CLEVELAND -- Outfielder Michael Brantley missed 223 games over the last two seasons, but all that time away did not affect his eye at the plate, not in the Cleveland Indians’ 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals in the 2018 home opener last Friday.
Despite Royals starter Danny Duffy having control issues against the first four batters of the game, Brantley jumped on the first pitch he saw with the bases loaded and hit the two-seam fastball into shallow right field, which drove in infielders Jason Kipnis and Jose Ramirez.
Brantley’s hit gave the Indians a 3-2 lead over the Royals with just one out in the first inning, and the pitching staff made the advantage stand up over the next eight innings.
“Usually, it’s ‘take some pitches and make sure he gets in the zone,’ but for myself, personally, I’ve had a lot of at-bats against Duffy in the past, and I was just trying to get a good fastball early and put a good swing on it,” Brantley said.
“I had some nervous jitters in my first AB of the year, but I was excited. He made a great pitch. I was able to get enough of it just to get over second base. I’ll take it all day.”
The Royals broke through with a pair of runs in the first inning, but the advantage was short lived because of Brantley, who was activated from the 10-day disabled list in the hours before the home opener and delivered the game-winning hit in the first game at Progressive Field for the second consecutive year.
“It was huge,” Brantley said. “We were out on defense for a while. In the weather, you want to get off of defense as fast as you can, but at the same time, it started with Lindor putting up quality at-bats, Kip as well, working the count and so on and so forth. We got to stay in the dugout a little longer, score some runs and get us back into the game very quickly.”
PHOTOS: Cleveland Indians OF Michael Brantley still has 'clutch gene' at the plate
Brantley was plagued by injuries for the better part of the last three seasons, and was hampered so badly by an ankle sprain suffered last August that he underwent surgery to stabilize the ligaments in November.
A two-time American League All-Star in his nine-year career with the Indians, Brantley underwent the procedure on his right ankle in the days following the team’s elimination from the 2017 Major League Baseball Playoffs, and was expected to need four to five months of recovery before resuming full baseball activity.
“Be patient,” Brantley said of the rehabilitation process.
“I understand that I’m listening to my body and understand what’s going on and how I feel every day and making sure I’m being honest with myself and to this team. I said it before. I wasn’t going to come back if I wasn’t 100 percent because I wouldn’t be helping this team.”
And now that Brantley is healthy once again, he is planning to deliver more memorable moments as the season continues.
“I just always want to keep pressing the envelope and doing whatever I can to get back out on the field and join this great group of guys,” Brantley said.
