Indians outfielder Josh Naylor  held his breath and watched as his long fly ball crept closer and closer to the right-field wall, unsure if it had enough power behind it to get over. It needed every inch of the projected 372 feet it traveled, hitting just above the yellow line on the fence, giving the Indians the timely hit they’ve desperately been searching for over the last four days.

The Indians jumped out to a five-run lead in the first, but the bats went quiet as the Angels clawed their way back over the next six innings. But with the score tied in the top of the eighth, Naylor delivered the go-ahead blast with a solo shot to right-center, lifting Cleveland to a 6-5 victory over Los Angeles at Angel Stadium on Tuesday night to avoid extending the losing streak to a season-high five games.

“I mean, it was a great feeling,” Naylor said. “I knew going into that inning that we can change the game and win the ballgame next inning if we put one on the board. The first thing, I just went up there and just tried to look for one good pitch to hit and I got a good pitch in my zone and thankfully it went out.”

Cleveland needed to stop the bleeding. The offense and starting rotation went cold at the same time over the past four days and the team couldn’t do anything to get itself back on the right track. And after going 13-3 in the 16-game span that led up to the series opener in Seattle last Thursday, the Indians didn’t want to erase all the momentum they had built.

How did they do it? It started with the biggest first inning the team’s had in nearly two years. The five-run frame -- highlighted by a José Ramírez 2-run homer -- was the most runs Cleveland has scored in the first since plating seven on Aug. 15, 2019, against the Yankees. Not only was it a weight off the team’s shoulders just to have a big offensive inning, it was even more reassuring for a lineup that entered Tuesday with the second-worst collective batting average against left-handers in the Majors (.198). All five runs came off Angels southpaw Andrew Heaney.

“It's a really good recipe for success,” Indians manager Terry Francona said of the big first inning. “Their bullpen, [Jaime] Barria came in and we did nothing after that. They kind of chipped away and got the big three-run homer. We couldn't separate it more. But that's certainly a good way to play.”

The bats did fall silent after the first-inning explosion until the eighth when Naylor hit the go-ahead blast. But maybe, just maybe, stringing a few hits together was the first step of figuring out how to get this lineup to catch fire. Ramírez has been a constant for the Indians all season. The team is just waiting for someone (if not multiple bats) to step up and help him produce. While most eyes go to Franmil Reyes and Eddie Rosario as the first options, Naylor has been here to remind everyone that he can be just as dangerous as the big sluggers.

In his first 12 games of May, Naylor hit .311 with a .910 OPS as the Indians went 9-2 in those games. In the team’s past three losses, Naylor went a combined 1-for-12 with one RBI before his two-hit night on Tuesday. He proved just how beneficial he can be for this lineup in last year’s two-game Wild Card Series against the Yankees, but one of his biggest problems this year has been facing lefties. And it has become even more difficult when the Indians have faced the second-most southpaws in the Majors (trailing only the Astros) so far this season.

Naylor entered the night hitting .152 in 46 at-bats against lefties this year. And for a team that favors righty-lefty matchups, Francona has been confident that Naylor can and will continue to hold his own against southpaws moving forward. And after picking up a base hit in the first off Heaney, Naylor’s go-ahead blast in the eighth came off lefty Alex Claudio, proving that he can be a force in this lineup when his bat picks up steam.

“I don't think he gives a whole lot on lefties and I think he has the ability to hit them,” Francona said. “He's probably slightly better against righties this year, but I don't think he's going be a guy that you need to platoon. And I don't think he feels like that, either. I think he'll be OK. Again, he's young and he's learning.”