Return to defensive excellence key for Tribe

The Indians took their first loss of the postseason, a 5-1 defeat against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, in part because of an uncharacteristically poor defensive showing.

If the Tribe hopes to clinch a World Series berth — it currently leads the American League Championship Series, 3-1, and was the only team in the Major Leagues not to lose four straight games this year — Cleveland would do well to shore up its defense.

A strong defense has been a trademark of the Indians all season. They ranked fourth in the Majors in Ultimate Zone Rating (35.6 runs saved) and ninth in Defensive Runs Saved (17) while ranking 12th in fielding percentage (98.5 percent).

• ALCS Game 5: Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET on TBS/Sportsnet/RDS

But on Tuesday, the Tribe committed its first error in more than 12 games — a streak spanning 109 innings — and had a handful of poor routes that cost the club key runs.

Game Date Time Matchup TV/Highlights 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   TOR 5, CLE 1 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 first misplayed ball came in the fourth inning, when Ezequiel Carrera popped a ball into shallow center field that Tyler Naquin could not come up with.

According to Statcast™, Naquin started the play 100 feet from where the ball landed, and the ball had a hang …

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