Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis (22) is playing well. David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
CHICAGO — Second baseman Jason Kipnis continues to thrive as the leadoff batter for the Cleveland Indians.
“Moving him to lead off I think helped us,” said Indians manager Terry Francona. “It didn’t affect him; he’s going to hit. (But) it helped set us up a little bit.”
Kipnis had two hits and reached base three times on Tuesday, then cooled off with an 0-for-4 night on Wednesday in a 4-3 Indians win. Still, he’s had hits in 15 of 18 games this month.
“We’ve seen him go through this before a couple of years ago in June,” Francona said. “He kind of played himself right onto the All-Star team.”
Entering Wednesday, Kipnis was batting .411 with nine doubles, two triples, four home runs and 13 RBIs since he was inserted into the lead-off spot on April 26.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Kipnis was the first Indians player to average at least two hits and one run per game over a 17-game span since Tito Francona — father of the current Indians manager — collected 34 hits and scored 19 runs over 17 games spanning June and July in 1959.
Last year, Kipnis hit .240 in 129 games with just six home runs and 41 RBIs, the lowest since he emerged as a regular in 2012.
“He had a tough year last year for a number of reason,” said Francona. “Physically he was beat up a couple of times and cut into his production. … All winter I said he’s going to come back and play with a vengeance.”
