{"id":23959,"date":"2019-08-13T14:30:03","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T18:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/?p=23959"},"modified":"2019-08-13T14:32:15","modified_gmt":"2019-08-13T18:32:15","slug":"carlos-santana-proving-to-be-the-cleveland-indians-mvp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2019\/08\/13\/carlos-santana-proving-to-be-the-cleveland-indians-mvp\/","title":{"rendered":"Carlos Santana Proving to Be the Cleveland Indians’ MVP"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Sentimental Reunion Paying off for Both Santana and the Indians<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A year ago, Carlos Santana<\/a> was playing for the Philadelphia Phillies<\/a>. He had just signed a three year deal with Philadelphia, after eight strong years with the Cleveland Indians<\/a>. Santana and the Indians seemed to be on different paths. However, that all changed when the Indians spun a three-team trade with the Seattle Mariners<\/a> and Phillies which brought Santana back to Cleveland. Fans loved seeing Santana return, but no one would’ve thought the 33-year-old first baseman would post his best season to date.<\/p>\n

After a mildly disappointing year in Philadelphia, Santana is on pace to set new career highs in RBI, batting average, and OPS. He’s been clutch all year, posting an OPS of .919 with runners in scoring position. As a result, he’s solidified himself as the team’s three-hole hitter. His rejuvenation came to an epic crescendo on Sunday, when he smashed a go-ahead grand slam against the first-place Minnesota Twins<\/a>, as the Indians went on to win a four-game series against their heated rivals. He did it again on Monday night, as Santana propelled his team into first place with a dramatic walk-off home run against the Boston Red Sox<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Carlos Santana Delivers the Indians’ Biggest Hit of the Year: Part 1<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The clutch grand slam came on the heels of Brad Hand<\/a> blowing a 3-1 save in the ninth. The Indians went into the tenth in a 3-3 tie, knowing full well a loss would send them two games back of first place. A Cleveland win would bring them back into a tie atop the division with Minnesota.<\/p>\n

The 10th quickly worked out in the Indians’ favor, as Kevin Plawecki<\/a> led off with a single, followed by a walk by Francisco Lindor<\/a> and bunt base hit by Greg Allen<\/a>. Santana came up to bat with no one out and delivered the biggest hit of the year.<\/p>\n