Forgotten voltigeurs Jet and Zim have a day for the Cleveland Indians

OAKLAND – Fifteen years ago Daniel “Jet” Johnson was 10 years old and he couldn’t get enough of Oakland’s A’s.

Jermaine Dye was his favorite player. Every chance he had, Johnson would take the BART with his family or friends from Vallejo, Calif., To the Coliseum. A long concrete bridge connects the BART station to the Colosseum and Johnson still remembers crossing it, eager to see Dye and the A’s.

Johnson wasn’t looking at the A’s on Sunday, he was playing against them. Not only was he playing his favorite team growing up, he was helping the Indians beat them, 4-2.

“If you had told me I would have had this game and played here 15 years ago, I would have told you you were crazy,” Johnson said. “I never thought I’d be here, playing at the Coliseum where I grew up. It’s definitely a blessing to be here right now.

Johnson’s career in the big leagues consists of 13 games. No one knows which direction this number will take. It doesn’t matter because Sunday was by far the best of those 13 games.

It all started with Johnson’s dive into right field to save a point for Zach Plesac in the second set. He made a single and scored in the fifth. In the seventh, with the score tied at 2-2, Johnson delivered the shot he won’t forget – a decisive home run to center field that ended a 10-game winning streak for the ace d ‘Oakland Chris Bassitt and gave the Indians a 3-2 lead.

As he moved up to third row and crossed the plate, he could hear his family and friends clapping from the stands.

“I could hear them coming from the field and heading towards the dugout,” Johnson said.

His teammates too.

“You have to scream at Jet,” said Plesac, who won his first game since May 18. “I mean, it’s Jet’s game today, realistically. He did it all – saved a run in the second inning, got a few hits, a home run and in his hometown.

“It’s just cool for him. It was a cool experience for me to see him do that in front of his family. It’s good to see him out there with things finally going his way, you know what I mean?

It was a game for the Indians’ forgotten outfielder – Johnson and Bradley Zimmer. A surprise move from manager Terry Francona put Zimmer in the lead and it must have ignited a fuse inside the left-handed batter 6-5.

Zimmer opened the game with a home run from the first pitch. He went 3-for-5 with three RBIs. It was his first three-hit game since 2018 and the last time he drove in three was on July 25, 2017 against the Angels. Zimmer, whose center play brought order to a volatile outfield, hit his first and second home runs of the season in the three-game streak.

Make no mistake, the outfield has a wanted help sign staked out in front of all three positions. If Johnson or Zimmer wants one of those jobs, he’s there. But they must strike.

Zimmer said he felt more comfortable than he had been in a long time at the plate.

“We talked about being athletic and getting into a position where he can do more good passing on the ball,” Francona said. “You see more good swings. He’s lined up several times, it’s going to happen. But if it’s the only ball you hit hard, it’s hard to survive.

“We are dying for him to succeed. We told him. So we shoot for him.

The same goes for Johnson.

“He can move,” Francona said. “He can move around the outfield and he can pitch. Physically, he can do certain things. That’s why we get excited when he starts hitting like that.

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