It was a historic week for the Cleveland Indians highlighted with an epic 19-inning affair that sealed a record 14-game winning streak for the Tribe.

There were an abundance of highlights and memories from the streak including great play from rookie Tyler Naquin, who was named American League Rookie of the Month, and Danny Salazar, who was named American League Pitcher of the Month. The Tribe now enjoys a 5.5 game lead in the American League Central Division and hopefully can carry some momentum after a spectacular month of June.

During the last five games of the winning streak, the Indians (49-32) gave up just eight runs while scoring 22. Pitching is definitely going to carry the team for the long run if it continues to be successful and has hopes of making it to the World Series in October.

Unfortunately for the short-term, that marathon affair on July 1 took a toll as Trevor Bauer was called on for relief to finish the game rather than make his scheduled start on July 2. Bauer, to his credit, pitched well and lasted long enough for the Indians to score a run to eventually win the game, but that meant another starter had to be utilized and Zach McAllister was called to make the spot start and lasted just an inning giving up three runs. He clearly isn’t a starter anymore.

It also essentially cost the services of utility man Michael Martinez, who was designated for assignment to make room for pitcher Shawn Morimando, who was called up from AA Akron to provide some innings for the Tribe before he was sent back down to the minors on the following day. Martinez had been playing fairly well in his reserve role this season with 17 hits in 60 at bats (.283 average) and playing capable defense around the ball field. It was likely the best stretch of his career considering the journeyman Martinez is a career .199 hitter.

Perhaps the roster move regarding Martinez was inevitable as outfielder Abraham Almonte was activated July 3 from the restricted list following his suspension for using a performance-enhancing substance. That was also the day that saw the Indians get blown out 17-1 by Toronto and eventually included backup catcher Chris Gimenez pitching two innings. More concerning was the pitching of starter Corey Kluber, who gave up five runs on seven hits and four walks in just 3.1 innings of work.

The Indians front office also will likely make some personnel decisions soon as it remains to be seen whether Almonte can be effective along with a catcher Roberto Perez nearing a return from the disabled list. Depending how things go, there also could be some moves to shorten the eight-man bullpen or at least change the makeup as a guy like Tom Gorzelanny or Tommy Hunter might not be around that much longer.

Anyway, it is time to move on from the streak and the blowout loss. The Indians welcome back the Detroit Tigers (44-38) for three games at Progressive Field that will be followed by a four-game series against the New York Yankees (40-41) that will carry both teams into the All-Star Game break.

The July 4 and July 5 games are scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m. and the July 6 game is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. The July 7 and July 8 games against New York are scheduled for 7:10 p.m., June 9 at 4:10 p.m. and concluding with a 1:10 p.m. start on June 10.

Salazar (10-3, 2.22 ERA) takes the mound for the Tribe on July 4 (which is sold out), while the Tigers will counter with lefty Daniel Norris (1-0, 4.09 ERA). Norris last pitched on June 29 against Miami and earned the win when he hurled five innings and gave up eight hits and two runs while walking one and striking out eight. Salazar, who could be in consideration to start the All-Star game, pitched seven innings and gave up no runs on June 29 against Atlanta to earn the win. He gave up just five hits and no walks while striking out eight.

Carlos Carrasco (4-2, 2.56 ERA) gets the start for Cleveland on July 5, while Jordan Zimmermann (9-4, 3.95 ERA) will go for the Tigers. Zimmermann pitched six innings on June 30 against Tampa and gave up nine hits, four runs, while striking out three and walking two in a no-decision. Carrasco was dominant in his last appearance when he pitched a complete game on June 30 against Toronto and gave up just three hits and one run while walking two and mowing down 14 Blue Jay hitters in a masterful performance.

Josh Tomlin (9-1, 3.21 ERA) will get the start on July 6, while the Tigers will counter with Michael Fulmer (8-2, 2.17 ERA). Fulmer was impressive in his last appearance on July 1 against Tampa when he pitched seven scoreless innings and gave up two runs and one walk while striking out 10 to earn the victory. Tomlin pitched six innings to start the marathon 19-inning game on July 1 against Toronto and gave up just one run and walked two and struck out eight.

For the four-game series with New York, neither the Indians nor the Yankees have announced starting pitchers.

Who’s Hot – Who’s Not

Rajai Davis, a key contributor during the 14-game win streak, has swung a hot bat and been a terror on the base paths. He slashed .339/.365/.625 and stole seven bases during that span and also hit three home runs during his last 56 at bats while scoring 12 runs.

Jose Ramirez continues his overall solid play this season and has made himself into a player that must be in the lineup nearly every game. In his last seven games Ramirez has 11 hits in 32 at bats and is slashing .344/.364/.406 during that span. With Almonte on the roster, look for Ramirez to return to his regular role as the super utility player with most of his time on the field in the infield.

As I mentioned earlier, Gorzelanny has scuffled and really hasn’t used that much. For the season, he’s appeared in seven games and pitched three innings. He does have a win, but also has a 21.00 ERA after giving up seven runs in 0.1 innings on July 3.

In his last 15 appearances, McAllister has pitched 15 innings in 15 games. During that span, he’s given up 14 hits and eight walks while giving up 10 runs for a 6.00 ERA. On the plus side, he did strike out 18 during those appearances.