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Bullpen puts Tribe on verge of World Series
- Updated: October 18, 2016
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’s right pinkie injury could slow them down on Monday night in Game 3.
Bauer was forced to exit with two outs in the first inning after a cut on the finger reopened and started dripping blood. The Indians’ worst-case scenario didn’t turn out to be that bad at all, as their bullpen responded by allowing just two runs over 8 1/3 innings to give the Tribe a 4-2 victory and a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series.
• ALCS Game 4: Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET on TBS/Sportsnet/RDS
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 Andrew 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.
The struggling Mike 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 Toronto’s righty starter, Marcus Stroman. Jason 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 came around to score, and he struck out five while throwing 59 of his 94 pitches for strikes. Stroman was saddled with the loss but once again the onus fell on the Blue Jays’ offense, which has yet to generate much of anything vs. the Indians.
Toronto is batting .177 (17-for-96) with four extra-base hits in this series. To make matters even worse, the club has not been able to …
