CLEVELAND -- For just the third time in the 118-year history of the franchise, the Cleveland Indians surpassed the 100-win mark during the 2017 regular season.
On their way to second-best wins total in franchise history (102), the Indians set an American League record with 22 consecutive victories despite having nine key players on the disabled list, as well as organizational marks for straight road wins (14) and won their second consecutive AL Central Division Championship.
Of those 102 wins, several stuck out for dominating performances, walk-off celebrations and late-game heroics, and here is a look back at the most memorable games of the regular season:
APRIL 5: LINDOR HITS GAME-WINNING GRAND SLAM
Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor made his chance at redemption count against the Texas Rangers on the third night of the regular season.
After committing a throwing error that allowed the Rangers take a lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, Lindor delivered in a big way when he belted the go-ahead grand slam into the seats in right field at Globe Life Park in the top of the ninth, a home run that gave the Indians a 9-6 win over Texas.
Lindor turned on a 1-1 pitch over the plate and smashed the offering from Rangers closer Sam Dyson inside the foul pole for his first career grand slam at the Major League level, which secured a three-game sweep for the Indians.
APRIL 11: MICHAEL BRANTLEY DELIVERS WALK-OFF IN HOME OPENER
Left fielder Michael Brantley dealt with plenty of injury issues over the last two seasons, but finally healthy, he delivered for the Indians in the early part of the 2017 regular season, so much so that he earned an American League All-Star selection.
With two outs and a full count in the bottom of the 10th inning of the home opener at Progressive Field, Brantley smacked an RBI double to the corner in left field and drove in Lindor for the game-winning run in a 2-1 walk-off win over the Chicago White Sox.
Brantley’s game-winning hit gave the Indians their fourth walk-off win in a home opener at Progressive Field (1994, 1998 and 1999).
Lindor drew a two-out walk to set up the game-winning hit from Brantley.
JUNE 17: JOSE RAMIREZ, BRADLEY ZIMMER EQUAL CAREER BESTS IN 9-3 WIN OVER TWINS
Third baseman Jose Ramirez and rookie center fielder Bradley Zimmer proved to be quite the one-two punch for the Indians in the first game of a doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
Ramirez matched a single-game career high with two home runs and Zimmer equaled a personal best with four runs batted in, and their productivity led to a 9-3 win over the Twins, their third straight overall and second consecutive in the series in Minneapolis.
The afternoon win brought the Indians into a first-place tie with Minnesota in the Central Division, and moved them to 5-0 at Target Field on the season. The Indians improved to 19-14 away from Progressive Field, while the Twins’ struggles at home continued, as they fell to 14-21 in Minneapolis.
JUNE 17: INDIANS SMACK THREE HOMERS TO COMPLETE DH SWEEP OF TWINS
The home run ball was very, very good to the Indians in the second game of their doubleheader against the Twins at Target Field, and those long balls propelled them into sole possession of first place in the Central Division.
The Indians belted three home runs, and all six of their runs came via those round-trippers in a 6-2 win over the Twins in the nightcap of a doubleheader, which was delayed by torrential rains that blanketed the Twin Cities for more than an hour.
The Indians won their sixth straight road game against the Twins with the doubleheader sweep, which was their longest such streak against the Twins since the 1968-1969 seasons when the franchise played at Metropolitan Stadium in nearby Bloomington, Minnesota.
JULY 4: KLUBER SETS FRANCHISE RECORD
Since returning from the disabled list after a month of dealing with back issues, Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber regained the form that made him an American League Cy Young Award finalist last year and an All-Star this season.
In a tough-luck 1-0 loss to the San Diego Padres at Progressive Field on Independence Day, Kluber struck out 10 hitters, and in doing so, set a new franchise record for the most consecutive 10-plus strikeout performances (five).
Despite taking his third loss of the season, Kluber allowed only one walk, scattered five hits and one earned run and registered the 10 strikeouts over eight innings of work. Of Kluber’s 107 pitches, 73 found the strike zone.
Including the outing against the Padres, Kluber struck out 35 batters over a three-start span and registered at least 10 strikeouts in six outings over a seven-appearance stretch.
JULY 25: ENCARNACION HITS WALK-OFF GRAND SLAM
The Indians and Los Angeles Angels were locked in a late-July slugfest at Progressive Field, and it was fitting that with one swing of the bat, designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion smashed the game-winning walk-off hit in the bottom of the 11th inning.
Zimmer and Lindor drew back-to-back walks, and then, the Angels issued an intentional free pass to Brantley, which proved to be a costly decision, as it loaded the bases for Encarnacion, the No. 4 hitter in the Indians’ lineup.
On the first pitch he saw from Angels reliever Bud Norris, Encarnacion smashed a belt-high slider over the wall in left-center field, and the 406-foot blast gave the Indians an 11-7 victory.
AUG. 8: GOMES SMASHES WALK-OFF HOMER
Be it due to injuries or issues at the plate, catcher Yan Gomes has had his fair share of struggles over the last three seasons, but he has two of the more memorable home runs that have been impactful for the Indians in the last two years.
The hero of a game that decided home-field advantage against the Boston Red Sox in September of 2016, Gomes delivered in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies.
With outfielder Austin Jackson having just tied the game on an RBI single to right-center field and the winning run sitting on third base, Gomes swatted a belt-high 94-mile-per-hour fastball over the wall in left-center for the game-winning walk-off three-run home run in a 4-1 win over the Rockies.
AUG. 30: INDIANS SWEEP DH FROM YANKEES
Just like the first game of their traditional doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, the Indians started fast offensively, pitched well throughout and limited the effectiveness of a powerful Yankees offense at Yankee Stadium.
On the strength of an early four-run advantage, the Indians earned a 9-4 victory over the Yankees, which completed both the doubleheader and three-game series sweep in The Bronx, New York on August 30.
It was the Indians’ first three-game sweep of the Yankees in New York since 1989 and kept alive a winning streak that extended to a franchise-best and American League-record 22 games.
SEPT. 14: INDIANS SET AL RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE WINS
Courtesy of a lead-off double from Ramirez and RBI double from outfielder Jay Bruce, the Indians fought their way to a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals and extended their winning streak to 22 straight games.
Trailing for much of the game, the Indians drew even at 2-2 when Lindor hit an RBI double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning off of Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera and drove in pinch runner Erik Gonzalez from first base.
Lindor smacked a 1-2 pitch from Herrera high enough off the wall in left field that Alex Gordon could not reach it, and the ricochet allowed Gonzalez to sprint home all the way from first base.
SEPT. 21: INDIANS SET CONSECUTIVE ROAD WINS RECORD
A baker’s dozen certainly proved itself to be sweet for the Indians.
One week after breaking the American League mark for the longest winning streak (22 straight games) in its 118-year history, the Indians set a new franchise record with their 13th consecutive road win, a 6-5 victory over the Angels at Angels Stadium in Anaheim.
The previous mark of 12 straight road wins was set during the 1922 season (July 8-21).
