IST 2016 ALCS - Blue Jays vs Indians

[Guest d'Kong76]

Life-long fan of the Indians, Let's GO Tribe!!

Edited October 12, 2016 by Guest

[Guest d'Kong76]

Toronto at Cleveland
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, October 14, 2016
Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
SportsDirect Inc.

Neither the Toronto Blue Jays nor the Cleveland Indians have been to the World Series this century, but the teams begin pursuit of ending their droughts when the American League Championship Series opens in Cleveland on Friday. The Blue Jays haven't been to the World Series since winning the second of back-to-back championships in 1993 while the Indians' last visit was a losing effort in 1997.

Toronto rolled to a sweep of Texas in the AL Division Series while Cleveland was equally strong, taking out Boston in three straight. While it was clear most of the second half of the season that the Indians were going to be involved in the postseason, the Blue Jays had to overcome a late-season funk and then defeat Baltimore in the wild-card game before shredding the Rangers. "We just kept plugging along. No big win streaks, but no major dips either in the other direction," Toronto manager John Gibbons said at Thursday's press conference. "In September, our bats went silent is basically what happened. We have that kind of team, we have a free-swinging team that hits for a lot of power, so that's not abnormal. But they hung in there, we won some close games, and the pitching was really good." The Indians' starting rotation has been dented by injuries to Carlos Carrasco (fractured pitching hand) and Danny Salazar (elbow), so a strong bullpen led by closer Cody Allen and set-up men Andrew Miller and Bryan Shaw will be relied upon heavily in this series.

TV: 8:08 p.m. ET, TBS, Sportsnet (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays RH Marco Estrada (1-0, 1.08 ERA) vs. Indians RH Corey Kluber (1-0, 0.00)

Estrada was superb in Game 1 of the ALDS, giving up one run and four hits in 8 1/3 innings. The 33-year-old, who has posted a 3.75 ERA in two career no-decisions against Cleveland, was a playoff standout last year as he went 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA in three outings. "Obviously, it's the playoffs and I understand it's a big deal, but I treat every game just like the one before," Estrada said at Thursday's press conference. "I don't put extra pressure on myself. And it's something I've been saying since last year - why think about it any other way than just another normal start?"

The 30-year-old Kluber proved his late-September quadriceps injury was a non-issue by scattering three hits over seven scoreless innings against Boston in Game 2 of the ALDS. "I didn't feel like it was a problem, I felt like I was in the good spot," Kluber said at Thursday's press conference. "Maybe it was a blessing in disguise, having a chance for the rest of my body to recover and stuff." Kluber, who is 1-3 with a 5.34 ERA in five career starts against Blue Jays, went 18-9 during the regular season to match his career-best win total from 2014, when he won the AL Cy Young Award.

WALK-OFFS:
1. Blue Jays 2B Devon Travis (knee) is expected to be ready for the opener after missing the final two games of the ALDS.
2. Miller has struck out 53 batters and allowed just five earned runs in 33 innings since being acquired from the New York Yankees.
3. Toronto LHP Francisco Liriano is eligible to return Saturday after finishing the seven-day concussion protocol.

[metirish]

Jimmy Rollins is quite good on the pre-game

[Chad ochoseis]

Anybody else watching on MLB.tv's spiffy new Postseason.TV? TBS audio (meh) plus your choice of partial views. It's not bad.

[Fman99]

I'm watching in the traditional "big TV + alcohol" method I've been perfecting since the 1980's. Pitchers duel = good baseball.

[Centerfield]

This was the first game I've watched since the Mets season ended. Just keep thinking to myself "We would have beat both these fucking teams."

Nice to hear Ron though.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Toronto at Cleveland
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 15, 2016
Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
SportsDirect Inc.

The Cleveland Indians shut down Toronto's explosive offense in the opener and look to take a 2-0 lead in the American League Championship Series when they host the Blue Jays in Game 2 on Saturday. Three Cleveland pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts in Friday's 2-0 shutout while Francisco Lindor belted a two-run homer for the game's only scoring.

