Gimme 5: Cleveland bullpen formula for playoff success
It looks like Cleveland right-handed pitcher Corey Kluber will start one of the first three games in one American League Division Series, despite a strained right quadriceps muscle.
The Indians were hit hard by injuries late in the season as Carlos Carrasco broke his finger and is out for the year. Danny Salazar has battled discomfort in his throwing arm throughout his All-Star season and is unlikely to return to the mound this year.
The loss of Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar – along with catcher Yan Gomes -- would seem to make a deep postseason run improbable. But there are still reasons to be optimistic about the Indians – and not simply because anything can happen once you’ve qualified for game 163.
Cleveland has found ways to make it work all season on the way to avoiding the Wild Card Game with its first Central Division crown since 2007. There have been reasons to doubt the Indians all season, which means there’s no reason to count Terry Francona’s team out now.
The Indians scored the second most runs in the American League despite missing Michael Brantley for all but 11 games early in the season. The Indians’ outfielders -- Jose Ramirez, rookie Tyler Naquin (.896 OPS) and Lonnie Chisenhall/Rajai Davis – have exceeded expectations.
Ramirez made the team as a utility player, filled in for Brantley in left field and then took over for Juan Uribe at third base. Ramirez hit well under pressure all season at .360 with runners in scoring position and 45 doubles.
Ramirez was key to several of the team’s 11 walk-off victories.
Shorstop Francisco Lindor solidified his status as one of the game’s best young players with his first full season after nearly capturing AL Rookie of the Year honors. Lindor, who the Indians hope will benefit from rest after they clinched the division with Lindor in a slump, is one of baseball’s top defenders and hit .300 with 96 runs scored.
Cleveland (91 wins as of Friday afternoon) would have loved to overtake Boston (92) or Texas (94) for home field advantage in the ALDS. The Indians won 53 games at home.
The Indians go from first to third on the bases, steal bags and have consistently supplied power. Mike Napoli, who has been to the postseason eight of the last 10 years with four teams, and Carlos Santana must continue to do so in October.
Napoli has 34 home runs, 101 RBIs and 92 runs scored with 191 strikeouts. Santana, who has 34 home runs and 96 walks, Napoli and Jason Kipnis (39 doubles, 23 home runs) reached career-highs for home runs.
Santana avoided slumps and seemed to step up when Salazar and Carrasco were injured last month. Santana is batting .357 with 11 RBIs in his last 15 games.
Trevor Bauer (12-8, 4.26 ERA) and Josh Tomlin (12-9, 4.48) will join Corey Kluber in the postseason rotation. Bauer’s stuff makes him nearly unhittable at times but he struggled to maintain it throughout the duration of his last 15 starts (5-6, 5.58).
Tomlin, who was sensational early in the season, lost his starting job until Carrasco was hurt. It seems Tomlin used the time in the bullpen to refresh and return to form his last three starts.
If Bauer has control and bite and Tomlin avoids giving up home runs, they only have to pitch five or six innings. That’s because Indians’ trade acquisition Andrew Miller is the perfect weapon for the postseason as a hard-throwing left-hander who can pitch multiple innings.
Miller has a 1.69 ERA with 42 strikeouts and two walks in 26 2/3 innings. He’s allowed 13 hits.
Cody Allen also has a filthy arsenal as the 30-save closer, but doesn’t mind pitching earlier in games if leverage is warranted. Combine that with Bryan Shaw’s resurgence - after a few terrible innings during several years of heavy work worried fans - and Dan Otero, who has a 1.57 ERA in 69 innings.
Kluber is a Cy Young candidate with 18 wins, 227 strikeouts and a 3.14 ERA in 215 innings. You’d like to set things up so he can pitch more than once in a five game series.
The Indians finished the regular season with several games where they intended to piece innings together with numerous pitchers. Not surprisingly, it didn’t work so well.
But a plan similar to Kansas City’s version that led the Royals to a World Series championship last year and runner-up status the year before - call it Gimme 5 - with different arms could work wonders in the postseason.
It starts with Bauer and Tomlin.
mhorn@gannett.com
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Twitter:@MatthewHornNH