CLEVELAND: The Indians, winners of five of their last seven games and 13 of their last 18, have started to gain ground in the American League Central division.
The offense has been better — they scored 146 runs in May, the fourth most in baseball. The bullpen has been more reliable, as Cody Allen (13 saves) and others have established themselves again. The starting rotation, led by the 1-2-3-4 punch of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer, has been terrific.
So who better to quantify all of this than Indians outfielder Nick Swisher, owner of eternal optimism with a flowing stream of “dudes” and “bros” and positivity?