When your team has a disappointing season that hasn’t gone the way most thought it would, the next best thing is to look for victories on a smaller scale.

That was the case this past week as the Indians invaded New York and promptly took three out of four from those darn Yankees. For the year, the Tribe finished 5-2 against New York.

In fact, the Indians won the season series for the second consecutive year against the Yankees and the last time that was accomplished was during the 1968 and 1969 seasons.

Historically, the Indians have usually had trouble with the Bronx Bombers. The teams have played 1,962 games all-time with the Yankees leading 1,091 to 859 to give the Indians just a .441 winning percentage. Anytime the Indians can win more than they lose against New York that has to be considered a good thing, no matter how badly the season has gone.

A week that concluded 4-3 did little to help move the Tribe up in the standings and they still are in last place in the American League Central Division and six games out in the wild card with nine teams in front of the Indians.

There are some encouraging signs though as Francisco Lindor is surging as a possible American League Rookie of the Year candidate. He’s now hitting .298 after going 3-for-5 on Aug. 23 and hitting his seventh home run of the season.

Most experts and fans thought Lindor was ready for the Majors due to his glove work and that his hitting would evolve over time, but it seems the young shortstop has settled in near the top of the lineup and is producing offensively.

Trevor Bauer (9-10, 4.48) also had a better start on Aug. 23 in New York despite giving up six walks in 6.1 innings. He struck out seven Yankees and minimized the damage by allowing just two hits and two (one earned) runs.

If the Indians are going to be a team that contends in the future, Bauer is going to have to play a key role. The best part about that is he’s only 24, so Bauer is still in the developmental process while having some success at the Big League level.

Cody Allen continues to deliver when called upon and he notched yet another multi-inning save on Aug. 23 and is now 26-for-29 for the season in save opportunities. That’s pretty good folks, as closers aren’t going to save every game, except on a rare occasion such as when Jose Valverde saved all 49 opportunities for the Detroit Tigers in 2011.

More opportunities for player and team growth along with the chance to watch a good ballgame are on tap this week when the Indians play three teams in the next six days.

The Tribe faces the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 24 at 2:05 p.m. in Wrigley Field for an interleague match-up to makeup a June 15 rained out game.

Corey Kluber (8-13, 3.52 ERA) faces Cubs ace Jon Lester (8-9, 3.58 ERA) in what would seem to be a pitchers’ duel if the wind isn’t blowing out in Chicago.

Kluber will look to rebound from allowing six runs on six hits along with a career-high four home runs during his last start on Aug. 19 in a 6-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Meanwhile, Lester didn’t pitch well in his last start either as he gave up seven runs in 2.2 innings on Aug. 19 against the Detroit Tigers.

The game also will mark just the 18th game all-time between the two clubs with the Indians holding a 9-8 series lead.

Chicago is having a terrific season at 71-51 and is in solid shape to earn a wild-card berth with a 5.5 game lead over San Francisco as the closest contender. The Cubs are just 2.5 games behind Pittsburgh for home-field advantage in a wild-card game.

Josh Tomlin (1-1, 2.03 ERA) is slated to make his third start of the season against Milwaukee at 7:10 p.m. Aug. 25 at Progressive Field in the first of a two-game set. Tomlin has been unexpectedly impressive in his first two starts and has allowed just three runs and seven hits while striking out 11 in 13.1 innings of work.

The Brewers will counter with Wily Peralta (4-7, 4.48 ERA) who earned a victory in his last start despite giving up six runs and nine hits in just five innings against the Miami Marlins.

Milwaukee (53-72) has been a disappointing team as well this season and is 25.5 games behind St. Louis and 19.5 games behind in the wild card race. The Brewers have an elimination number of 20 when it comes to postseason play. In case you’re wondering, the Indians’ elimination number is 34 with 39 games left in the regular season.

Carlos Carrasco (12-9, 3.53 ERA) takes the hill at 7:10 p.m. Aug. 26 against the Brewers who will start Jimmy Nelson (10-9, 3.60 ERA).

Carrasco is fresh from facing the Yankees on Aug. 21 when he gave up just one run and five hits in 6.2 innings in a no-decision. The right-hander is 2-2 with a 2.96 ERA in his last seven starts spanning 49.2 innings.

Nelson pitched 5.1 innings in his last start on Aug. 21 against the Washington Nationals and gave up five hits and two runs with a no-decision.

The Indians will have a day off on Aug. 27 before welcoming the Los Angeles Angels for a three-game series from Aug. 28 through Aug. 30. Game times are 7:10 p.m. for the first two games and 1:10 p.m. for the final game on Sunday. Neither team has announced starting pitchers for the series.

The Angels (63-60) are contenders and are just one game behind the Texas Rangers for a wild-card spot. Meanwhile, the team is five games behind Houston (69-56) for the American League West division.

Interestingly, former Indian David Murphy batted fourth for the Angels on Aug. 23 behind Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. Needless to say, Murphy went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Who’s Hot – Who’s Not

As mentioned above, Lindor has been red-hot lately and here are a few more numbers to show just how much. In his last 30 games, Lindor is hitting .353 with four home runs, 17 runs scored and 16 RBI. His on-base percentage during that span is .382 and he’s slugging .504 – an impressive number for a “light” hitting shortstop. In his last seven games, Lindor is slugging .586 and has a .367 OBP to go along with a .345 batting average that involves 10 hits in his last 29 at-bats.

Michael Brantley also has been impressive, even more so, when he’s been in the lineup. He’s now hitting .316 for the season with a .856 OPS. Some of his number in his last 30 games are eye-popping though. During that span, Brantley is hitting .370 with 44 hits in his last 119 at-bats, with a .437 OBP and .571 slugging percentage for a 1.008 OPS. He’s also leading the Majors with 38 doubles, two ahead of Todd Frazier of Cincinnati.

Mike Aviles has not had a good season and his personal life might have contributed a bit to that. On the field, he’s hitting just .223 for the year with a .584 OPS, which is well below his career .683 OPS. In his last 30 games, Aviles is hitting just .157 with 14 hits in 89 at-bats with a .202 OBP and .225 slugging percentage.

Despite a big two-run home run on Aug. 23, Carlos Santana is hitting just .224 for the season with a mediocre .738 OPS, which is considerably below the .798 OPS for his career. Santana is hitting just .212 in his last 30 games with a .311 OBP and .381 slugging percentage. In his last seven games, Santana has five hits (three home runs) in 27 at-bats for a .185 average, along with .290 OBP and .519 slugging percentage.