Indians extend winning streak to 16 with shutout vs. Orioles
The Cleveland Indians streak has gone from franchise-best to officially upper echelon, as the team is now tied for the 20th-longest streak in MLB history with their 16th consecutive victory coming against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.
With their 5-0 shutout, the Indians have jumped into the conversation of best streaks in recent history. Since 1950, the Indians are on an extremely exclusive list and are tied for the third-longest streak:
| Team | Season | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | 2002 | 20 |
| New York Yankees | 1953 | 18 |
| New York Giants | 1951 | 16 |
| Kansas City Royals | 1977 | 16 |
| Cleveland Indians | 2017 | 16 |
Adding intrigue, the Indians have been absolutely pummeling their competition during the stretch, padding their already-legendary run differential to 114-28. By pythagorean win expectancy - which is based off of run differential - the Indians would have an expected win percentage of .943 over that span.
On the back of Mike Clevinger's six shutout innings, the Indians' rotation lowered their collective ERA to 1.80 over the 16-game streak.
En route to their 16th straight win, Edwin Encarnacion opened the scoring for his club with a three-run bomb to straightaway center for his 34th homer of the season. It was also the 34-year-old's 16th dinger of the second half - tied for most in the American League since the All-Star break.
The Indians resume their three-game series with the Orioles on Saturday where Josh Tomlin is the scheduled starter and is set to face Gabriel Ynoa.