First blood, then W for Tribe! Sweep today?

TORONTO — The Indians have pushed the Blue Jays to the brink of elimination and are now one win away from advancing to the World Series. Not even Trevor Bauer leaving in the first inning could slow them down on Monday night in Game 3.

Following Bauer’s exit — necessitated when a laceration on his right pinkie finger opened and began bleeding — six Indians relievers pieced together 8 1/3 solid innings. Andrew Miller closed it out, piling up three strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings to earn the save and build on his incredible October. Mike Napoli and Jason Kipnis each homered off Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman, who worked 5 1/3 innings in a 4-2 loss that put Toronto in a 3-0 hole in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series.

• ALCS Game 4: Today at 4 p.m. ET on TBS/Sportsnet/RDS

Game Date Time Matchup TV Gm 1 Oct. 14   CLE 2, TOR 0 Gm 2 Oct. 15   CLE 2, TOR 1 Gm 3 Oct. 17   CLE 4, TOR 2 Gm 4 Oct. 18 4 p.m. CLE @ TOR TBS/SNET/RDS *Gm 5 Oct. 19 4 p.m. CLE@ TOR TBS/SNET/RDS *Gm 6 Oct. 21 8 p.m. TOR @ CLE TBS/SNET/RDS *Gm 7 Oct. 22 TBD TOR @ CLE TBS/SNET/RDS * If necessary | All times listed ET  • ALCS coverageShop for postseason gear: Blue Jays | Indians

The Indians are now on the verge of securing their first appearance in the World Series since 1997, and the odds are certainty in their favor. In Major League Baseball history, Terry Francona’s 2004 Red Sox (ALCS vs. the Yankees) remain the only team to rally from a 3-0 deficit and win a best-of-seven postseason series. Teams that have taken 3-0 leads are 34-1 in best-of-seven postseason series.

The main reason Cleveland finds itself in this position has been its dominance on the mound, and that was the case again Monday. On a night when their starter recorded two outs, the Indians used six relievers to keep Toronto’s struggling offense at bay. One after the other, Dan Otero, Jeff Manship, Zach McAllister, Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen and Miller all found ways to get the job done.

Perhaps one of the reasons the Indians handled the situation so well was that the relievers have been down this road before. During the regular season, Cleveland’s bullpen was forced to log eight-plus innings four times, posting a 1.09 ERA with a .133 opponents’ batting average in those games. On Monday night, they scattered seven hits and one walk as Francona seemed to push all the right buttons.

“He’s been doing it all year,” Napoli said of Francona. “It’s been so nice to be around him every day. He’s an awesome guy, but for our bullpen to step up like that today was the only reason we were able to win. They’re the only reason why, and for them to do that, it’s unbelievable.”

Napoli had a breakout night at the plate to lead the Indians on offense. Despite entering the game on an 0-for-25 skid at the plate vs right-handed pitchers, he hit an RBI double in the first inning and later added a solo homer to right off Stroman. Kipnis also chipped in with a solo homer, while Jose Ramirez added a key RBI single in the sixth.

Stroman was charged with four runs despite limiting Cleveland to three hits. Two of Stroman’s three walks …

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