Lindor unleashes decisive homer, emotions

CLEVELAND — The bat was still in Francisco Lindor’s hands when he turned to his dugout, screaming loud enough for his voice to resonate through the upper levels of the empty ballpark, as the ball traveled 400 feet from home plate. The Tribe trailed by one entering the bottom of

CLEVELAND — The bat was still in Francisco Lindor’s hands when he turned to his dugout, screaming loud enough for his voice to resonate through the upper levels of the empty ballpark, as the ball traveled 400 feet from home plate.

The Tribe trailed by one entering the bottom of the sixth inning after Shane Bieber’s third consecutive double-digit-strikeout performance, but Lindor put his team back on top with a two-run blast that helped lift Cleveland to a 4-2 victory over Minnesota on Tuesday night at Progressive Field.

• Box score

The Indians’ offense has ranked among the worst in the Majors since the start of the season, and the team has been desperately searching for a spark. Entering Tuesday, the Tribe had the third-lowest wRC+ (79), OPS (.654) and batting average (.213) in MLB. Cesar Hernandez and Franmil Reyes have done their parts to try to help carry the club through this skid, but having Cleveland’s leader finally starting to show signs of heating up is exactly what the Indians have been patiently waiting for.

Over his last nine games, Lindor has hit .351 (13-for-37) with three doubles, two homers and five RBIs. His two-run blast on Tuesday accounted for the first runs he’s knocked in since the start of that stretch on Aug. 16, with a three-RBI game against the Tigers. It was just his fourth multi-RBI game and fifth homer of the year, as the Tribe extended its record to 4-1 in games where Lindor launched a long ball.

The homer gave the Indians a lead before Bieber, who struggled early but settled in to record 10 strikeouts in six innings, was replaced in the seventh. The victory gave the Tribe’s ace a Major League-leading six wins on the year, while still avoiding the loss column.