It was a spectacular week for the Cleveland Indians, winners of five of six games against American League Central Division foes. The Tribe essentially turned the tables and erased the sour taste from the previous week that saw the team finish up with only one win in six games.

Now after winning two of three against Kansas City this past week that came after another three-game sweep of Detroit, the Indians (15-13) find themselves in sole possession of second place in the division. The Tribe also moved two games ahead of fourth-place Detroit (14-16) losers of their last six games. Cleveland moved a full game ahead of the Royals (13-13) for second place and trail only the red-hot Chicago White Sox (22-10).

Early this season, Francisco Lindor has emerged as perhaps the team’s leader with his spectacular fielding and prowess at the plate. He’s slashing.324/.384/.429 and seemingly in the middle of key plays on a regular basis. One has to think he’s already the leading candidate to start at shortstop for the All-Star game in July.

Danny Salazar also shows the signs of picking up the void left by the hamstring injury to Carlos Carrasco. Salazar is blossoming in his development and doing what we hoped he could do. Salazar is 3-2 with a 1.91 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 37 innings. He’s also has an impressive 0.90 WHIP and batters are hitting just .142 against him.

Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen have calmed some early season concerns in the bullpen and have been in lock-down mode in recent times. Shaw has given up only three hits and one run in his last seven innings and has struck out nine. Meanwhile, Allen earned his eighth save in eight chances and Shaw got his seventh hold after both appeared Sunday’s 5-4 victory against the defending World Series champs.

The week also took an interesting turn on the outfield situation as Lonnie Chisenhall made his first two appearances in center field after Tyler Naquin was optioned down to Columbus to make room for Cody Anderson to rejoin the Indians as the fifth starter.

Despite a nice start to his rookie campaign, Naquin became a casualty of a roster crunch because he had options available. He is hitting .315 with 17 hits in 54 ABs. He also had a solid OPS of .753 after posting a .327 OBP and slugging .426. Something for him to work on in Columbus is his strikeout ratio as he has struck out 19 times or almost at a 36% clip.

With Naquin, Jose Ramirez, Michael Brantley, Marlon Byrd, Rajai Davis and Chisenhall all on the roster, the Indians felt carrying six position players who can play in the outfield was a little too much. I expect it won’t be that long though before we see Naquin back in Cleveland.

The Tribe now hits the road for a quick three-game series at Houston (12-20) May 9-11, then enjoys a day off before hosting the Minnesota Twins (8-23) at Progressive Field on May 13-15.

Corey Kluber (2-3, 3.35 ERA) will take the mound in Houston on May 9 for the 8:10 p.m. start. The Astros will send Mike Fiers (2-1, 5.35 ERA) to the hill. Kluber looks to keep his recent success going and comes off throwing a shutout on May 4 against the Tigers. In that start, he gave up only five hits, two walks and struck out seven. Fiers on May 4 against Minnesota pitched just 4.2 innings in his start and gave up four runs and nine hits while walking one and striking out four.

Trevor Bauer (2-0, 5.14 ERA) gets the start on May 10 for the Indians at 8:10 p.m. Rookie Chris Devenski (0-1, 1.46 ERA) takes the mound against the Tribe and will make his third career start. Bauer earned the victory in his last start on May 5 against Detroit when he pitched 5.2 innings and gave up three runs and three hits, while walking two and striking out four. Deveniski pitched six innings in his last start on May 5 against Seattle and allowed only one run on six hits, while he struck out six and walked only one.

Salazar gets the start for the 2:10 p.m. series finale on May 11, while the Astros have yet to name a starter. Salazar earned the victory in his last start on May 6 against Kansas City. In that appearance, he pitched 7.2 innings and gave up no runs along with only four hits and one walk while striking out nine.

The Twins and Indians have yet to name starters for the weekend series with game times at 7:10 p.m. on May 13, 4:10 p.m. on May 14, and 1:10 p.m. May 15. With the day off on May 12, it remains to be seen whether the Indians might skip Anderson’s spot in the rotation during the weekend series to keep the other four starters on regular rest. It might not be a bad idea as he has struggled most of the season and is 0-2 with a 7.56 ERA in five starts.

Who’s Hot? – Who’s Not?

Kluber has been dominant in his last three starts compiling a 2-0 record with only three runs allowed in 20 innings with 23 Ks and only 13 hits given up. He and Salazar make a lethal top two of the rotation.

Joba Chamberlain has quietly had a nice start to the season and has helped solidify the bullpen. In 9.1 innings, he’s given up just one run and three hits while striking out six and allowing just two walks. Terry Francona has slowly eased Chamberlain into more high-pressure situations.

Yan Gomes has really struggled at the plate this season and is hitting just .176 with a .541 OPS. He has just 15 hits in 85 ABs for the season and only two hits in his last 24 (.083 average). Fortunately, Gomes has been fantastic behind the plate, essentially a defensive force calling a great game behind the plate and working well the the pitching staff and gunning down runners with pick-offs and those attempting to steal.

Rajai Davis has slumped lately with only three hits in his last 18 ABs for a .167 average. He’s also struck out six times during that span. Davis needs to pick it up as his playing time should increase with Naquin now playing down in Columbus.