CLEVELAND -- Two nights ago when Nick Swisher hit a grand slam, manager Terry Francona said it might help him relax more and be more productive.
Saturday night, Swisher hit another home run in a 9-4 win over the Mets, the Indians fourth in a row and fifth in six as they continue to push for a wild card playoff spot.
That was a good sign for the Indians, whose bats slumbered through much of August.
But perhaps a better sign was a three-run hook shot in the seventh inning off the bat of Asdrubal Cabrera. Clearly it meant something to the shortstop, who stopped and leaned the ball fair as he watched it sail just inside the fair pole.
“It was awesome,” Cabrera said.
Because it’s been that kind of season for Swisher and Cabrera, two guys who at one point this season were batting third and fourth but whose numbers are not what they or the team hoped to see.
Swisher is hitting .241 and has 52 RBI; his lowest RBI total since 2005 is 69.
Cabrera is hitting .234 and was a woeful .184 with runners in scoring position heading into Saturday’s game.
Swisher followed his Friday grand slam with 400-foot blast to the porch on Saturday, and Cabrera ended an 0-for-19 skid with his three-run shot.
“That would be so good to get both those guys hot at about the right time,” Francona said.
Swisher has four hits in nine at-bats against the Mets, with two home runs. In the previous four games he had gone 0-for-18.
Cabrera had really struggled. Since Aug. 1 he was hitting .193 with one home run and nine RBI heading into Saturday’s game. His on-base percentage was .248, his slugging percentage .294 and his OPS .542. Cabrera has hit some balls hard that were caught, but the overall picture shows a lot of pop-ups and ground balls.
Those are disappointing numbers.
“Me and him have kind of been in that same boat this year,” Swisher said. “It’s been kind of a frustrating year.”
“Im not going to lose my mind,” Cabrera said. “I’m just focused and battling every at-bat.”
Even with those two not contributing as expected the Indians rank fifth in baseball in runs scored. How they’ve done it is hard to figure. Their leading home run hitters have 17 (Jason Kipnis, Swisher and Carlos Santana), which ranks 64th in baseball.
Their leading RBI guy is Kipnis, with 76 -- and that ranks 27th in baseball.
Yet they rank fifth in runs scored.
“I just think that there’s something to be said for just playing however many innings you’re supposed to,” Francona said. “Just keep playing through ups and downs. That’s really what the season is.”
It may be silly to think one good at-bat can change a player’s fortunes, but it’s happened. A guy struggles, gets a big hit, relaxes instead of presses and he’s back to normal.
Swisher and Cabrera know it is important that they produce. The Indians struggled to score in Atlanta, but in the last six games (five wins) they have scored 31 runs.
The last two games with these two hitting home runs, they’ve scored 14.
“Everything we didn’t do the first five months, we’re not going to do in one month,” Cabrera said. “We just try to do what we can to help the team.”
“This is where it really counts,” Swisher said.
Corey Kluber returned from a finger injury to pitch well. Since the All-Star Break, the Indians have a 3.30 ERA, fourth in baseball.
At worst they will enter Sunday two games behind in the wild card chase.
“This is such a great opportunity for us,” Francona said. “We’re starting to get toward the middle of September and every time we win we get closer to where we want to be.”
The half-full view would say that if Swisher and Cabrera get hot and the rest of the team maintains -- especially the pitching -- the Indians should win their share of the last 21.
Where that lands them will be intriguing to see.
