As unbelievable as it may seem, what took place on Monday night at Rogers Centre was the embodiment of the Indians’ season. A bloody finger stemming from a freak injury forced Trevor Bauer out of the game in the first inning. The bullpen turned in an October performance for the ages. Slumping hitters awoke and delivered critical hits.
It all added up to an improbable 4-2 victory over the Blue Jays that gave the Indians a 3-0 edge in the American League Championship Series, one win away from reaching the World Series for the first time since 1997. Anchored by another overpowering showing by Andrew Miller, six relievers appeared for the Tribe, helping the team become the first in postseason history to win without having at least one pitcher record more than five outs.
Leaning against a wall inside the visitors’ clubhouse, his arms crossed and his face wearing an expression of exhaustion, Indians team president Chris Antonetti summed it up best.
“I don’t think anyone could’ve written this script,” Antonetti said.
After Bauer took the hill four days after a drone accident left him with 10 stitches in his right pinkie, Cleveland’s worst-case scenario became a reality in the first inning, when the laceration opened and he began bleeding, a lot. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons pointed it out, and despite the efforts of Indians athletic trainer James Quinlan, Bauer was forced to exit the game after only two outs.
Following Bauer’s exit, the bullpen pieced together 8 1/3 innings of excellence. Miller closed it out, piling up three strikeouts in 1 1/3 frames to earn the save and build on his incredible October. The lefty now has an ALCS-record 13 strikeouts out of the bullpen for the Indians, who became the fifth team in history to open the postseason with a winning streak of at least six games. (The 2014 Royals started 8-0, and the ’07 Rockies started 7-0. Both lost the World Series.)
Cleveland’s bullpen performance gave its offense time to chip away. Mike Napoli and Jason Kipnis led the charge, breaking free of slumps with well-timed home runs off Toronto starter Marcus Stroman, who went 5 1/3 innings in a losing effort.
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