KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Better baseball through pop-a-shot and a DJ? Hey, on the last leg of a four-city, 11-day trip, anything is worth a shot.

Indians players were told to report to Kauffman Stadium on Friday later than usual after playing a day-night doubleheader Thursday at Target Field in Minneapolis. When they did, they found a DJ spinning tunes and a pop-a-shot basketball machine set up at the end of the clubhouse for a team tournament.

It was manager Terry Francona and the organization's way of saying thanks for the team's effort to date.

The Indians, in a stretch of playing 23 games in 23 days, are 6-2 on this trip against the Rays, Red Sox and Twins. Friday night they opened a three-game series at The K with a chance to put some serious distance between themselves and the second-place Royals in the AL Central.

"It's our way of showing them that we acknowledge the fact that they out there playing so much and we care," said Francona, whose team owned a 5 1/2-game lead in the division headed into the series. "There's not much else we can do. So we had a late arrival and let them have a little bit of fun ... knowing that the game is the most important thing and that's where you want your energy.

"But in the meantime, I don't think it hurts to have a little bit of fun. I just thought it was better than showing up and going out on the field to take BP and dragging.''

So far the leader in the pop-a-shot tournament is Danny Salazar. A cash prize awaits the winner. Francona was surprised that Salazar was such a good shot, but added, "I think Trevor (Bauer) is going to keep playing until he wins."

Still, there is a risk. What if the Indians don't play well in this series? The critics could say Francona was being too easy on his players.

"That's where the trust comes in," said Francona. "I told Corey Kluber, 'Hey, I don't want to be getting in the way.' He said, 'I get it. I love it.' That's where the relationships come into play. It's not a big deal. It's just our way of showing we appreciate and we care."

Rookie Bradley Zimmer at 6-5 could pretty much dunk on the pop-a-shot machine. He said he hasn't done it yet, and might be just setting his teammates up.

"I think this is a great idea," said Zimmer. "We're coming off a doubleheader, a lot of games in a row. I know when I woke up today I was dragging a little bit. Then you just come in here and it gets you fired up all over again."

Testing, testing: Third baseman Jose Ramirez missed his second straight start Friday after he was hit in the right wrist in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader.

Francona, however, was encouraged because Ramirez came to Kauffman Stadium early on Friday and was able to take batting practice from both sides of the plate.

"He's doing good," said Francona. "He took BP from both sides. He threw. He politicked to get in the lineup (Friday night). I just felt because he's played so much, let's let him cool down. And if he still feels good, we'll play him on Saturday.

"I'd say all in all we dodged a pretty big bullet. He's in a pretty good place."

Ramirez, with his right forearm in the sleeve to keep the swelling down, shot a round in the pop-a-shot tournament.

Remember him? Josh Tomlin, who has been on the disabled list since July 31 with a strained left hamstring, threw a bullpen session on Friday and was scheduled to throw a simulated game on Monday.

Tomlin, who hasn't pitched since July 30, is expected to miss six weeks with the hamstring injury.

Chisenhall update:

Lonnie Chisenhall (right calf) went 0-2 with an

RBI

on Thursday for Class

AAA

Columbus. He started in left field.

"Lonnie is doing really well," said Francona. "He's played three games. He seems to be moving really well. His at-bats have been pretty good.

"He just needs some repetition. Talking to some of the scouts who've seen him, they said if we really needed him he could play for us.''

Strikeouts are us: The Indians streak of striking out 10 or more batters ended at 13 straight games when they struck out nine Twins in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader.

It is the longest streak, according to Elias Sports Bureau, in baseball history. Tribe pitchers have recorded 10 or more strikeouts in 70 games this season. It's two shy of the franchise record set in 2014 and seven shy of the

MLB record

of 77 set by the 2016 Dodgers.