CHICAGO -- It’s been a season of inconsistency for the Cleveland Indians. But through the club’s highest points and its lowest of lows, Carlos Santana's bat has remained a constant.
With the score tied in the top of the fourth, Santana launched a solo homer to give the Indians a one-run lead. The blast, his team-leading eleventh of the year, was part of his two-hit afternoon in the Tribe’s 5-2 victory over the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday afternoon. The victory, following Friday’s sloppy loss, prevented the Tribe from dropping to third place in the American League Central.
“We made some mistakes today, but we played through them,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “They kind of picked each other up. I know we’re not gonna be perfect. We’ve got some young guys and some inexperience, but I like the way that they came out with some energy and played a lot.”
A single in the fourth inning extended Santana’s on-base streak, via hit or walk, to 18 games, dating back to May 14, a span in which the Indians have gone 8-10. But during that stretch, the Tribe’s No. 3 batter has hit .339 with 17 RBIs, 14 runs, 19 walks, six homers, five doubles, one triple and a 1.236 OPS.
His long ball in the fourth inning was his hardest-hit homer, as tracked by Statcast, since Aug. 4 of last season (109.5 mph). Entering play on Saturday, Santana ranked second in the Majors in average exit velocity (a minimum of 150 batted ball events) at 93.5 mph, trailing only Pittsburgh’s Josh Bell (94.6 mph). The 33-year-old ranks in the 98th percentile in exit velocity and in the 96th percentile in percentage of hard-hit balls.
“[Last year] I tried to pull all the time,” Santana said. “But this year my approach is of using all the field and not try too much. So, take it up the middle, make it my pitch and good swing.”
Just how valuable has Santana been for the Indians? He currently leads the Tribe in the following categories:
Average: .292
Home runs: 11
RBI: 37
Runs: 34
On-base percentage: .412
Slugging percentage: .520
OPS: .931
Hits: 59
Doubles (Tied with Jose Ramirez): 11
Walks: 40
“That’s because he’s used the whole field,” Francona said. “He’s been such a pull-orientated hitter. Now he’s using more of the field and he’s getting the barrel on the ball a lot. You’re gonna have success.”
Rodriguez to get MRI
A Jason Kipnis sacrifice fly was to give starter Jefry Rodriguez some early run support before the hurler was removed from the game after just four innings and 58 pitches with right lat tightness. He will receive an MRI and the team expects to know more on Sunday or Monday.
“He had some shoulder tightness and he wanted to pitch like crazy and he fought us on it and none of us thought it was a good idea for somebody to go out there,” Francona said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Rodriguez had allowed one run on two hits with three walks and three strikeouts, but his velocity started to dip as the afternoon went on. While Statcast was logging his pitches as changeups, the right-hander was actually throwing fastballs that were clocking in in the upper 80s on the radar gun.
“I thought he competed like he always does,” Francona said. “He lost the plate a little bit with his fastball. Now to his credit, he really spun his breaking ball better than we’ve probably seen. But then we saw his velocity click down a couple. So we got him in between innings.”
Staying scoreless
Oliver Pérez relieved Rodriguez to start the fifth and worked a scoreless 1 2/3 innings. He has shut out opponents in 17 of his last 18 games (13 frames). Ten of those appearances have been hitless.
“In my last couple years, I’ve been like a lefty specialist,” Perez said. “And, you know, you’ve just got to be ready for anything. For me, I’m available to pitch to righties and lefties. And a couple years ago, I was normally just facing like one lefty. But I can do anything. I’m prepared for anything. That’s a really good win for us.”
Brad Hand came on in the ninth to continue his perfect save streak, converting his 16th of the season and extending his scoreless streak to seven innings in seven games.
“[Hand] is one of the best,” Francona said. “We’re lucky to have him. It’s nice to know that you have a guy down there that’s waiting to pitch. He’s tremendous.”