Can Cleveland overcome history and get job done?

Indians have lost five consecutive potential series-clinching contests

The Cleveland Indians entered October in possession of a clear mission and everything required to complete it.

They pushed the World Series to the 10th inning of Game 7 without winning it, and they intend to cover the final inches this autumn. They morphed this summer into a powerhouse, a 102-win colossus, a team worthy of claiming the franchise’s first championship since 1948.

They employ, by the estimation of statistical bellwether FanGraphs, “maybe the best pitching staff of all time.” Second baseman Jose Ramirez is their strongest MVP candidate, but one could reasonably argue he is their fourth or fifth best position player. The engraver can safely begin work on their manager’s Hall of Fame plaque.

Their goal, so simple and so attainable last Sunday afternoon, grew complex as two days in the Bronx pushed the American League Division Series to Game 5. The Indians must not only beat the New York Yankees, a youthful team of vast talent growing up before our eyes, they must also confront whatever demons may be rattling around their skulls.

Since taking a 3-1 lead in the World Series last year, Cleveland has lost five potential seriesclinching games. Monday night in a half-empty clubhouse, players scrolled through phones. The only noise was clubbies knocking mud off spikes. They had to digest not only a loss, but how to reverse a streak threatening to crush their charmed season.

“We’ve been in this situation before,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “We were in it last year, and we couldn’t finish it the way we wanted. But we have lost games in a row this season, and we have won a lot of games this season. We know we can win one game.”

Those games mean the Indians have been tested. They know what emotions await Wednesday night at Progressive Field.

“Experience helps,” right-hander Trevor Bauer said.

But what about when the experience reminds you of bitter failures? Can that weigh heavily, and maybe even help decide a series?

“I hope so,” the Yankees’ Chase Headley said. “This game sometimes, circumstances like that can happen. Whether experience is playing into that, I don’t know. But I certainly hope it does.”

When the crowd pours through the Progressive Field gates, history both recent and ancient may produce anxiety. Last year’s World Series only added to Cleveland’s playoff heartbreak. In 2007, the Indians blew a 3-1 lead in the ALCS. In the 2001 ALDS, they took a 2-1 lead with a 17-2 victory over Seattle, then lost the next two. They led the 1999 ALDS 2-0 before the Boston Red Sox stunned them.

In the past 18 years, Cleveland is 3-16 in games that could have closed out a playoff round.

These Indians could poke holes in the meaning of that record. Two of those 16 wins came from a similar group last fall.

And it would be frivolous to believe Paul Shuey or Troy O’Leary or J.D. Drew or David Ross or any other ghost from clinchers past would have an impact Wednesday night. The Indians pride themselves on staying present and refusing to see meaningful patterns in past results.

Maybe the Indians didn’t feel pressure in Game 4. But they sure made miscues commonly attributed to it. They finished squandering a 2-0 lead in uncharacteristic fashion Monday night, committing four errors and walking six batters, after spending the season having committed fewer errors and issuing fewer walks than any team in the American League.

The Yankees will start CC Sabathia, a former ace forced to thrive on guile. The Indians will start ace Corey Kluber, the presumptive Cy Young favourite, on regular rest. The Yankees shellacked Kluber in Game 2, but an aberration does not change his status as one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball.

Cleveland may also receive a jolt to their slumbering offence. Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion could return for Game 5.

Sunday afternoon, Cleveland looked like an impermeable force, a team ready to cruise into the next round. The baseball playoffs supply change with alarming speed. Cleveland has been here before, and they know too well how fast a series can change. Wednesday, they will try to stave off another harsh lesson.