Okay, so it was only the 17-32 A’s, but the Tribe’s first sweep of the year is an encouraging sign. Jake Westbrook allowed one run on four hits in seven innings and, for once, he actually got some help from the offense in a 6-3 win Sunday. Ben Broussard had two hits and Alex Cora drove in three runs, but perhaps the most significant line in the box score belonged to Victor Martinez, who doubled and homered in four at-bats. Now back over the Mendoza Line (.201), Martinez got just his 18th hit in 113 left-handed at bats (.159) on the season. Aaron Boone, meanwhile, found himself back on the bench after going 0-4 and commiting his seventh error of the season yesterday.

Now at 24-25 on the year, the Indians find themselves nine games behind the White Sox (pending Chicago’s game today) and 3.5 behind the Twins, who fell to Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays 4-0 Sunday. With three games in Minnesota (Tuesday through Thursday) and three more in Chicago (Friday through Sunday) this week, the Indians have a golden opportunity to get right back into the AL Central hunt. Winning four or five of these next six games would be fantastic, but a 2-4 swing would be equally as devastating at this point.