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Indians win ties team record because Cleveland just can't lose

Israel Fehr

LeBron James and the Cavaliers deliver Cleveland its first pro sports championship in over 50 years and all of a sudden the city forgets what it feels like to lose.

The Indians have been on a tear since the Cavaliers won Game 6 of the NBA Finals on July 16, and their winning streak has reached 13 with a 4-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night

You thought the Cleveland championship drought was long? The last time the Indians were this hot was 65 years ago.

The 13 consecutive victories equals the franchise-record shared by the 1951 and 1942 Indians. Add in the Cavs’ wins in Game 6 and 7 on their way to the title and Cleveland sports teams have gone 15 days without suffering a loss.

This time it was Carlos Carrasco who starred on the mound for the pitching-rich Indians, striking out 14 over 7 1/3 innings. A Josh Donaldson home run to straight away center field in the fourth inning was the only run the Blue Jays’ usually mighty offense could muster.

Carlos Carrasco's gem ran Cleveland's winning streak to 13. (The Canadian Press via AP/Eduardo Lima)
Carlos Carrasco’s gem ran Cleveland’s winning streak to 13. (The Canadian Press via AP/Eduardo Lima)

Rajai Davis and Jason Kipnis’ homers off Toronto starter R.A. Dickey gave Cleveland an early lead and they tacked on a run in the sixth and the ninth to add some insurance.

What seemed like a ludicrous question just over two weeks ago is now very much valid. Could Cleveland – yes, Cleveland – really win two championships in the same year? The way the Indians are playing right now, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched. With Carrasco (4-2, 2.56 ERA) settling in nicely after coming back from a hamstring injury to rejoin Corey Kluber (8-7, 3.50 ERA), Danny Salazar (10-3, 2.22 ERA), Josh Tomlin (9-1, 3.32 ERA) and Trevor Bauer (6-2, 3.19 ERA) in perhaps the American League’s top rotation, there’s good reason to believe the best is yet to come. Cleveland’s starters have a 1.86 ERA in 97 innings during the winning streak.

The postseason is still over three months away, though, so let’s not get too carried away. Before Cleveland dreams of October, these Indians will look to move past the 1951 and 1942 teams with another win on Friday afternoon at Rogers Centre to make it 14 in a row and keep the good times going.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter.