OK, Indians, I’m on board.

I still don’t believe you can win the World Series or even the Division Series, but I do think you can win the Central Division — your only route to the postseason this year.

Why?

Mainly because of the — no offense, here — mediocre division you play in, with two of the four teams still alive in the race (Chicago and Minnesota) sporting sub-.500 records.

Detroit, which trailed you by a half game in the standings through Friday, might be a little better than you, but they haven’t proven it yet. Meanwhile, you’ve shown throughout the first half of the season that you are good enough to contend with anyone in your division.

That’s what being in first place for the majority of the first 3 1/2 months of the regular season says.

What you have on Detroit is pitching. Without Shin-Soo Choo, who wasn’t doing much anyway, and with only injury-prone Travis Hafner and Asdrubal Cabrera to carry your offense, the Tigers, led by Miguel Cabrera and two of your former teammates — Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta — can outslug you.

But with two starting pitchers — Josh Tomlin and Justin Masterson — maybe three, if you add Carlos Carrasco into the mix, that give you a chance to win nearly every time they take the mound, and one of the best bullpens in the American League, you can outpitch them.

Don’t they say pitching wins championships?

That’s not all. You guys are resilient, as evidenced by the 20 comeback wins you had posted through Friday to go along with your league-leading 14 victories in your last at-bat.

You were questioned when you got off to that blazing hot start and called a fluke. Then when you came back down to earth a bit, you were counted out on numerous occasions. But you’re still standing heading into the All-Star break. Yes, you have to do it again in the second half without Choo for the majority of it, and with suspect players such as Matt LaPorta, Austin Kearns, Travis Buck and Lonnie Chisenhall in the lineup on a regular basis.

But you’ve got enough to hang on in the Central Division. And after already proving as much for 87 games, you believe that, don’t you? Because that’s half the battle.

You know you’re good enough to compete with the likes of the Tigers, White Sox and Twins. Heck, plenty out there are. So go out in the second half of the season and prove it.

Show these people that call themselves Indians fans, yet haven’t shown up all year for their first-place team, that they were wrong not to support you, while rewarding those that have in the process.

Again, I’m talking about winning the division, nothing crazy like winning Cleveland’s first world championship since 1948, or even an American League title.

Then again, you guys have already proven me wrong plenty of times this season. Go ahead and do it again.

Power poll

1. Philadelphia Phillies: It’s going to take a lot to knock these guys off the top of the pile.

2. Boston Red Sox: A recent surge has left the BoSox atop the AL East standings.

3. New York Yankees: A couple of losses to the Indians have helped take the Yanks down a few pegs.

4. Atlanta Braves: The Bravos have managed to stay in the race with Philadelphia, and that’s an impressive feat.

5. Texas Rangers: Thus far, the defending AL champs have withstood challenges from a couple teams in the West.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

CLEVELAND — The injury certainly wasn’t, but the news regarding third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall was relatively painless.

Chisenhall, who left Thursday’s game after being hit in the face by a pitch in the second inning, sustained a fractured nasal bone, but was not placed on the disabled list and is not expected to miss extended time.

Though the injury will take 4-6 weeks to heal, Chisenhall will likely return well before that and could wear a mask to protect the broken bone below his cheek. Indians manager Manny Acta said Chisenhall could be available before the All-Star break Monday, but odds are good that the club will rest its prized prospect until the start of the second half.

“We’re very relieved, considering the kid had a concussion not that long ago and that he was hit in the face,” Acta said. “We’re very thankful that it’s not going to be a long-term thing.”

Chisenhall, who has played in nine games for the Indians during his major league debut season — .267 (8-for-30), one home run and two RBIs — sustained a cut on his face and a bloody nose after being hit by Carlos Villanueva. His face began to swell immediately after being hit and he didn’t look much better in the clubhouse Friday.

“It’s looks like he’s gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson,” said Cleveland’s head trainer Lonnie Soloff.

Acta, who along with Soloff tended to Chisenhall after he was hit, was expecting the worst upon arriving at the scene.

“When I walked up, there was blood coming out of his nose and I could see the scratch on his face where the ball hit him,” Acta said. “The first thing I thought was that it was some kind of fracture, and that’s always dangerous.”

All-Star starter?

Shortstop Derek Jeter won’t play in the All-Star Game, which could open a starting spot for Cleveland’s Asdrubal Cabrera, who finished second to Jeter in fan voting and was selected as a reserve in the player vote.

Without another shortstop on the American League All-Star roster, Cabrera would be the likely replacement, but AL manager, Texas’ Ron Washington, has the final say. Washington is expected to add another shortstop to the roster — possibly his own in Texas’ Elvis Andrus or Detroit’s Jhonny Peralta.

Hot Hafner

Designated hitter Travis Hafner has picked up where he left off, entering Friday with a .351 average (13-for-37), three homers and 13 RBIs in 16 games since being activated from the disabled list. He was hitting .347 with eight homers and 35 RBIs in 48 games on the season through Thursday.

Hafner’s walk-off grand slam Thursday night was the 12th grand slam of his career — second-most in team history behind Manny Ramirez’s 13 and fourth among active MLB players.

It was the second walk-off grand slam of the season for Cleveland, the other coming from Carlos Santana (April 29 vs. Detroit). The Indians are the last team to accomplish as much in 2002 — Bill Selby (July 14 vs. New York Yankees) and Jim Thome (July 28 vs. Detroit).

Comings and goings

Though the move was made after the game Thursday night, the Indians officially promoted infielder Luis Valbuena from Triple-A Columbus, optioning Thursday’s starter Zach McAllister back to the Clippers.

Valbuena, who has played in 194 games for Cleveland over the past two seasons, hit .313 with 12 homers and a team-leading 56 RBIs in 77 games at Columbus. This is his first stint in the big leagues this season.

Minor detail

The Indians have two players on Baseball America’s list of the top 50 prospects at the midseason point — left-hander Drew Pomeranz (14th) and infielder Jason Kipnis (31st). To be eligible, players had to be considered rookies and not currently on the big league level.

Pomeranz, Cleveland’s top draft pick last year — fifth overall — is 3-2 with a 1.87 ERA in 15 starts for High-A Kinston, striking out 95 batters in 77 innings. Kipnis, a  second-round pick in 2009, entered Friday batting .302 with 11 homers and 51 RBIs in 82 games for Columbus.

Roundin’ third

Thursday’s walk-off win marked the Indians’ 20th comeback victory of the season and their 14th win in their last at-bat (tied with Royals for most in the AL through Thursday). … Former Indian pitcher and alumni ambassador, Mike Jackson (1997-99), threw out the ceremonial first pitch. … Tonight, 7:05, Channel 3/STO/WTAM 1100-AM/WEOL 930-AM. Tomlin (10-4, 3.78) vs. Morrow (5-4, 4.73).

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

CLEVELAND — Designated hitter Travis Hafner has ripped 183 home runs for the Indians, but his latest might be the biggest of them all.

Travis Hafner celebrates hitting the winning grand slam Thursday in the ninth inning in a 5-4 win over Toronto. (AP photo.)

Hafner blasted a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning Thursday night, giving the Indians an incredible 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Tribe trailed 4-0 with one out in the ninth, but stormed back for the win on an RBI single by Asdrubal Cabrera and Hafner’s 12th career slam. Both hits came off Toronto reliever Luis Perez.

“There is nothing like it, it’s awesome,” a beaming Hafner said. “It’s the most fun you can have in baseball. I love walk-offs and I love grannys.

“I got a scouting report on (Perez) from Michael Brantley, so I was just looking for something I could drive. I guess I got it.”

Hafner drilled the first pitch he saw from Perez (1-2, 3.94 ERA) into the right-field stands, where it landed 395 feet from home plate — and set off a wild celebration by the 18,816 fans at Progressive Field.

It marked the first time Cleveland has won a game on a walk-off grand slam when trailing by three runs since Ron Lolich turned the trick April 22, 1973.

“That was just an amazing comeback at the end,” manager Manny Acta said. “We had all the right guys up that inning and we got the big one when we needed it.

.

“Travis is a force in our lineup. That’s the reason why we were whining when we didn’t have him in the National League games (where there is no DH). This was really something tonight.”

The Tribe started its winning rally with Frank Francisco on the mound, but forced him out after loading the bases on a single by Travis Buck, a double by Matt LaPorta and a walk by Jack Hannahan.

Perez entered and struck out leadoff hitter Brantley, but he had no answer for Cabrera and Hafner. Cleveland matched its largest comeback of the season at four runs and rallied for its 20th come-from-behind victory in 2011.

And most importantly, the Indians maintained their 1 1⁄2-game lead over the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central Division.

“Everyone believes we have a chance when the ninth inning comes around,” Hafner said. “We’ve got great clubhouse chemistry, so to celebrate with all these guys on the field after a walk-off, it’s amazing.”

Tribe reliever Tony Sipp (4-1, 2.80 ERA) was one of the beneficiaries of Hafner’s heroics, recording the win despite allowing a run in his lone inning of work.

That run came on the MLB-leading 29th home run of the season by Toronto third baseman Jose Bautista, whose 430-foot blast landed three-quarters of the way up the bleachers in left field.

Cleveland starter Zach McAllister also caught a break and avoided taking the loss in his big league debut. The right-hander needed a whopping 94 pitches to get through four shaky innings, allowing three runs (two earned), five hits and three walks.

“I just didn’t have the command that I wanted out there, and that hurt us,” said McAllister, who was returned to Triple-A Columbus following the game when the Indians called up infielder Luis Valbuena. “To be in the dugout at the end for what happened, though, was fun to watch.”

There was one scary moment for the Tribe, coming in the second inning.

Rookie third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall was hit in the head by a pitch from Toronto starter Carlos Villanueva. The baseball struck his right ear flap before glancing off his nose and cheek bone, leaving him with a facial contusion that forced him out of the game.

Acta said Chisenhall’s left eye was swollen, but there was no immediate concern that he had suffered a concussion. Chisenhall missed time at Triple-A Columbus earlier this season with a concussion.

“Lonnie is going to see a specialist at noon (today), but we think he’s going to be OK,” Acta said.

Rafael Perez, Chad Durbin, Frank Herrmann, Joe Smith and Sipp combined for five innings of one-run relief for Cleveland, which committed two errors (by Asdrubal Cabrera and McAllister) and made three other fielding mistakes.

Villanueva, who began the year in the bullpen, deserved a better fate. The righty tossed six scoreless innings, scattering six hits and striking out seven.

Marc Rzepczynski and Jason Frasor followed and kept the Indians off the scoreboard heading into their final at-bat.

After stranding nine men in the first eight innings, Hafner made sure they didn’t add to the total.

“Before that, it was eight innings of the most boring baseball we’ve had all year,” Acta said. “I thought it would be a wasted night. But these guys, they’ve done it so many times, the game is never out of reach.”

Contact Brian Dulik at brisports@hotmail.com.

ELYRIA — The wife of an Ohio Highway Patrol trooper has taken out a temporary domestic violence protection order against her husband after he allegedly threatened to kill her during an altercation Tuesday.

Velez

Trooper Kenneth Velez, who lives in Lorain and works as a motor vehicle inspector out of the patrol’s Medina post, was placed on administrative duty while the patrol conducts an internal investigation into the allegations, Lt. Anne Ralston said Thursday.

Velez’s gun, badge, cruiser and patrol identification have been taken from him while he is on administrative duty, which means he will wear civilian clothing and drive his own vehicle to work, Ralston said. The protection order bars the 42-year-old Velez from possessing a firearm.

The order, issued Wednesday through Lorain County Domestic Relations Court, contains a warning to law enforcement officers that Velez has access to firearms and they should proceed with caution when dealing with him.

Rachel Velez, 43, wrote in her request for the protection order that her husband “threatened my life and said I would pay for poor parenting skills because 18 year old left the house.”

A police report on the incident was not completed.

The protection order, which bars Kenneth Velez from contacting his wife, also protects the couple’s three children, including their 18-year-old son, a 16-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son. The minor children were left in Rachel Velez’s care, according to the order.

Kenneth Velez also is prohibited from entering the Lorain County Justice Center, where his wife works as a secretary for county Common Pleas Judge James Miraldi.

Kenneth Velez could not be reached for comment Thursday, and Rachel Velez declined to comment.

A full hearing on whether the protection order should be made more permanent is scheduled for July 20.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.