MIAMI -- Last Wednesday at Progressive Field, Indians reliever Nick Wittgren surrendered a game-tying homer to Marlins designated hitter Martin Prado in the eighth inning.

Following the Tribe's eventual 6-2 win, Wittgren sent a text to one of his former Miami teammates asking him to relay a message to the veteran Prado.

"'Hey, happy you're healthy and all, but next time can you hit a double off the wall?'" Wittgren recalled before Wednesday's finale at Marlins Park.

It was a surreal moment for Wittgren, whom the Marlins selected in the ninth round of the 2012 Draft. He spent his first three Major League seasons with the organization before it designated him for assignment this past January, then dealt him two weeks before Spring Training.

Wittgren didn't see the move coming. In fact, he felt confident with his history and 2018 season that he would be around for one more year. Interesting enough, what didn't surprise him was not making Cleveland's Opening Day roster because of the tough competition for a couple of open spots.

"It was one of those things, 'I'm going to go in, be me. If not, I'll go to Triple-A and keep doing myself and keep throwing the ball well,'" Wittgren said. "It's all you can do, not give them a reason to keep you down there or anything."

Since being recalled on April 9, Wittgren has made the most of the opportunity. Entering Wednesday, five of his eight outings have been at least 1 1/3 innings. He has inherited six runners and allowed none of them to score.

In Tuesday's 7-4 win over the Marlins, Wittgren worked around a walk and hit to pitch a scoreless eighth. Former Marlin Brad Hand, someone Wittgren would see every Spring Training in Jupiter, Fla., pitched a perfect ninth for the save. The 27-year-old right-hander's 0.87 ERA ranks third among American League relievers.

"I know last year my walks were up a little bit, so I've been trying to work on consistently pounding the zone. Last night was the first night I didn't do that," Wittgren said. "Luckily, I got out of it. That happens sometimes [when] you don't have your best stuff and you get out of it. At the same time, I feel like I've been pretty consistent with starting off with first-pitch strikes and getting ahead of hitters. That was my whole mentality coming in from spring and last season. I got away from pounding the zone, was trying to nitpick a little bit, and now I'm just going right after it."

Added Indians manager Terry Francona: "He’s been a breath of fresh air for us. He throws strikes. He keeps the ball down. He holds runners. We’ve been really pleased. Put him in some tough situations and he seemed to really enjoy it."

Party at Napoli's

A familar face hung out with the Tribe before and during Wednesday's batting practice: Mike Napoli.

"Unbelievable," Francona said. "I want to take him with us back to Cleveland. I want to kidnap him."

Napoli, who spent his second-to-last season in the Majors with the Indians in 2016, lives in nearby Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Though he would like to stay involved in baseball, he admitted needing some time away. Napoli has instead gotten into horseracing, even buying some thoroughbreds that race in New York and Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Wednesday wasn't Napoli's first time in the stands at a Major League ballpark since retiring. He saw a game in Texas two weeks ago.

"I pay attention," Napoli said, when asked if he follows his former teammates. "Every time I put on a game it's like, 'Man, I wish I was out there' kind of thing. I always in the morning check to see what the guys did. My former teams, see what they did. I have a lot of friends still on other teams. I pay attention enough to know what's going on."

Clevinger update

One day after throwing from 60 feet for the first time since landing on the injured list with an upper back strain, the Tribe was encouraged with how Mike Clevinger felt.

"He threw, just not in his delivery," Francona said of Clevinger's activity on Wednesday. "He recovered really well today. He was pretty happy about that."