Abraham Almonte is ineligible for the postseason because of his PED suspension so he's trying everything he can right now to help the Indians reach the promised land.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The postseason is now for Abraham Almonte and he's playing like it.
Almonte entered Saturday night's game against Toronto hitting .284 (25-for-88) with 11 doubles, one homer and nine RBI in 31 games. If the Indians make the postseason, Almonte will be ineligible because of his 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug.
"There's nothing I can do about that," said Almonte, concerning his ineligibility. "The only thing I can do is do the best I can to help my team get to the playoffs.
"I've never been to the postseason. So it won't be good if we make it because I won't be playing, but if we win that will be good. I just want to help my teammates have the opportunity to experience being in the playoffs."
The Indians entered Saturday night's game with a seven-game lead in the AL Central with 42 games left on the schedule.
"My goal is to help this team win as many games as it can," said Almonte.
Almonte could have planted the seed for Friday's dramatic walk-off win over Toronto on Thursday night against Chicago.
With the score tied, 4-4, Almonte started the ninth with a double. He took third on a passed ball and scored on Tyler Naquin's pinch-hit sacrifice fly for a 5-4 win. Friday night Jose Ramirez and Naquin hit consecutive homers off closer Roberto Osuna in the ninth to beat the Jays, 3-2.
It's the second time this season the Indians have had consecutive walk-off wins. They beat Texas on June 1 and Kansas City on June 2.
Tribe's Almonte suspended for 80 games
When asked about Friday's win, Almonte said, "Unbelievable. I would like to see more nights like that for us."
Almonte was suspended in February for the first 80 games of the regular season after testing positive for Boldenone. He rejoined the Indians on July 3, but said he was unaware of being ineligible for the postseason until a few weeks ago.
"To be honest, I heard about the rule a few weeks ago," said Almonte. "It's a little tough, but it is what it is."
Almonte was hitting .143 (3-for-21) in his first 11 games after being reinstated. In his last 21 prior to Saturday night, he's hitting .386 (22-for-67) with 13 runs, eight doubles and nine RBI.
"I think it took Abe a while to figure out how he fit on the team," said manager Terry Francona.
Almonte said he joined the Indians at a great time.
Almonte confident Tribe would stand by him
"When I first came here, I found a club in an unbelievable situation," he said. "They were winning and had a really good clubhouse. Everything was so good."
Almonte tried too hard to join the party and struggled. Then he relaxed and joined the flow of the team.
"I think the reason I'm playing like I am now is that's how I saw everyone was playing like when I came here," said Almonte. "That kind of energy, that kind of enthusiasm, my brain picked that up right away."
Roster move: The Indians activated Josh Tomlin from the Family Medical Emergency List on Saturday so he could start against the Blue Jays.
Right-hander Shawn Armstrong was optioned to Class AAA Columbus. Armstrong was recalled before Friday's game with lefty Kyle Crockett being optioned to Columbus.
Thumbs up: Ramirez has a fan in Mark Shapiro, Toronto's CEO and president.
"He's a good baseball player, extremely competitive," said Shapiro. "He's got good energy, versatility, loves to play. He has that one thing you really can't teach - the swagger. He rubbed his teammates the wrong way when he first came up, now it contributes to a championship environment."
Mark Shapiro man in the middle
Ramirez entered Saturday's game hitting .311 (128-for-411) with 31 doubles, nine homers and 54 RBI. He has a .824 OPS and is hitting .382 (39-for-102) with runners in scoring position.
Shapiro, before joining the Blue Jays late last season, spent 24 years with the Indians.
Finally: Last year the Indians had two walk-off wins. This year they have seven, second most in the big leagues behind Houston's nine. ... Naquin is the first Indians' player since Albert Belle to have consecutive walk-off RBI. Belle did it on Aug. 30-Aug. 31, 1995 against Toronto. ... The Indians have 26 come-from-behind wins this year.