Blue Jays bats go silent against Indians in ALCS

With a rotation of one trustworthy starting pitcher, a fringy innings eater, the Biblical Curse of Blood, and a child, the Cleveland Indians are through to the World Series with a 4-1 series win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

For some, though likely not everyone, it’s a more interesting conclusion to draw than, say, “Jose Bautista made a comment about Ryan Merritt “shaking in his boots” but then didn’t go 3-for-3 with three home runs and six RBI so he failed at his job”.

Cleveland last won it all back in 1948. The Cleveland Indians were looking to finish off the Toronto Blue Jays and advance to the World Series for the first time in 19 years.

On the same night, Tuesday, October 25, the Cleveland Cavaliers will raise their championship banner on the opening night of the new National Basketball Association season – the first crown for any Cleveland sports team in 50 years. They lost the World Series in 1954, 1995 and 1997. The Indians responded perfectly. The mass then disappeared below to drench the visitors’ clubhouse at Rogers Centre in bubbly beverages.

Toronto entered the game trailing the best-of-seven American League Championship Series 3-1 and were chomping at the bit to get at Merritt.

“What an incredible day”, Miller said as Merritt made the interview rounds. “It’s unfortunate, but everyone’s going to go home, reflect on it, improve, and come back and look forward to doing it again”. He was not just a rookie, but a rookie with exactly 11 innings pitched in the big leagues and a fastball that rarely gets out of the mid-80s.

“Tito did”, Merritt replied, referring to his future Hall of Fame manager, who continued his master class in bullpen usage by squeezing eight outs from Miller instead of saving him for what would have been a lower-difficulty three-out save chance.

“This is nearly like a fairy tale, ” Merritt said. “It’s awesome that I’m here”. Because of the false hope, perhaps the foolishness, engendered by an emphatic Game 4 win on Tuesday, leading many to believe – though they might deny it now – that the Jays were entirely capable of reversing this thing on a dime. He beguiled Joey Bautista with a 69 miles per hour curveball with his second pitch and struck out Edwin Encarnacion looking with another to end the first. On his only pitch of the inning, Miller got the Blue Jays to hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

“He may not look the part”, a champagne-soaked Terry Francona said afterward, “but he’s beyond his years”.

“I think justifiably he’s a little nervous”, Francona said before the game. The Blue Jays will send out their ace, Marco Estrada, on Wednesday afternoon.

The Toronto Blue Jays exit the playoffs tipping their hats to the Cleveland Indians.

“He probably didn’t even know their [Blue Jays hitters] names”, Indians pitching coach Mickey Calloway said of Merritt. The early tally also had the effect of quieting the Rogers Centre’s sold-out crowd.

Mike Napoli hit a double in the first innings before home runs from Carlos Santana in the third and Coco Crisp in the fourth completed the scoring.

Pinch hitter Dioner Navarro singled to lead off the bottom of the eighth, but Miller continued his brilliant postseason by striking out Carrera, inducing a fielder’s choice and getting a flyout to end the inning. The sold-out crowd roared louder than it had all series. Lindor scored from first on the play.

“He was phenomenal”, Francona said. “What he did was above and beyond his years”. The rest of the Indians’ infield gathered to slap Merritt’s back and congratulate him. Winning pitcher Bryan Shaw tossed an inning before Miller came in. When Cody Allen retired Troy Tulowitzki for the final out, the eruption of emotion begun.