Mercado's great grab helps Tribe sweep DH

CLEVELAND — The Indians had gone nine months since they last took the field in a regular-season game due to the coronavirus shutdown. With the extended break, it was easy to forget the highlight-reel plays that center fielder Oscar Mercado made in his rookie campaign last season. But on Tuesday,

CLEVELAND — The Indians had gone nine months since they last took the field in a regular-season game due to the coronavirus shutdown. With the extended break, it was easy to forget the highlight-reel plays that center fielder Oscar Mercado made in his rookie campaign last season. But on Tuesday, he was sure to give everyone a gentle reminder of what his glove is capable of.

The Tribe had a two-run lead in the top of the eighth inning with two outs and a runner on first. Chicago’s Zack Collins laced a fly ball off Dominic Leone that appeared to be an easy double off the wall in left-center. But a lunging catch by Mercado as he crashed into the wall allowed the Indians to escape the inning en route to a 5-3 victory over the White Sox in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader at Progressive Field. Cleveland completed a sweep of the twin bill after also winning the first game, 4-3.

• Box score

According to Statcast, the ball Collins served to center had only a 40% catch probability, making Mercado’s play clock in as a four-star catch. In 2019, he made six four-star catches.

To back a strong outing by starter Adam Plutko, who was penciled in as the Game 2 starter after Monday’s rainout, the Indians jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first on a Francisco Lindor RBI double and a Carlos Santana two-run homer. In the fifth, Mercado gave the Tribe a 5-1 lead with a two-run single to left that ultimately became the game-deciding hit.