In this 2020 MLB season sim, Cleveland’s sweep of the O’s allows them to put pressure on the Twins.
Trying to keep pace with the powerhouse Minnesota Twins is a grind. Fortunately, schedule makers gave the Cleveland Indians just the window they needed this week: a four-game home series against the Baltimore Orioles.
When the Indians swept that series, they closed within a game and a half of the AL Central leaders in the 2020 AL simulation. They also strengthened their grip on the wild card race.
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The Indians, who have won eight of their last 10, picked up a game and a half on the Central leaders when Minnesota only managed to take two games of a three-game series with the Royals in Kansas City.
It was not an easy sweep, three of the four games being decided by one or two runs. Baltimore took the Indians to extra innings Monday night before Jose Ramirez’ two-run 11th inning home run gave Cleveland a 5-3 decision. One night later, the Indians won 3-2, overcoming a 2-1 Baltimore lead on Cesar Hernandez’s two-RBI base hit off Shawn Armstrong in the bottom of the eighth.
The lone breather came Wednesday, Domingo Santana’s three-run home run leading a 9-2 victory for Shane Bieber, 8-3. Seeking the sweep Thursday, Cleveland built a 4-0 lead behind Zach Plesac, 6-6, then hung on as Nick Wittgren allowed two runs to score before stranding the tying runs on base in the ninth.
In other AL mid-week action, the AL East-leading Yankees took both parts of a two-game interleague series with the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, then opened a four-game weekend series with the Twins, losing 11-6. The Tampa Bay Rays, meanwhile, made life difficult for Toronto, winning two of three. The Boston Red Sox split an interleague series with the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves.
The Chicago White Sox won two of three in Detroit, the Los Angeles Angels swept Oakland in a three-game series, and the Texas Rangers won two of three from Kansas City. After that series, the Rangers opened a weekend series with a Thursday loss to the Angels in Anaheim, and the Royals took the opener of their weekend series in Seattle.