Toronto belted eight homers and scored 22 runs while sweeping Texas in the AL Division Series but managed just one extra-base hit - a double by Edwin Encarnacion - in the ALCS opener while being handcuffed by Corey Kluber (six strikeouts), Andrew Miller (five) and Cody Allen (one). Lindor, who hit 15 homers in the regular season, drilled his second of the playoffs in the sixth inning as the Indians won their fourth consecutive game this postseason. Josh Tomlin will be the Game 2 starter for Cleveland after Trevor Bauer cut the tip of his right pinkie finger while performing maintenance on his drone. "This was not malicious. He could have been opening a box in the kitchen," Indians manager Terry Francona said at a press conference. "Things happen. I wish it wouldn't have, but like I said, it wasn't done maliciously, it wasn't done by being silly. Just happened."

TV: 4:08 p.m. ET, TBS, Sportsnet (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays LH J.A. Happ (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Indians RH Josh Tomlin (1-0, 3.60)

Happ stunned everyone in baseball by posting a career-best 20-4 record this season and also defeated Texas in the ALDS. The 33-year-old made some adjustments late last year while with Pittsburgh, and Toronto built on those changes after signing him in the offseason. "He dropped his arm angle. He used to be right over the top and it affected his control," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said at a press conference. "He was either up or down in the zone, never got ground balls. Got a lot of strikeouts, but got a lot of foul balls, too. It made him work pretty good."

Tomlin served up 36 homers in the regular season, which certainly is a concern with Toronto featuring so many power hitters in its lineup. The 31-year-old said being moved up two days to start Game 2 won't affect his routine as he already was expecting to pitch twice in the series. "It's just another start. You've got to prepare yourself, no matter what day you're pitching," Tomlin said at a press conference. "So I don't think it really changes the fact that you're pitching Game 7 or Game 6. It's just now your day's lined up on Game 6 as opposed to Game 7. My job is still to go out there and compete and try to win a game."

WALK-OFFS:
1. Encarnacion recorded his third two-hit performance of the postseason in Game 1 and is 7-for-16 with two homers.
2. Cleveland RF Lonnie Chisenhall went 3-for-3 in the opener and is 6-for-13 in the postseason.
3. Toronto LHP Francisco Liriano (concussion) returns to duty on Saturday while the status of 2B Devon Travis (knee) is uncertain after he aggravated the injury and departed in the fifth inning of Game 1.

[Frayed Knot]

So it turns out that we had to go to the AL post-season series in order to see a pair of consecutive sub-3:00 games ... whoda thunk it!

Josh Tomlin will be the Game 2 starter for Cleveland after Trevor Bauer cut the tip of his right pinkie finger while performing maintenance on his drone.

Fucking prima donna players these days. I guarantee you that Cleveland great Bob Feller never missed a game because he cut his finger on a drone.

[Chad ochoseis]

The ALCS is a tough ticket, and the people I know with season ticket plans didn't win the ticket lottery. So I watched the last few innings from home. But I was biking around downtown this afternoon and got a few shots of the area around Progressive Field.

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[Guest d'Kong76]

Cleveland at Toronto
When: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, October 17, 2016
Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario
SportsDirect Inc.

The Toronto Blue Jays probably will need to put a ball in play against Andrew Miller at some point to have a chance in the American League Championship Series. The Blue Jays will attempt to grab the momentum and avoid falling into a deep hole when they host the Cleveland Indians in Game 3 on Monday.

