CLEVELAND -- There was a brief feeling-out period, like an awkward handshake or a shy hello.

But after a quiet first night for the revamped Indians’ offense Thursday against the Astros, Friday night’s series opener against the Angels' opener brought an eruption. And if what we saw in the Tribe’s 7-3 victory over the Halos at Progressive Field is any indication of what a better-balanced Indians order can accomplish, the final flourish of the 2019 season could be fun to watch.

• Box score

A more balanced -- and opener-proof -- lineup thumped both the Halos’ opening act, Taylor Cole, and the piggybacking Dillon Peters to back Mike Clevinger. New cleanup man Yasiel Puig’s two RBI singles were a focal point, but key contributions came from up and down the lineup, which for the longest time was lacking significant right-handed thump, but now has it in spades.

“Right now,” said Clevinger, “with our lineup, like when you go against the Yankees or Boston, you’re doing almost max-effort, high-intensity pitching with no one on base the entire game, let alone when someone gets on base. So that plays a huge role in wearing down a pitcher mentally. That’s big-time for us, especially going down the stretch.”

In the top half of the first, Clevinger gave up a homer to Mike Trout. But Clevinger settled in from there in a bit of a walk-prone, but nonetheless effective, 6 1/3 innings of work.

And he had backing from the beginning: Carlos Santana singled off Cole with two on and none out to score Francisco Lindor in the first, and Puig followed with a 104-mph rocket line-drive single to left to score Oscar Mercado. Jose Ramirez’s RBI double to right completed the clobbering of Cole, and the Angels closed the book on the opener with only one out recorded.

It was 4-1 going into the second, and the runs kept coming for the home club against Peters. A Lindor single and Mercado double set the tone, and a Santana sacrifice fly and Puig single brought the duo home. 

This was the Puig that the Indians hoped to get in the three-team deal that sent Trevor Bauer to Cincinnati -- one who is motivated, high-energy and, most of all, productive.

“[Puig] brings so much to the table -- his energy, he hustles, he tries to take the extra base,” said catcher Roberto Perez, whose solo shot in the third put the game out of reach at 7-1. “Even on defense, you try to tag up on him and he lets it go. It brings a lot of energy to our team, which Jose and Lindor bring every day.”

Manager Terry Francona captured the appeal of Puig perfectly.

“Shoot,” Francona said, “if I was a fan, that’d be one of the guys, if I was hungry, I’d wait ‘til after he hit, because you want to see what he’ll be able to do.”

Though Franmil Reyes, the Indians’ other Deadline import, didn’t have as dynamic a day, his 104.8-mph flyout to deep center in the fifth and his batting practice blast over the trees that serve as the center-field batter’s eye, were evidence that his power comes as advertised.

The Tribe has done great work to shave an 11 1/2-game AL Central deficit down to three, but the uptick in schedule difficulty demanded a more lethal lineup. The Indians, winners of 14 of their last 19, sure appear to have it. And the lineup’s early work made some late-inning threats from the Angels -- including a bases-loaded jam that reliever Nick Goody pitched his way out of in the seventh -- too little, too late.

“It’s nice to feel like if you get a guy on, you got a chance,” Francona said. “You’d love to string hits together, but any number of those guys is liable to hit one in the seats, which is a good feeling.”