everybody’s got good stuff. You get 0-2, you’re up there battling. Like I said, these guys got good stuff. But you might be off balance on one swing and you step out. You practice to make those in-game adjustments, not just at-bat to at-bat, but pitch to pitch. That’s what the good hitters do.

“It’s good watching guys like Santana. I’ve had the luxury of watching [Michael] Brantley and Frankie, guys like that. Being able to make those pitch-to-pitch adjustments. It rubs off. It trickles off other players.”