Miller was the star of the Indians' AL Division Series sweep of Boston as he recorded seven strikeouts in four scoreless innings and was even better in the first two games of the ALCS, fanning 10 batters and yielding one hit in 3 2/3 scoreless frames of relief as Cleveland seized control and took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. "Same cliché, pitch by pitch," Miller told reporters when asked about his playoff success. "Just focus on the task at hand. Try to get ahead, try to execute a good pitch to the game plan. In a sense, hope you get these guys out. They're so good. You can execute the perfect pitch in your mind and they can hit it a long ways." Toronto pounded out 22 runs in their three-game sweep of Texas in the ALDS but has managed one run in two contests against an Indians staff that is missing two of its best starters in Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar. "I know one thing, they pitched great," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told reporters. "I wouldn't dare take anything from them, that's for sure."

TV: 8:08 p.m. ET, TBS, Sportsnet (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Trevor Bauer (0-0, 5.79 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Marcus Stroman (0-0, 3.00)

Bauer was the first to benefit from the dominance of Miller, who came on in the fifth inning of the ALDS in relief and earned the win. Bauer was scheduled to start Game 2 against Toronto before cutting his finger while repairing his drone and was pushed back to allow the pinky on his pitching hand to heal. The UCLA product enjoyed one of his best starts against Toronto on Aug. 19, when he allowed two runs in eight innings and struck out a career-high 13.

Stroman, who held Baltimore to two runs and four hits over six innings in his ALDS start, has not earned a victory since Aug. 14. The Duke product allowed three or fewer runs in seven of his last nine starts but could not get enough help from his teammates to land in the win column. The first of those nine turns came at Cleveland on Aug. 21, when Stroman struck out nine and yielded one run in 7 1/3 innings but was held out of the decision.

WALK-OFFS:
1. The Blue Jays removed 2B Devon Travis (knee) from the roster before Game 2 and replaced him with 1B Justin Smoak.
2. Indians SS Francisco Lindor has driven in three of his team's four runs in the series.
3. Toronto 3B Josh Donaldson set a franchise record with his sixth postseason double on Saturday and is 12-for-26 in the playoffs.

[Benjamin Grimm]

If the Indians are looking for a non-controversial mascot to replace Chief Wahoo, maybe they can coax Milton the Toaster out of retirement.

[Frayed Knot]

Or just go with Gandhi

[Guest cooby]

Wearing one of my Indians shirts

[MFS62]

cooby wrote: Wearing one of my Indians shirts

One of them?
How many do you have?

Later

[Guest cooby]

several. My son grew up as an Indians fan, once he was old enough to realize he was named after Tony Pena, then an Indian

[MFS62]

Bauer out, Otero in to pitch for the Indians in the first inning. Looks like finger problem (blister?)
Tribe (can we still say that?) up 1-0 after 1 on a Napoli RBI double.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Blisters don't bleed like THAT!!
He sliced his pinkie finger open last week (fixing his drone naturally) and had ten stitches in it. They moved his start back from game 2 to game 3 hoping that the two extra days rest would help with the healing.
And since rules prevent pitchers from having any type of substance -- including bandages, glues, tape, etc. -- on their hands, Bauer had to make a go with it with just the silk holding the wound together.
Quite obviously that idea didn't work.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: Blisters don't bleed like THAT!! He sliced his pinkie finger open last week (fixing his drone naturally) and had ten stitches in it. They moved his start back from game 2 to game 3 hoping that the two extra days rest would help with the healing. And since rules prevent pitchers from having any type of substance -- including bandages, glues, tape, etc. -- on their hands, Bauer had to make a go with it with just the silk holding the wound together. Quite obviously that idea didn't work.

Didn't see it. Just periodically checking the in-game reports on the PC at work.
Thanks.

Later

[Fman99]

It was quite nasty.

Fixing a drone during the playoffs. Seriously stupid.

[Frayed Knot]

Reminiscent of Bobby Ojeda and his hedge trimmers back in '88

[Frayed Knot]

MFS62 wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Blisters don't bleed like THAT!! He sliced his pinkie finger open last week (fixing his drone naturally) and had ten stitches in it. They moved his start back from game 2 to game 3 hoping that the two extra days rest would help with the healing. And since rules prevent pitchers from having any type of substance -- including bandages, glues, tape, etc. -- on their hands, Bauer had to make a go with it with just the silk holding the wound together. Quite obviously that idea didn't work. Didn't see it. Just periodically checking the in-game reports on the PC at work.

