Written by Dennis Manoloff at Cleveland.com
Mike Napoli and Jason Kipnis homered and six relievers combined to allow two runs in 8 1/3 innings as the Cleveland Indians defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-2, in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night at Rogers Centre in Toronto. Napoli finished 2-for-3 with one walk, two RBI and two runs.
The Tribe leads the best-of-seven series, 3-0. Game 4 is Tuesday in Toronto.
Here is a capsule look at the key aspect(s) of the game, which was televised by TBS:
Streaking: The Indians have won nine straight overall, including their first six postseason games. They swept the AL East champion Red Sox in a division series.
The Indians have not lost since Sept. 28 in Detroit.
Milestone men: Monday’s victory was the Indians’ 100th overall this season. They were 94-67 in the regular season and won the AL Central.
Unreal: Tribe manager Terry Francona, bullpen maestro, orchestrated another masterpiece. Already down two starters (Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar) and with a third (Corey Kluber) not 100 percent, Francona watched right-hander Trevor Bauer make just 21 pitches. Bauer’s right pinky, injured in a recent drone-maintenance accident, gushed blood after the stitches popped.
Bauer faced four batters before being forced to exit because of MLB rules pertaining to free-flowing blood. Jose Bautista struck out looking, Josh Donaldson walked, Edwin Encarnacion lined to center and Troy Tulowitzki walked.
Francona’s first reliever was Disco Dan Otero, who retired struggling Russell Martin on a grounder to second. The importance of Otero’s success in that spot cannot be overstated. If Martin had managed even a bloop single, the Blue Jays might have been off and running in front of their ultra-loud fans.
The reliever order was Otero (1 1/3 IP), Jeff Manship (1 1/3 IP), Zach McAllister (1.0 IP), Bryan Shaw (1 2/3 IP), Cody Allen (1 2/3 IP) and Andrew Miller (1 1/3 IP).
(Quick, somebody contact Elias: When is the previous time a team used six relievers for more than one inning apiece in a postseason victory?)
In the second inning, Otero gave up an opposite-field homer to lefty Michael Saunders that tied the score, 1-1. In the fifth, McAllister allowed a leadoff triple to former Indian Ezequiel Carrera and an RBI grounder to Ryan Goins to tie the score, 2-2.
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