I'll put it this way, by the time he was pulled from the game there was blood on his hand, the ball, his shirt, his pants, and the rubber.

[Frayed Knot]

Terry Francona going to his closer with one out in the 7th and a two run lead.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: I'll put it this way, by the time he was pulled from the game there was blood on his hand, the ball, his shirt, his pants, and the rubber.

I think that just moved Curt Shilling down to the #2 position on the post season blood lost list.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Blue Jays = 5th in AL in runs scored -- but they've now scored three runs in three games vs Cleveland.

[Centerfield]

So I just learned that there are things called "drones" outside of the military.

[Fman99]

Frayed Knot wrote: I'll put it this way, by the time he was pulled from the game there was blood on his hand, the ball, his shirt, his pants, and the rubber.

[Benjamin Grimm]

If there's blood on the rubber it's better if it's on the outside than if it's on the inside.

[Frayed Knot]

Let's just say that last night was a big, disgusting, bloody mess.
But this is the Baseball Forum so enough about the Jets game.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: Let's just say that last night was a big, disgusting, bloody mess. But this is the Baseball Forum so enough about the Jets game.

That hurt.
Painful, but true.

Later

[Guest d'Kong76]

Cleveland at Toronto
When: 4:00 PM ET, Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario
SportsDirect Inc.

The Cleveland Indians' ability to keep one of the most potent offenses in the American League in check have them one win away from the sixth World Series appearance in franchise history. Cleveland turns to its ace Tuesday as it attempts to remain perfect in the postseason and complete a sweep of the AL Championship Series against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

After dispatching Boston in three games in the ALDS, the Indians limited the Blue Jays to three runs over the first three contests after the wild-card club collected 22 in its three-game sweep of Texas in the ALDS. The chances of Toronto breaking out of its scoring slump appear more difficult as it faces Corey Kluber, who tossed seven scoreless innings in a victory over Boston in the ALDS before keeping the Blue Jays off the scoreboard over 6 1/3 frames in a Game 1 triumph. Cleveland pushed Toronto to the brink of elimination with a 4-2 victory Monday as Mike Napoli delivered an RBI double and a solo homer, Jason Kipnis also went deep and six relievers combined to allow two runs over 8 1/3 innings after starter Trevor Bauer exited early with an injured right pinky finger. The Indians are seeking their first World Series appearance since 1997 and first championship since 1948.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, TBS, Sportsnet (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Corey Kluber (2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Aaron Sanchez (0-0, 9.53)

Kluber starts on three days' rest for the first time in his career because of Bauer's early departure, pushing rookie Ryan Merritt back a day if Game 5 is necessary. The 2014 AL Cy Young Award winner and also a candidate to capture the prize this year gave up only nine hits over his first two turns this postseason, walking five while registering 13 strikeouts. Kluber was superb against the Blue Jays in the series opener but was tagged for five runs on seven hits and four walks over 3 1/3 innings of a loss at Toronto on July 3.

Sanchez's first career postseason start was one to forget as he surrendered six runs on three hits - two homers - and four walks over 5 2/3 innings against Texas in the AL Division Series but managed to walk away with a no-decision. That outing also took place at home, where the 24-year-old Californian went 6-1 with a 3.74 ERA in 13 turns during the regular season. Sanchez is 1-0 with a 5.06 ERA in three career games (two starts) against the Indians, including a no-decision on Aug. 20 in which he yielded five runs (four earned ) and four hits in four innings at Cleveland.

WALK-OFFS:
1. The Indians haven't allowed multiple runs in an inning this postseason.
2. Toronto hit one homer in the series after belting eight in the three-game sweep over Texas and is 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
3. Cleveland LHP Andrew Miller struck out 13 of the 17 batters he faced in the ALCS.